Mlfli

DIVINITY SCHOOL
TROWBRIDGE LIBRARY

CLARK'S

FOKEIGN

THEOLOGICAL LIBRARY.

YOLUIE XII.

is*
Smg-Stnilwrg'S Commmtarj? on tlje Smalms.

EDINBURGH :
T. & T. CLARK, 38, GEORGE STREET.
LONDON: J. GLADDING. DUBLIN: JOHN KOBEKTSON AND CO.

MDCCCLXVII.

COMMENTARY

THE PSALMS.

E. ¥. HENGSTENBEKG,
DR. AND PROFESSOR OF DIVINITY IN BERLIN.

VOL. III.

FOTJBTE EDITION, CAEEFULLY REVISED.

TRANSLATED BY THE
REY. JOHN THOMSON, LEITH,

RET. PATRICK FAIRBAIRN, D.D.,
PRINCIPAL OF FREE CHURCH COLLEGE, GLASGOW.

EDINBURGH:
T. & T. CLAEK, 38, GEOEGE STEEET.
LONDON: HAMILTON, ADAMS, AND CO. DUBLIN: JOHN EOBEKTSON AND CO.

MDCCCLXVII. ,"

ADVERTISEMENT.

The present Volume of the Foreign Theological Library has been
enlarged considerably beyond the regular size, in order to comprise the
whole of the remainder of Hengstenberg on the Psalms. Of the portion
contained in this volume, it may be proper to state that the translation,
as far as the close of Psalm cxxvi., is by Mr Thomson, the remainder by
Dr Eairbairn. The Treatises at the close have a separate paging, from
its having been found convenient to print that part of the translation
before the rest could be got ready for the press.

MURRAY AND GIBD, PRINTERS, EDINBURGH.

BOOK OF PSALMS.

PSALM LXXIX.
The main division of the Psalm contains twelve verses. These
are divided, as is frequently the case, into three strophes, each
consisting of four verses. Ver. 1-4 contains the representation
of the misery : — the la,nd of the Lord has been taken possession
. of by the heathen, the temple desecrated, Jerusalem laid.in ruins,
the servants of God have been put to death, the people of God
become the objects of contempt to tlieir neighbours. The second
and third strophes contain the prayer. The conclusion, ver. IS,
containing the result of the whole, expresses confidence.
The Psalm stands nearly related to the lxxiv.; the situation
is the same, and they come a good deal in contact as regards the
expression. Both Psalms refer to the Chaldean devastation.
The Psalm before us proceeds on the supposition that the
seventy-fourth had been previously composed, and supplements
it. In the seventy-fourth Psalm the destruction of the sanctu
ary was pre-eminently and almost exclusively brought forward;
but in the seventy-ninth it is referred to very briefly, for the
purpose of indicating the passages where that Psalm is to be
brought in, and the other subjects are put in the foreground.
There is no good reason for the assertion which has been made,
that the Psalm before us must have been composed previously
to the seventy-fourth, as the temple is there spoken of as en
tirely destroyed, whereas it is o.nly its desecration that is spoken
vox. III. B

I THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
of here. The desecration does not exclude its destruction ; the
destruction is one of the forms of its desecration. Had the
Psalmist designed, in allusion to the seventy-fourth, to speak of
the sanctuary in one single expression, he could not possibly
have found a stronger term than this: the most dreadful thing
that can befall the sanctuary is that it be desecrated. In saying
this everything that can be affirmed of it is said.
Several expositors, both ancient and modern, refer the Psalm
to the time of the Maccabees. But there are quite decisive
grounds against this view. First, as it is so closely allied to
Ps. lxxiv., the arguments which were there adverted to are of
force here. There are also no traces here of any reference to
tlie special relations of the times of the Maccabees. And there
are two circumstances which are not suitable to those times : the
laying of Jerusalem in ruins, ver. 1, and the mention ot nations
and kingdoms in ver. 6 (compare 2 Kings xxiv. 2), whereas in
the time of the Maccabees Judah had to do only with a single
kingdom.1 There are also two weighty external reasons. Jere
miah was acquainted with the Psalm, and made use of it (comp.
at ver. 6), and in 1 Mace. vii. 16 and 17 it is quoted as forming
at that time a portion of the sacred volume.2 It is thus not
necessary here to avail ourselves of the general- reasons which-
may be urged against the existence of Maccabean Psalms.3
The title, " a Psalm of Asaph," is confirmed by the fact that
the Psalm stands closely related to a whole class of Psalms which
bear in their titles the name of Asaph. Those critics who re-
1 The remark of Venenia renders it evident that even verses 2 and 3 will not
suit the times of the Maccabees : ¦ " that the expressions, they delivered the servants
of God to birds and wild beasts, and there was none to bury them, are to be taken in
a restricted sense, as used only of some, and in referenee to the attempts and in
tentions of the enemies."
2 aara rbv Xoyov ov iy%a-\i£ aa^xag oeiiav a. r. A. The Syrian translation:
" according to the word which the prophet has written." This is the usual way of
quoting Scripture : comp. Harless on Eph. iv. 8. Hitzig translates falsely : ac
cording to the words which a certain one wrote. The obscure productions of un
known authors are never quoted in this way. The fact that the author omits, in
the passage from the Psalm, what does not suit his purpose, renders it evident that
the Psalm was not composed for the occasion there referred to : comp. J. D.
Michaelis. 3 Amyrald. : Besides it cannot be doubted that. there were prophets at the time
of Nebuchad. who were able to compose such poems ; whereas in the,age of Antio
chus there were none, at least none wbose writings have reached posterity.

PSALM LXXIX. VER. 1 — 8. 8
ject the titles are unable to explain this similarity admitted by
themselves, which obtains among all the Asaphic Psalms, even
among those which were composed at different eras. If we fol
low the title the reason of this is clear as day. The descendants
of Asaph looked upon themselves as the instruments by which
the Asaph of David's time, their illustrious ancestor, continued
to speak, and therefore they very naturally followed as closely in
his footsteps as possible : the later descendants, moreover, would
always have the compositions of their more early ancestors be
fore their minds. The unity of the person named in the title
limits the unity of character of all these Psalms. Any one who
composed at his own hand, and did not look at his ancestor or
the early or contemporaneous organs of that ancestor, could
not have adopted it.

Ver. 1-4. — Ver. 1. 0 God, the heathen have come into thine
inheritance, they have polluted thy holy temple, they have laid
Jerusalem in ruins. Ver. 2. They have given the bodies of thy
servants for food to the fowls of heaven, the flesh of thy saints to
the wild beasts of the earth. Ver. 3. They have slied their blood
like water round about Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury-
Ver. 4. We have become a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn
and derision to them that are round about us. — On ver. ] , Cal
vin : " The Psalmist says, the order of nature is, as it were, in
verted; the heathen have come into the inheritance of God."
Berleb.: " Faith utters a similar complaint in its struggles: the
heathen have made an inroad into my heart as thy inheritance."
The pollution of the temple by the heathen presupposes its pre
vious pollution by the Israelites: compare Ez. v. 11, xxiii. 38,
Ps. lxxiv. 7, is parallel. — On ifyin in ver- %> comp. at Ps. 1. 10.
That the V^^ is to be understood of the earth and not of
the land is obvious from the term in contrast, heaven. — The ex
pression, " and there was none to bury," points to a great
and general desolation, such as did not exist at any other pe
riod except during the Chaldean invasion. — Ver. 4 is from Ps.
xliv. 13.
Ver. 5-8. — Ver. 5. How long, 0 Lord, wilt thou be angry for
ever? shall thy jealousy burn like fire! Ver. 6. Pour out thy
floods of wrath upon the heathen who Jcnoiv thee not, and upon the
kingdoms which do not call upon thy name. Ver. 7. For he de-

4 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
vours Jacob, and they lay waste his pasture. Ver. 8. Remember
not against us the iniquities of our ancestors, make haste to sur
prise us with thy tender mercies, for we have become very much
reduced. — On " how long .... for ever," in ver. 5, comp. at
Ps. lxxiv. 9; xiii. 1. On the second clause, Deut. xxix. 19,
Ex. xx. 5.1 — In ver. 6, the heathen and the kingdoms are not
at all the heathen nations generally, but those who have raged
against Israel. The prayer rests upon what God does con
stantly Judgment begins at the house of God, but it proceeds.
thence to those whom God has employed as the instruments of
his punishment : the storm of the wrath of God always remains
to fall at last upon the world at enmity with his church; comp.
Deut. xxxii., Ez. xxxviii. xxxix.2 — The sing. &6a in ver. 7 denotes
the one soul which animates the many-membered body of the
enemies of the church of God. All the nations and kingdoms
referred to in ver. 6 served the king of Babylon. It is better
to take pp2 in the sense of pasture than of habitation: comp.
the j-iijHft in ver. 13: they eat up Israel, the poor flock, and
lay waste his pasture, his land. Ver. 6 and 7 are repeated al
most word for word in Jer. x. 25. It. has been alleged in favour
of Jeremiah being the original author, that the prophecy was-
uttered before the destruction. But this reason is of no weight.
The prophecy, which, designedly bears no particular date, was,
at least in its present form, written after the destruction; it
contains much, moreover, whicli represents the destruction as
an event which had already taken place, while other portions
of it again refer to it as still future, (a peculiarity which ad
mits of explanation from tlie circumstance that the prophet is
here giving a summary view and the substance of what he had
spoken at different times) ; ver. 25 itself takes for granted that
the heathen had already devoured Israel and laid waste his pas
turage. On the other hand, and in favour of the priority of the
Psalm before us, it may be urged that in all such cases there is
1 Ven. : The 'interrogative form conveys an insinuation, that God ought not to
destroy utterly the whole people, as there remain among them so many pious, to
be chastised and purified (Dan. xi. 35), but not to be destroyed.
a Arnd. : " The difference is this : God's wrath will burn for ever against un
believers ; with believers, however, when they deserve punishment, his wrath bums
fiercely indeed, but not eternally, — he visits them with the rod and chastisement
for a short while, ar<d with a view to their improvement."

PSALM LXXIX. VER. 5-8. 5
a presumption in favour of Jeremiah borrowing — it being his
usual manner to do so; that in this chapter there are manifestly
references to other Psalms, the preceding verse being borrowed
from Ps. vi. 1, (comp. Kiiper p. 159); that in Jeremiah the
words occur without any connection whatever, while in the Psalm
before us the prayer that the Lord would pour out the flood of
his wrath upon the heathen, is appended without a.nything inter
vening to the complaint that his zeal is burning like fire against
Israel- — the " pour out" refers back to " they have poured out,"
in ver. 3, (Mich, propter, sanguinem tuorum copiose t effusum
effunde, see Ps. Ixix. 24), — comp. ver. 10; that the difficult sin
gular 73^ is changed into the plural; and finally, that the pas
sage is expanded exactly in the style of Jeremiah in quoting
passages, who can leave nothing short and round, — and they
have eaten him and consumed him. — Q'O'^NI in ver. 8, where it
stands alone, signifies nothing else than ancestors, not antiquity.
The reference to Lev. xxvi. 45, which it is impossible not to
observe, is altogether against the exposition, the former sins :
" and I remember to them the covenant of tlieir ancestors whom
I brought out of the land of Egypt before the eyes of the heathen,
that I might be their God,"— God does not remember the sins
of their ancestors, but, according to his own promise, the covenant
which he made with them. Comp. also Lev. xxvi. 39, where
instead of "ancestors" we have "fathers:" they desired that
they may not be treated according to this verse, but according
to the 45th of this chapter, or rather, that after they had expe
rienced the treatment referred to in the 39th verse, they might
now also enjoy the 45th, comp. Lam. v. 7. The guilty fathers
do not at all stand in opposition to the innocent children. It
is the uniform doctrine of scripture that no one is punished un
less he be personally guilty, and that it is only in the ungodly
children that the sin of the fathers which is represented as in
creased in them that is punished : comp. the Beitr. iii. p. 544 ss.
The mention of the sins of the fathers, so far from exculpating,
indicates the depth and the magnitude of the guilt. Calvin :
" They acknowledge an obstinacy of long standing, in whicli
they have hardened themselves against'God. And this acknow
ledgment corresponds to the prophetic punishments. For sacred
history testifies that the punishment of the captivity was post
poned till God had experienced that their wickedness was in-

6 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
curable:" comp. Is. lxv. 7. On Qip to surprise, comp. at Ps.
xxi. 4.
Ver. 9-12. — Ver. 9. Help us, 0 God, our Salvation, for thy
name's glory's sake; and deliver us and pardon our sins for thy
name's sake. Ver. 10. Why shoidd the heathen say, Where is
their God ? May the vengeance of the blood of thy servants which
they have shed become known to the heathen before our eyes. Ver.
11. May the sighing of those who are bound come before thee.
According to the greatness of thine arm preserve the dying. Ver.
] 2. And recompense to our neighbours sevenfold into their bosom
their reproach wherewith they have reproached thee, 0 Lord.—
In the 9th verse the church implores the Lord to redeem that
pledge of similar future deeds, which she got in his early deal
ings. The name, and the honour of the name, i. e., his glory
(comp. at Ps. xxix. 1, 2), are in reality the same: — for the sake
of thy historically manifested glory (comp. at Ps. xxiii. 3), for
the purpose of now verifying this in sight of the blaspheming
enemies, and to their terror. — The first half of the 10th verse is
word for word from Jo. ii. 17, and this passage again rests oh
Ex. xxxii. 12, Num. xiv. J 3 ss. Deut. ix. 28. On comparing
these passages, especially the one last quoted, it becomes obvi
ous, that "Where is their God?" signifies "Where is his far-
famed love towards his people? and where is his omnipotence?"
The ground is not one of a mere external character: — the
heathen would have had good reason to speak thus, and there
fore God must not give them any occasion to do so; he must
make known his omnipotence, and his love, in delivering his
people; they cannot be for ever given over to misery: comp. the
Christology iii. p. 657, &c. In the second clause, the qvj is
written without the Vau: comp. at Ps. lxxiv. 11. " Before our
eyes," is from Deut. vi. 22. " The vengeance of the blood of
thy servants" points back to " He will avenge the blood of his
servants," in the conclusion of the Song of Moses, in Deut. xxxii.
43. — In ver. 11, the whole people appears under the emblem of
a prisoner. At the first clause we ought to add: as it once did
in Egypt, Ex. ii. 23-25. The people of God have the privilege,
in every trouble, of looking to the early deliverances as pledges
of those yet to come; and hence they possess a sure ground of
confidence. The world, when it prays, prays only as an experi
ment, having no connection whatever with history. On " accord-

PSALM LXXX. 7
ing to the greatness of thine arm," comp. Num. xiv. 19. Deut.
iii. 24. Inward greatness is meant, energy. The nmCH' bor
rowed from Ps. cii. 20, is a noun formed from the third fem. fut.;
comp. in Balaam p. 120, &c. Hence it cannot mean " death,"
but only "that which dies,"' "the dying." The sons of the
dying are those who belong to him as a personified race, and
thus the dying themselves, just like "the sons of the needy"
in Ps. lxxii. 4. — On " in their lap," ver. 1 2, comp. Is. lxv. 6-7,
Jer. xxxii. 18, Luke vi. 38. Their reproach, inasmuch as they
say, Where is their God? ver. 10.
Ver. 13. And we are thy people and sheep of thy pasture,
therefore we shall praise thee for ever, recount thy praise through
all generations. The verse is expressive of confidence: " we
shall praise thee" being equivalent to " thou shalt give us occa
sion to do so;" comp. Ps. xliv. 8. In reference to " the sheep of
thy pasture," comp. at Ps. lxxiv. 1.

PSALM LXXX.
The Psalmist prays for help on behalf of the oppressed church,
particularly on behalf of Joseph and Benjamin, ver. 1-3, and
describes, in mournful language, their oppression in ver. 4-7.
In ver. 8—13, Israel appears under the image of a vine tree,
which at first is carefully attended to, and had spread forth
luxuriantly, but now had become altogether destroyed. In ver.
1 4-19, the Psalmist prays that God would again take this vine
tree under his gracious protection.
Ver. 1-7 are evidently to be considered as an Introduction;
and the individual character of the Psalm is to be found in the
figure of the vine tree.
The formal arrangement is obvious, — so obvious, that light is
thrown from this Psalm upon others, where otherwise there
would have been ground for uncertainty; and even from this
Psalm alone, the significance of the numbers in the arrange
ment of the Psalms is placed beyond a doubt. The whole, in
clusive of the significant title, contains twenty verses, two de
cades. The introduction contains seven, and the main division
twelve, — the numbers of the covenant, and of, the covenant
people. The seven is divided into three and four, the preli-*

8 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
minary complaint and the preliminary petition; the twelve is
divided into six and six, the expanded complaint, which comes
in immediately after the preliminary one, and the expanded
prayer, in which the end turns back to the beginning.
The fundamental tone of the 'whole Psalm is given in the
words : " 0 God, lead us back, and cause thy face to shine, and
us to be delivered." These words occur three times, like the
Mosaic blessing to which they allude, for the purpose of making
a deeper impression upon the mind,1 at the end of the first and of
the second part of the introduction, ver. 3 and 7, and at the end
of the main division and of the whole, ver. 19: the names of
God in these same verses are arranged in an ascending series,
— God, ver. 3; God of Hosts, ver. 7; Jehovah, God of Hosts, ver,
19. They are wanting at the end of the first part of the main
division, because it is bound together by the unity of the figure
of the vine tree : the twelve also is not so decidedly divided by
the six, which is destitute of any meaning of its own, as is the
seven by the three and the four. The beginning, moreover, of
the second half of the main division is externally indicated by
the address, "0 God of Hosts," ver. 14, just as the beginning
of the second part of the introduction by the address, " Jehovah,
God of Hosts," ver. 4, indicating the termination prescribed for
the refrain, to which it had to advance by degrees.
The Psalm is a remarkable testimony on behalf of the catholic
spirit by which the true church of God has been always pervaded
— an illustration of the apostolic saying, " when one member suf
fers, all the members suffer along with it." Like the seventy-
seventh Psalm, to which it is closely allied, it gives adequate ex
pression to the painful feelings awakened in Judah's mind by the
captivity of the ten tribes; comp. the three times repeated ''lead
us back," ver. 3, 7, 19. The Septuagint have already with ac
curacy written: vveg tou 'Agtvglov. For it is incontrovertibly
evident, from reasons which never would have been overlooked,
had it not been for the perverse disposition to assign to the Psalms
the latest possible date, that we cannot refer the Psalm with se
veral interpreters, to the Chaldean invasion, nor yet with others,
to the times of the Maccabees, nor indeed to any suffering which
1 Calvin : God did not design to dictate a vain repetition of words to his people-
but this support is frequently held out to them, when oppressed with evils, in order
that nevertheless they may courageously arise.

PSALM LXXX. "*" 9
befell Judah. 1 . The vine tree appears as destroyed to a consi
derable extent, and even as deprived partly of its branches, but
still it is standing in the Holy Land : the people of the Lord ap
pear, as is evident from the thrice- repeated prayer, lead us back,
partly as led away ; and yet they are also in possession of their
own land, as is manifest from the title, " to the Chief Musician,"
whicli is wanting in Ps. lxxiv. and Ixxix., and which marks out
this Psalm as designed for a public service in the temple By
this the reference to the Chaldean destruction is wholly excluded.
2. In the very first verse, God is addressed by the title : He who
leads Joseph like a flock. The idea, in spite of the opposition
of Kiel, is altogether untenable, that Joseph, who appears always
as the leader of the ten tribes, and who is spoken of, even in
Ps. Ixxviii. 67, composed by Asaph, in opposition to Judah, is
here used for the whole of Israel, or for Judah, in whom Israel at
the time existed. Even in Obed. ver. 18, the house of Joseph
denotes the ten tribes (comp. Caspari), and, in like manner, in
Amos vi. 6, Joseph is used only of the ten tribes ; (comp. Ch. B.
Michaelis. 3. In ver. 2, the tribes on whose behalf the help of
God is supplicated, are Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh.
Everything here depends upon determining whether, in the di
vision of the state into two kingdoms, the Benjamites adhered
to Judah or to Joseph. The general view is in favour of the
first. (Comp. for example Winer in his die, Gesenius in his
Thesaurus.) It is, however, involved here in inextricable diffi
culties ; as if Benjamin belonged to the kingdom of Judah, and
this Psalm refers to the misery of the whole people, there can be
no reason assigned why Benjamin is named here, and not Judah.
We, on the other hand, maintain that, with the exception of
Jerusalem, which lay close on the boundaries of Judah, by whom
it was conquered, and by whom, in common with Benjamin, it
was inhabited, (comp. Raumer, p. 334), and of that portion of
its environs which lay on the side of Benjamin, the declivity,
namely, slanting down, from the upper city, Benjamin adhered
to Joseph. The presumptions are all in favour of this view. Ben
jamin and Joseph were bound together by ties of an ancient char
acter. They were both the darling sons of beloved Rachel,
(Gen. xliv. 27-29), and were united to each other in the tender-
est affection, Gen. xliii. 29, 30-34. In travelling through the
wilderness we find them as here united to each other; com. Num.

10 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
ii. 17, &c, x. 21-24. It is clear, from 2 Sam. xix. 21, that the"
bond of union between Joseph and Benjamin was very close even
in David's time : in this passage Simei says that he comes first
of the whole house of Joseph. Further, Benjamin is the very
last tribe who can be supposed to have entertained any friendly
feeling towards Judah, inasmuch as the honour and pre-eminence
which belonged to it during the reign of Saul was transferred to
Judah (comp. 1 Sam. xxii. 7) ; and history affords evidence that,
even in David's time, there existed a spirit of deep-rooted hos
tility. Shimei, on the rebellion of Absalom, gave utterance to
the spirit of the tribe ; the rebel Sheba (2 Sam. xxi. 1) belonged
to Benjamin ; and at the numbering of the people, with the ex
ception of Levi, which, from the nature of the case, could not be
included, the only tribe which was not numbered was Benjamin,
undoubtedly because Joab did not choose to provoke its sedi
tious spirit. If we turn now to the evidence in support of the
opposite view, we find, as wholly favouring it, the passage 1
Kings xii. 21, according to which Rehoboam assembled the whole
house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin. But a whole series
of other passages demonstrates that the author loosely, though,
after all, with sufficient accuracy, as the real state of matters
was universally known, employed tlie tribe of Benjamin to de
note that small portion of the tribe which was incorporated with
Judah, so that we are to supply as understood ~. so far as it re
mained faithful to Judah. According to 1 Kings xi. 13, 32, 36,
xii. 20, it was only the single tribe of Judah that remained with
the house of David ; and it is utterly preposterous to suppose that
in all these passages Benjamin, which always occupied a place of
distinguished honour among the tribes, is passed over in silence,
on account of its littleness. In 1 Kings xii. 17, the only indi
viduals not Jews who submitted to the government of Rehoboam
are " the children of Israel who dwelt in the cities of Judah.''
This passage forms the connecting link between xii. 21 and the
passages above quoted, and gives to the former the necessary
limitation. Further, if we join Benjamin to Judah, it will be
impossible to make out the ten tribes ; for Simeon, who is com
monly reckoned among . them, manifestly cannot be counted.
That tribe, according to Gen. xlix. 7, ought to be found like
Levi, broken up into pieces; according to Jos. xix. 1, " its inheri
tance was in the midst of the tribe of Judah," not certainly any

PSALM LXXX. 11
contiguous portion of the land, but separate, single cities, lying
at a distance from each other : comp. Bachiene i. 2, § 408. The
Simeonites belong, assuredly, to " the children of Israel who
dwelt in the cities of Judah," as their cities originally were si
tuated within the tribe of Judah, and are enumerated in the list
of these cities, Bach. § 409. They must necessarily have held
fast by Judah, and probably did so very willingly : it was quite
natural that they should amalgamate with Judah, and this is
sufficient to explain the fact that they are nowhere mentioned
as a part of the kingdom of Judah : on the division into two
kingdoms they became extinct as a tribe. This peculiar state
of matters explains 1 Kings xi. 30, &c, according to which the
whole number of the tribes was twelve, of which one remained
faithful to the house of David, and ten took part with Jeroboam.
Now, if we leave out Simeon, it becomes necessary to take in
Benjamin, in order to complete the number ten. It is, there
fore, evident that the three mentioned tribes represent Israel
only in a strict sense, whose leading tribes they formed in ac
cordance with original historical relations, and in accordance also
with their later importance ; and, therefore, the Psalm cannot
be referred either to the Babylonian captivity or to the times of
the Maccabees.1
Title : To the Chief Musician, on lilies, a testimony of Asaph,
a Psalm. This title is formed in an original manner after those
of the two Davidic Psalms, the sixtieth and the sixty-ninth.
" To the Chief Musician" is important, because it shows that the
Psalmist is here acting as the organ of the whole church. In
stead of ^ pointing out the object (comp. at title of Ps. vi.)
we have ^v in the two fundamental passages. The lilies are
an emblem of what is lovely (comp. at Ps. xiv.), here, as in Ps.
Ixix., of the lovely salvation of the Lord, his m^T^i : comp.
n^*Cl3 with which the refrain generally ends, the peculiarly
prominent word of the Psalm, and the *n]Ty W iQ ver 2- The
riVO? which, on account of the accusative, cannot be connected
with Q^ffltiN signifies always law (comp. at Ps. lx. title), and
generally denotes the divine law, as given in the Books of Moses;
1 Oalvin : It would have been absurd to have passed over the tribe Judah, and
the sacred city itself, and to have given the prominence to Joseph, Manasseh,
Ephraim, and Benjamin, if the language had not been designed to apply specially
to Israel.

12 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
in this way also it is used in the Asaphic Psalms Ixxviii. 5,
lxxxi. 5. That it is used in the same sense here also, that the
Psalmist designates his poem a law, because he does not pre
scribe a way of salvation at his own hand, but merely points to
the one which had already been described in the law, and comes
forward as its expounder, is evident from the reference to the
title of Ps. lx., where the original itself from which the Psalmist
merely copies, is named f\\y^, and from the fact that the Psalm
really throughout depends upon the law, especially the refrain
whicli gives its fundamental tone. The particular application
of fyny 1S to be g°t from the word immediately preceding, on
the lilies: " a law which treats of the way of obtaining deliver
ance."1 The pp$fc nVT3? corresponds to the tpiifa h^2VD>
an instruction of Asaph in Psalms lxxiv. and Ixxviii.; but it is
a stronger and more emphatic expression: comp. also, Hear,
my people, my law, in Ps. lxxxviii. 1.
Ver. 1-3. — Ver. 1 . 0 thou Shepherd of Israel, give ear, who
leadest Joseph as the sheep; thou who sittest enthroned upon the
cherubim, shine forth. Ver. 2. Before Ephraim, and Benjamin,
and Manasseh, stir up thy strength and come for help to us.
Ver, 3. 0 God, lead us back, and cause thy face to shine, and us
to be delivered. — The "thou Shepherd of Israel," in ver. 1. (comp.
at Ps. xxiii. 1), refers to Gen. xlviii. 15; xlix. 24, where, in
Joseph's blessing, God is named the Shepherd of Israel. The
expression, " who leadest Joseph," &c, is the development of
the first clause, and marks directly that part of Israel who at
this time stood particularly in need of the shepherd care of God.
In the second clause, prominence is given to the omnipotence of
God, as the second foundation of the deliverance, just as in' the
first his care for his people had been especially dwelt upon. It
is omnipotence that is indicated by, "thou sittest enthroned
upon the cherubim:" comp. at Ps. xviii. 10. The cherubim of
the^ sanctuary are the emblem of the earthly creation. ¦ God's
sitting above these indicates that this sublunary world with all
its powers is subject to him and serves him. "God of hosts"
corresponds to this appellation of God, and denotes as exclu
sively God's dominion over the heavenly powers as the expres
sion before us denotes his dominion over those of earth. In
1 Veoema: That the pious, when placed in dreadful trouble, might be instructed
in the true way of obtaining deliverance and salvation.

PSALM LXXX. VEE. 4 — 7. 13
reference to shine forth, comp. at Ps. 1. 2. Allusion is made,
as appears, to the resplendent symbol of the presence of God
during the march through the wilderness.- — The kingdom of the
ten tribes, which had been designated in ver. 2 by Joseph, is
designated in ver. 3 by its three most prominent tribes, Ephraim
and Manasseh, the two sons of Joseph, and Benjamin, who,
among other things, was ennobled by having given Israel his first
king, Saul. Benjamin " the little," stands between Ephraim
and Manasseh. "Before them," — that is, leading them forward,
at their head, as formerly before Israel in the pillar of cloud
and the pillar of fire : comp. Exod. xiii. 21 , 22, " and the Lord
went before them," &c. Thy strength: — which now slumbers,
— comp. Ps. Ixxviii. 65. — The "lead usback," in ver. 3, refers to
that portion of the people who had been led into captivity, and
who had been described with sufficient distinctness in the pre
ceding clauses, and whom the Psalmist, sympathising with a
suffering member, keeps throughout prominently before his eye.
The usual sense of 21*1^ ln Hiph. is to lead back (comp. Gen.
xxviii. 15, where Jacob, who in his exile beyond the Euphrates,
and in his restoration to Canaan, typified the fate of his people,
is addressed by God, / bring thee back to this place, Jer. xii. 15;
xvi. 15; xxx. 3): and there is no ground whatever to depart
from this usual sense here, more especially as in the 12th and
13th verses we find a lamentation expressed in figurative lan
guage over a considerable portion of the people who had been
led into captivity.. The. sense to bring back to a former condition,
to restore (Luther: comfort us), is of very rare occurrence,
indeed, occurs with certainty only in one passage, Dan. ix. 25 :
comp. the Christology, pp. 2, 456. " Cause thy face to shine,"
is demanded as a fulfilment of the Mosaic blessing, Num. vi. 25-
comp. at Ps. iv. 6; xxxi. 16.
Ver. 4-7. — Ver. 4. 0 Lord God, God of hosts, how long dost
thou smoke against the prayer of thy people? Ver. 5. Thou
feedest them with tear-bread, and givest them drink in a great
measure full of tears. Ver. 6. Thou placest us for contention to
our neighbours, and our enemies make merry. Ver. 7. 0 God,
God of hosts, bring us back, and cause thy face to shine upon us,
and us to be delivered. — A heaping up of the names of God
similar to that in ver. 4, occurs also in the first verse of the
fiftieth Psalm, another of the Psalms of Asaph. In prayer,

14 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
everything depends upon God, in the full glory of his being,
walking before the soul. It is only into the bosom of such a
God, that it is worth while to pour out lamentations and
prayers. " Jehovah/' corresponding to " thou Shepherd of Is
rael," in ver. 1, points to the fulness of the love of God towards
his people ; and " God, God of hosts " corresponding to " who
sittest enthroned upon the cherubim," to his infinite power to
help them. The Elohim Sabaoth causes no difficulty if we only
explain correctly Jehovah Sabaoth: comp. Ps. xxiv. 10. It is
manifest from comparing the fundamental passage, Deut. xxix.
19, and the parallel Asaph, passage Ps. lxxiv. 1, that the smoke
comes into notice only as the attendant oi fire. It is clear also
from these passages that we must translate: against, not at the
prayer of thy people. There is a significant reference to smoke
as the standing symbol of prayer, and to its embodiment in the
burnt-offering: comp. Ps. cxli. 2; Rev. v. 8; viii. 3, 4; Isa. vi. 4,
" the house was full of smoke," Beitr. iii. 644. The smoke of
prayer, according to Lev. xvi. 13, should smother the fire of the
wrath of God : but instead of this, God opposes the smoke of
his anger to the smoke of prayer. — In ver. 5, tear-bread is not
at all bread destroyed by tears, but bread composed of tears.
This is manifest from the parallel passages: comp. at Ps. xlii. 3,
and the second clause: as the tears are drink there, they must
be bread here. It cannot always be, that the Shepherd of
Israel, of whom it is said, Ps. xxiii. 5, " thou preparest before
me a table in presence of my enemies, .... my cup overflow-
eth," prepares nothing but tears for the food and the drink of
his people. That were a very singular quid pro quo. The
second clause can only be translated: thou causest them to drink
with a measure of tears. For 'ipt^ri is constantly construed
with the accusative of the person and the thing; but it never
occurs with ^ before the thing. The " measure ': is thus tho
thing that is given to drink (the ^iV^ as the name of a
measure occurs only in one other passage, Is. xl. ] 2; there is no
need for defining its size, it was, at all events, large for tears):
"of tears" denotes the contents of the measure. — Ver. 6 alludes
to Ps. xliv. 1 3, on which also Ps. Ixxix. 4 depends. The neigh
bours are always the petty tribes in the immediate neighbour
hood of Israel (several interpreters refer incorrectly to the
Assyrians and Egyptians), who continually availed themselves

PSALM LXXX. VEtt. 8 — 13. J 5
of those occasions when Israel was oppressed by more powerful
nations, to give vent to their hatred. The wjq the object, the
butt of rage expressed in actions, but especially in bitter con
tempt, " where is now their God?" &c. The yr^y as the dat.
coram., i. e. according to the heart's desire.
Ver. 8-13. — Ver. 8. Thou broughtest a vine out of Egypt,
thou didst remove the heathen and didst plant it. Ver. 9. Thou
didst make room before it, and it struck its roots and filled the
land. Ver. 10. The mountains were covered with its shadow,
and the cedars of God with its branches. Ver. 11. X* sent its
boughs to the sea and its shoots to the river. Ver. 1 2. Why then
hast thou broken down its wall, so that everything that passes by
plunders it? Ver. 13. The boar out of the forest wastes it, and
whatever stirs in the field feeds of it. — God cannot leave off, far
less destroy, a work which he has once begun; this is the truth,
on which depends the significance of the contrast between the
once and the now. The fundamental passage for the figurative
representation is Gen. xlix. 22, where Joseph, to whom the eye
of the Psalmist is continually directed, appears, in reference to
his joyful prosperity, as a wall-tree by a fountain, whose branches
rose high above the walls. The difference is only this, that here
instead of the fruit tree, the vine is introduced, after the example
of Isaiah in ch. v. 1-7., where Israel appears as the vineyard of
the Lord. It is obvious from the fundamental passage, and
from the expanded description which follows, that the point of
comparison next to the abundance of beautiful fruit, is the luxu
riant growth: comp. Hos. xiv. 7, " They shall grow as the vine."
— That the yippj in ver. 8 is to be taken in its usual sense, to
cause to depart, which it maintains even in Job xix. 10, is evi
dent on comparing the Asaphic passage, from which it is imme
diately borrowed, Ps. Ixxviii. 52, and the fundamental passages,
Ex. xii. 37; xv. 22, on which this depends. An affirmation may
be made in regard to the spiritual, which could not be applied
to the natural vine. " Thou didst remove the heathen" is taken
from Ps. Ixxviii. 55, which again depends upon Ex. xxiii. 28;
xxxiii. 2; xxxiv. 11. The sons of Asaph always follow in the
footsteps of their father. The "plant" is from Ps. xliv. 2, to
which allusion is also made in ver. 1 2. The Berleb.: " Shall all
this be for nought and in vain ? Or hast thou planted it on
this accoount, that the enemies might devour it?" On j-jjq in

1 6 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
Ps. vii. " to clear," " to clear out," in ver. 10, comp. the Christol.
iii. 404. It corresponds to " the clearing out of the stones" of
Is. v. 2, and refers to the removal of the original inhabitants of
the country. Instead of "it struck its roots," Luther has
falsely, " Thou hast made it strike its roots."— The fundamental
passages for verses 11 and 12 are Gen. xxviii. 14, where it is
said in the promise to Jacob, " thou stretch out on the west and
on the east, on the north and on the south;" and especially
Deut. xi. 24, " every place which the sole of your feet shall
tread upon shall be yours, from the wilderness and Lebanon,
from the river, the river Euphrates, even unto the west sea shall
be your boundaries:" comp. Josh. i. 4. God had in former
times gloriously fulfilled the promises contained in these pas
sages. «-|^2 an(i rT,D25^ are in reality both accusatives, governed
by <\^ Pu.; the mountains whicli were covered with the sha
dow of the vine are the mountains on the south of Canaan, the
hill country of Judah, particularly the southermost part of the
same, the hill country of the Amorites, which at the commence
ment of Israel's country met the traveller like a wall; comp.
Raumer p. 48. " The wilderness of mountains" is introduced
in Psalm Ixxv. 7 as the southern boundary, in the same way as
the mountains are here spoken of as the most southern portion
of the land. The cedars of God (comp. at Ps. xxxvi. 6) which
the boughs of the vine ascend and cover, are, as usual, those of
Lebanon (comp., Ps. xxix. 5; xcii. 13; civ. 16), which formed
the north boundary of Canaan: comp. Ps. xxix., where Lebanon
and the wilderness of Kadesh stand opposed to each other as
the northern and southern boundaries of Canaan. The sea is
the Mediterranean, the river, Euphrates. From this antithesis
the translation falls to the ground: and his boughs were cedars
of God, — which would bring out a monstrous figure. — The pp^
to pluck (elsewhere only in Song of Sol. v. 1), applies not to the
grapes, but to the branches: — the luxuriance of the branches
formed the subject of the preceding description; and the oppo
site of that state is described in this clause, as it is in Is. v. 5,
Ps. Ixxxix. 40, 41. All who pass by the way: Berleb.: " for ex
ample, Pul, Tiglath-pileser, Salmanasser, Senacherib." — The
boar from the forest (comp. Jerem. v. 4) is according to the ana
logy of Ps. lxviii. 30. Ez. xxix. 3, where the hippopotamus and
the crocodile are emblem of Pharaoh, and Ez. xvii., where the

PSALM LXXX. VER. 14 — 19. 17
eagle indicates Nebuchadnezzar, descriptive not of the enemies
generally, but of the king of Assyria. " Whatever stirs in the
field" (tit is from the Asaph. Ps. 1. 11, the only other passage
where it is used of beasts), denotes the whole mass of the nations
serving under him.1
Ver. 14-19. — Ver. 14. 0 God, God of hosts, turnyet back,look
from heaven and behold and visit this vine. Ver. J 5. And main
tain that which thy right hand has planted, and the Son whom
thou hast made strong for thyself. Ver. 16. It is burned with
fire, cut down, before the rebuke of thy countenance they perish.
Ver. 1 7. May thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, the
Son of Man whom thou hast made strong for thyself. Ver. 18.
We will not go back, quicken thou us and we will call upon thy
name. Ver. 19. Lord, God, God of hosts, lead us back, cause thy
face to shine and us to be delivered. — The beginning of the
prayer in the main division, ver. 14 joins on to the be
ginning of the prayer in the introduction, ver. 1. The j-j^,
ver. 15, is the imper. of yj, to make firm, comp. the proper
noun, in^ii^' whom Jehovah hath established. It is construed
first with the accusative, and afterwards with *jy, which de
notes the care and the protection. Against the idea that it is
to be considered as a noun, in the sense of a slip, it may be
urged, that there is no such noun, that the reference to the
8th verse demands that here as there the vine-tree be spoken of,
and that the following verse refers to the vine as if it had pre-
¦viously been spoken of. The Son of the second clause is just
the spiritual vine. The translation, a shoot, according to Gen.
xlix. 22, is not only against ver. 17, but also against the sense,
as it is not any particular shoot, but the whole vine that is here
spoken of. The w^ should be taken in its usual sense, to make
strong (comp. the proper noun Amaziah,) rather than in the
sense of to choose, which depends upon the single and very
doubtful passage, Is. xliv. 14. The singular, otherwise strange,
is accounted for here and in ver. 17, by the allusion to the name
of Benjamin, whom the Psalmist here considers as the repre
sentative of all Israel. Thy right hand and Son ought to read
with large characters for the purpose of making this allusion ob
vious. The Son of the right hand is the son who stands at the
i Berleb: The beasts represent, in the inner man, the destructive .passions by
which the vineyard of the soul is torn up and consumed.
VOL. III.

18 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
right hand of his earthly and his heavenly father, and who is,
consequently, protected by him: Gen. xliv. 20, " his father loves
him," and Deut. xxxiii. 12, "the beloved of the Lord," are to
be considered as explanations of the name. In so far as Jacob
gave this significant name to his son, under the guidance and
inspiration of God, it was a pledge of the divine love and help
for him, and, at the same time, for all Israel, with whom
he is interwoven. The subject in " they perish," in ver. 1 6, is
the children of Israel, the spiritual vine.1 — Ver. 18 alludes to
Ps. xliv. 18, " our heart has not turned back, nor have our steps
declined from thy paths." Israel could not say so now; they have
deserved their misery, they have turned aside to many ways, and
instead of the name of the Lord, they have called upon strange
gods (comp. Ps. Ixxix. 6), but they promise better; if the Lord
will bring them back unto life (Ps. lxxi. 20), they also will walk
in a new life. The guilt of Israel is very tenderly touched. The
Psalmist has no intention of acting the part of Job's friends,
he follows the admonition of Job: "have pity upon me, have
pity upon me, my friends, for the hand of God is upon me."
God has undertaken to rebuke, ver. 16, and therefore his ser
vants may well be silent.

PSALM LXXXI.
The exhortation to celebrate 'the passover with joyful heart,
ver. 1-3, is followed by the basis on which it rests, ver. 4-7:
the passover is the festival of Israel's deliverance, through their
Lord and God, from great trouble and deep misery. While the
first part points to what the Lord has done for Israel, the second
describes the .position which Israel ought to occupy towards
tlieir Lord: inasmuch as the Lord, who brought Israel out of
Egypt, is thus alone Israel's God, sufficient for all his necessities.
Israel ought therefore to serve him alone, and leave to the world
its imaginary deities, — a proposition, however, to which Israel,
alas, has not hitherto responded, — and hence the origin of all
his troubles, ver. 8-12. Would that he would now become obe-
1 Calvin: Let us leirn, whenever the anger of God burns forth, even in the
midst of the jlames of the conflagration to cast our griefs into the bosom of God,
R'ho wonderfully revives his church from destruction.

PSALM LXXXI. 19
dient to the Lord! the salvation of his kingdom would be the
consequence, ver. 13-16.
In ver. 1-5 the Psalmist speaks, as is manifest from the con
clusion of ver. 5, as the representative of the better self of the
church ; and in the 6th and following verses the speaker is the
Lord. But that this distinction, which has pommonly been a
great deal too much spoken of, is one of no moment, is evident
from the fact, that vers. 6 and 7 are nothing else than a con
tinuation of ver. 5, and from the conclusion, vers. 15 and 16,
where the address of the Lord^and the address of the Psalmist,
who speaks in the spirit of the Lord, are immediately linked
together. If we keep this in view, the formal arrangement of the Psalm
becomes easy and simple. The Psalm falls into two main divi
sions, an objective and a subjective one, which are even exter
nally separated from each other by a Selah, at the end of ver. 7.
The first, ver: 1—7, is completed in seven verses. This, as
usual, is divided into a three and a four. The second main divi
sion contains, in the first instance, only nine verses, and is di
vided by a five and a four. The defect of the conclusion, how
ever, is, as in the case in Ps. lxxvii., compensated by the title.
The arrangement, therefore, is exactly the same as that which
obtains universally in Psalms which contain 17 verses.
According to the title, "To the Chief Musician after the
manner of Gath (comp. at title of Ps. viii.) by Asaph," the
Psalm was composed by Asaph. We shewed already, at Ps.
lxxiv., that we must adhere to the Asaph who belonged to the
age of David, in all the Psalms which bear this name, except in
those cases in which the contents of the Psalm render this im
possible. In the present instance this is not the case. " The
contents," observes Koster, " are of a general character, and the
freshness of tone indicates the great age of the Psalm." The
verbal reasons which led Hitzig to assign it a very late date are
of no consequence. He refers to the loose FpliT i11 ver- 5, and
to the participle after -fa in ver. 13. But that the retention of
the ;-j of the Hiph. (Ew. § 284), is not at all characteristic of
the language of later times, is evident, among other passages,
from Ps. xiv. 17, and from 1 Sam. xxii. 47. These forms are
throughout poetical, and are altogether independent of time.
Poetry is fond of full and soporous expressions. It can never

20 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
be shewn that the position of the participle after y\> is charac
teristic of a later idiom, comp. 2 Sam. xviii. 12. In favour,
however, of the Asaph of David's time, we have to urge the pro
phetic character which our Psalm bears in common with the
other productions of this bard, the " seer," the prophet among
the Psalmists, Ps. 1., lxxiii., Ixxviii. (even Hitzig believed that
he heard in the warnings here the voice of the author of the
seventy-eighth Psalm), and lxxxii. To this we may add the
striking connection between ver. 8 here, and Ps, 1. 7.
Ver. 1-3. — Ver. 1. Sing aloua] to God, who is our strength,
make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob. Ver. 2. Raise the
song, and give the timbrel, the lovely guitar with the harp, Ver. 3.
Blow in the month the horn, at the full moon, on the day of our
feast. — The exhortation to praise God with all the might de
pends for its significance, as the second part of the strophe
shews, upon its pointing to the rich treasures of salvation which
he has imparted to his people.— On " our strength," comp. as a
commentary vers. 14, 15, and Ps. xlvi. 1. The Lord manifested
himself as the strength of his people on their deliverance from
Egypt. — In ver. 3 the instruments are introduced in regard to
tlieir tone : timbrel stands instead of sound of the timbrel.
Against the exposition " bring hither the timbrels," it may be
urged, that, according to the titleandverse 2d, those addressed are
called upon themselves to sing and to play. — In verse 3 the month.
is the first and the chief month of the year, the month in which
the passover occurred : comp. Ex. xii. 1.2: " And the Lord said
to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, This month shall be
to you the chief of months, it shall be the first month of the
year to you." " In the full moon" of the second clause, defines
exactly the time within the sacred month which belonged to the
festival. The general and special descriptions are connected
with each other exactly in the same way in Lev. xxiii. 5 : "In
the first month, on the 14th clay of the month, is the passover
to the Lord." In other passages throughout the law it is merely
the general description that occurs ; thus, Ex. xxxiv. 18 : " The
feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep, seven days shalt thou
eat unleavened bread, at the time of the month Abib" (comp.
on the passage the Beitr. iii. p. 361 ss. on Abib p. 364), Deui,
xvi. 1 : " Observe the month Abib, for in the month Abib the
Lord thy God brought thee out of Egypt : " comp. on the pas-

PSALM LXXXI. VER. 1 — 3. 2 L
sage the Beitr. p. 365. According to the common construction,
\ZHI7 signifies the new moon; throughout the Pentateuch, how
ever, it invariably signifies a month; and everywhere, even. in
the later scriptures, it retains this signification, with this differ
ence, that sometimes the month stands for the festival peculiar
to the month. And the following grounds are decisive the other
way. 1 . As it is undoubted that j-jp^ signifies full moon, we
have two festivals according to this view — a supposition very
unlikely in itself, and the more so that no inward connection
whatever is indicated between the new moon and the full moon
festival. 2. The contents of the Psalm shew that it was com
posed exclusively for use at the passover. The festival for which
it was set apart was, according to ver. 5, instituted at the de
parture from Egypt, and according to verses 6, 7, and 10, stands
in immediate reference to this deliverance; — that the new moon
of the month Abib was celebrated as a preparation for the pass-
over is altogether an arbitrary assumption. 3. The horn (not
at all the trumpets named in Num. x. 1 0) appears here only as
one among many instruments, while the sound of drums for the
new moons, and especially for the 7th of the month, was the
peculiar and characteristic ceremony. Such an amount of mu
sical power as is here desired was not suitable for this festival-
4. There is no doubt that our verse as supplementing the title
fixes the character of the Psalm. This, however, it cannot do,
^ tinn S1g'nify the new moon. In this case, in consequence of
the indefinite nature, " in the new moon," which demands ex
planation from what follows, we have our attention directed ex
clusively to " in the full moon ;" and are thus left to waver in
uncertainty, as the example of Gesenius shows, between the
full moon of the passover and of the feast of tabernacles.1 — The
idea of those who, after the example of Luther (in our festival
of booths), understand the feast of tabernacles, is confuted by
the preceding context. By this reference, it becomes altogether
impossible to understand the Psalm. The expression " on the
day of our feast" is also in favour of the passover. The pass-
over, which celebrates the fundamental deed of God on behalf
of his church, is' the feast : comp. the Christol. ii. p. 565. Beitr.
1 It is clear from Prov. vii. 20, and also from the Syr. (See Gesen.), that rtD3
denotes in general the full moon, and not at all, as has been supposed, specially
the feast of tabernacles.

22 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
iii. p. 80. The feast of tabernacles never has this name, net
even in 2 Chron. v. 3.— The correct interpretation of this verse
is destructive of the position taken upby Venema, that the Psalm
was composed for the celebration of the passover under Heze
kiah ; for this took place, according to 2 Chron. xxx. 2, contrary
to the usual custom, in the second month. The account of this
celebration, however, is so far of importance to ver. 1 — 3, as it
shows that, at that time, music and singing formed a very impor
tant part of the celebration of the passover: comp. 2 Chron, xxx.
21,22. Ver. 4-7.— Ver. 4. For it is a law for Israel, a right for the God
of Jacob. Ver. 5. Such a commandment he gave to Joseph, when he
brought him out over Egypt land, where I heard a language unknown
to me. Ver. 6. I removed from the burden his shoulder, his hands
were set free from the burden-baskets. Ver. 7. In the distress thou
didst call and I delivered thee. I heard thee in the thunder-cover. I
proved thee at the waters of strife. Selah. — In ver. 4, the law for
Israel and the right for the God of Jacob correspond. God, by the
deliverance which he has wrought out, has acquired a right to the
thanks of Israel, and it is Israel's duty, by rendering obedience to
the appointed law of the passover, to implement this right. Israel
does not celebrate the passover at his own hand, he only pays to
God what is his due, — a due demanded on the ground of mercies
bestowed. It is this that distinguishes every festival belonging to
the true religion from those connected with religions that are
false; the former depends throughout upon the foundation of
a salvation imparted by God, and assumes the character of a
right and a duty. The ^j-y refers to the festival in general.
The individual expressions of festive joy spoken of in ver. 1-3
had not been expressly commanded in the law. They are, how
ever, accidents which necessarily accompany the substance. — In
ver. 5-7, the deed is more particularly described on which the
right of God and the duty of Israel are founded. In reference to
miy a testimony, next a law, comp. at Ps. xix. 7, Ixxviii. 5.
Joseph occupies the place of Israel here, because, during the
whole period of the residence in the land of Egypt, the nation
owed everything to Joseph, " the crowned one among his
brethren," Gen. xlix. 26; their whole existence there was
founded on the services which Joseph had rendered to Egypt;
comp. Ex. i. 8, according to which, the oppression of Israel arose

PSALM LXXXI. VEli. 4 — 7. 23
from the new king, who did not know Joseph. It was only
during this period of his existence that Israel could bear the
name of Joseph; and it is altogether incorrect to generalize what
is founded singly and entirely on the special circumstances con
nected with that period. The passage before us has assuredly
nothing whatever to do with Ps. lxxvii, 15 and lxxx. 1. The
suffix in ifj^i refers to Joseph. " Out of Egypt" is the ex
pression which commonly occurs in the Pentateuch; comp. Ex.
xi. 41, "All the armies of the Lord went out from the land of
Egypt," ver. 51, Num. xxii. 5, Deut. ix. 7; particularly in con
nection with the feast of the passover, comp. Ex. xxxiv. 18,
" Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread, seven days
shalt thou eat unleavened bread as I have commanded thee at
the time of the month Abib, for in the month Abib thou ivent-
est out of Egypt." Here, however, the expression is "over
Egypt;" across, \y in the same sense in which it occurs in Job
xxix. 7, "When I went out to the gate over or, across the city."
This over is more expressive than out of. The marching out
appears all the more glorious, inasmuch as the marching ex
tended over the whole country, across Egypt. Num. xxxiii. 4
supplies the commentary : — " The children of Israel went out
with a high hand before all the Egyptians;" comp. Ex. xiv. 8.1
Many expositors have suffered themselves to be led astray by
the^. They translate: when he (the Lord) went forth against
the land of Egypt, with reference to Ex. xi. 4, "About mid
night I go out in the land of Egypt." Against this,, however,
we may urge, besides the manifest reference to the passage from
the Pentateuch above referred to, the obviously corresponding
expression, " who led thee out of the land of Egypt," in ver. 11.
There is nexf added very suitably, according to the first-men
tioned rendering, " where I heard a language unknown to me,"
an expression which denotes more exactly the oppressive nature
of their previous condition, and the unspeakable benefit arising
from their deliverance; comp. Ps. cxiv. 1, " When Israel went
out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from the people of strange
language." Finally, in the continuation in ver. 6 and 7, the
language refers entirely to the deliverance out of Egypt,. and
' Calvin : The people, led on by God, traversed freely the whole land of Egypt,
a passage having been afforded them in consequence of the broken and terrified
state of the inhabitants,

24 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
not at all to the destruction of the first-born of the Egyptians,
to which there is : nowhere else one single reference throughout
the whole Psalm. The last words of the verse indicate, as has
been already observed, what it was that rendered the departure
of the Israel so very desirable. To dwell in the midst of a people
of strange language, to' serve a people from whom they were in
wardly in a state of utter estrangement, must have been very
painful and oppressive. The subject is Israel represented by
the Psalmist. We cannot translate, " a language of such a one
whom," "but a language (of the kind that) I did not under
stand," " a language of unintelligibility for me; "comp. Bottcher,
proben p. 51. Many expositors translate: the voice of one un
known to me (aiGod whom I till that time did not know), I
heard then in Egypt, or I hear now, the oracle referred to in
ver. 6-16. But a comparison of the parallel passages, Ps. cxiv.
1, which is particularly decisive, Deut. xxviii. 49, "The Lord
will bring upon thee a people from afar, .... a people whose
language thou dost net understand," Is. xxxiii. 19, and Ju. v.
15, leaves no doubt whatever as to the correctness of the interr
pretation given above. Farther, the description of the miserable
condition in which Israel existed in the land of Egypt is con
tinued in ver. . 6 and 7. To the unknown language here, corres
ponds the burden, the burden-basket there; and to the marching
out here the rescuing, the delivering there. .Then the designa
tion of Jehovah as one unknown, for the whole people, or for
the individual to whom a revelation begins, is destitute of all
real foundation and analogy. Finally, this translation, which
proceeds from an entire misapprehension of the whole train of
thought, must be rejected on etymological grounds. i-fCty
never signifies a particular discourse, but a way of speaking, a
language; comp. Bottcher.— As the difference in regard to the
speaker (in ver. 6 and 7 it is the Lord that speaks, while pre
vious to this the Psalmist, or Israel represented by him, had
spoken in the name and spirit of the Lord), is one merely of
form, and as, in reality, verses 6 and 7 merely continue the
train of thought of ver. 5 (when the Lord removed, or, then the
Lord removed), it is altogether inappropriate, by marks of quo
tation, to favour the idea of the beginning of a new address.
Such a change as to speakers requires very little attention to be
paid to it, especially in the Psalms of Asaph, as they are of

PSALM LXXXI. VER. 4 — 7. 25
a highly poetical character. At the first clause of ver. 6, comp.
Ex. vi. 6, 7, " I the Lord bring you out from under the burden
of the Egyptians." The basket Ty-j is, according to the paral
lelism, the burden-basket. Baskets of this kind were found in
the sepulchral vaults which have been opened in Thebes, of
which Rosellini first furnished drawings and descriptions: the
Israelites used them for carrying from one place to another the
clay and manufactured bricks: comp. Egypt and the Books of
Moses p. 79, fee.1- — On " I heard thee in the thunder-cover," in
ver. 7, comp. Hab. iii. 4, " And there (in the lightning-flash
which surrounds the Lord at his appearance) was the hiding of
his power." As in that passage God is concealed in the light
ning-flash (comp. Delitzsch), so is he here in the thunder, i.e.,
the thunder-cloud, "the darkness," Ex. xx. 18, the storm.
There is no need for assuming that the Psalmist alludes, spe
cially and exclusively, to Ex. xiv. 24, according to which, while
the Egyptians were passing through the sea, the Lord looked
upon their chariots from the pillar of fire and cloud, and thus
completed the deliverance of the Israelites. It is a common
figure of poetry to represent the Lord as riding forth in a storm,
mighty against his enemies, and on behalf of his people; comp.
Ps. lxxvii. 16-18; Ps. xviii. 11: — and hence the Psalmist has
assuredly before his eyes the whole series of Egyptian plagues.
At the last clause, I proved thee at the water of Meribah, Luther
says correctly: " He makes mention of the waters of strife in
order that he may remind them of their sins." The words do
not properly belong to the train of thought in the preceding-
context, which is occupied only with the salvation of God. They
look in the first instance very like the expression of an idea
which had started up uncalled-for. This apparently arbitrary
reference to Israel's unfaithfulness and ingratitude prepares the
way, however, for the following exhortation and complaint, and
thus forms the connecting link between the. first and second
portions of the Psalm. The proving at the waters of strife, Ex.
xvii. 1, &c, (comp. on the relation which this narrative bears
to that at Num. xx. 1, &c, the Beitr. iii. p. 378, &c.) is spe-
1 Calvin: " We may now apply the subject to ourselves: inasmuch as God has
not only removed our shoulders from burdens of bricks, and our hands from kilns,
but has redeemed us from the tyranny of Satan, and brought us up from perdition,
we are laid under much more solemn obligations than were the ancient people." .

26 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
cially referred to, because it was here that the first proper act
of rebellion took place on the part of the people who had only a
short while ago beheld the glorious deeds of the Lord — the first
manifestation of his real nature. The proving comes into notice
here in reference to the well-known result by which it was fol
lowed. Ver. 8-12.— Ver. 8. Hear my people, and let me swear solemnly
to thee, 0 Israel, if thou hearkenest unto me. Ver. 9. Let there
not be among thee another God; and thou, shalt not worship a
God of the strangers. Ver. 10. I am the Lord thy God who have
brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, I
will fill it. Ver. 11. But my people does not listen to my voice,
and Israel will not be mine. Ver. 12. So I have given them over
to the wickedness of their heart, they walk in their own counsels.
—On ver. 8, comp. Ps. 1. 7. On "my people," Luther says:
" You are my people, I have preserved, nourished, and redeemed
thee; therefore listen to me." As q^ is never a particle ex
pressive of desire, it is necessary to supply: it will be well with
thee, or something similar, — a construction rendered also pro
bable by comparing ver. 13. Similar ellipses occur in Ex. xxxii.
32, Ps. xxvii. 17 (comp. at the passage), Luke xix. 42; xix. 9
(see Koenohl on the passages). — Ver. 9 and 10 depend on Ex
xx. 2, 3. It has been very unjustifiably maintained that the
first commandment stands instead of the whole decalogue.
This would deprive the thought of all point. It was only their
fathers' God, their country's God, that had manifested himself
in the past as Israel's Redeemer (comp. Deut. xxxii. 12, "the
Lord alone did lead him, and there was not with him one God
of the stranger"), and thus he is still rich in help for them;
therefore they should even now serve this one God only. — Ver.
10 is in reality connected with ver. 9 by a " Because." The
expression, " who led thee out of the land of Egypt" is literally
from Deut. xx. 1. The words, " Open thy mouth wide, I will fill
it," are equivalent to " I am rich for all thy necessities, even for
thy boldest wishes," as is evident from their development in ver.
14-16. — In ver.ll, 12, theLord complains that Israel hadhither-
to, to their own loss, failed to respond to the exhortations ad
dressed to them in ver. 8 — 10, notwithstanding the solid founda
tion on which these rested in their deliverance. Comp. Prov. i.
30, 31, "They would have none of my counsel, they despised all my

PSALM LXXXI. VER. ] 3 — 1 6. 27
censures: therefore they eat the fruit of their way and shall be sa
tisfied with their own counsels." At ver. 1 1 , Luther says : " It is
something dreadful and terrible that he says my people Israel.
If it had been a stranger to whom I had manifested no particular
deeds of kindness, &c." Allusion is made to Deut. xiii. 9, where
it is said, in reference to him who should entice Israel to serve
strange gods: " thou shalt not consent unto him nor hearken unto
him." Israel had singularly and shamefully reversed the mat
ter: they had lent their ear to the enticer and renounced their
own God. The preterites denote the past stretching forward into
the present. — At ver. 12, Gods lets every one take his own way ;
the stiff-necked Israelites who would not have his truth and good
ness, shall be given over to error and wickedness, to their own
destruction; comp. Rom. i. 24, 2 Thess. ii. 10, 11. The ^
niT'Tiy' Cn°t hardness but wickedness of heart) is here and
everywhere else where it occurs, Jer. iii. 17, vii. 24, taken from
Deut. xxix. 19. To walk in their own counsels is to regulate the
life according to them, according to the passions of their own
corrupted hearts instead of the commandments of the holy God:
comp. Jer. vii. 24, Is, lxv. 2 : " a rebellious people who walk in
a way that is not good, after their own thoughts."
Ver. 13-16. Arnd. : "The blessed God in his great fatherly
love and faithfulness cannot leave them, he must repeat his
promise and call men again to him by the offer of his gracious
deeds." — Ver. 13. If only my people did hear me, and Israel
walked in my way. Ver. 14. J tuould soon bring down their
enemies and turn my hand upon their adversaries. Ver. 15.
The haters of theLord would feign submission to him, and their
time would continue for ever. Ver. 16. He would feed them with
the fat of the wheat, and out of the rock would I satisfy thee with
honey. — The -fa, ver. 13, denotes the condition notwithstanding
the consciousness that it is not realized : if my people heard,
which they do not : comp. Ewald, § 627, Is. xlviii. 18. The ways
of the Lord form the contrast to their own stupid and ruinous
plans, ver. 12. — The phrase " to turn the hand upon," ver. 14,
is, when taken by itself, an indefinite one, to turn it to the
object of action or operation : comp. the Christol. ii. p. 338.
Here, according to the connection, it is the punishing hand ; and
to turn it back denotes the speedy oyerpowering of the enemies,
— as formerly in the days of old, ver. 6 and 7 : comp. particu-

28 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
larly there miSD-- The first *ha*lf of ver' ' 5 <iePends on Deut-
xxxiii. 29: "thy enemies shall feign to thee" (comp. at Ps.
xviii, 44). The allusion to this passage shews that the y\> is to
be referred to Israel, and accounts for the singular. On " the
haters of the Lord," Luther : " Thou shouldst not think that I
am favourable to them, for they are my enemies also. But they
are too strong for thee, and gain the upper hand because thou
hast forsaken me. Had it not been for this, matters would
have been very different. It is not the enemies that plague
thee ; it is I : mine hand it is that oppresses thee when thine
enemies oppress thee." It was the design to give great pro
minence to the thought so comforting for Israel, and so well
fitted to lead them to reconciliation with God, that their ene
mies are also the enemies of God, which led to the expression,
" the haters of the Lord," instead of " my haters." The use of
the third person in the first clause of ver. 1 6 is connected with
this. But towards the conclusion, the usual form is resumed.
On the second clause, comp. 2 Sam. vii. 24. The ]-£7' signifies
always time, never fortune.— On ver. 16, Luther: "For there
are two things of which we stand in need, nourishment and pro
tection. Therefore, God now says, that if they turn to him, he
will not only be their man of war to fight for them, but also
tlieir husbandman : so that those who fear him and trust in
him shall want nothing that pertains to this life." The first
clause is from Deut. xxxii. 14 (the fat of ihe wheat is instead
of the best of the wheat), the second clause from Deut. xxxii. 13,
" and he caused Israel to suck honey from the rock, oil from the
flinty rock." That the honey from the rock is not at all what
several very prosaicly have supposed, the honey which the bees
had prepared in the crevices of the rocks, but something alto
gether unusual and supernatural (out of the hard barren rock) is
evident from the parallel clause in Deut., oil from the flinty rock,
and also from the passage, Job xxix. 6, which in like manner
alludes to the passage inDeut. : "When I bathed my feet in milk,
and the hard rock was changed for me into streams of oil."
PSALM LXXXII.
God appears in the midst of his church for judgment upon the
gods of the earth, the judges who bear his image, ver. 1 : pun-

PSALM LXXXII. 29
ishes them on account of their violation of justice, and exorts
them to a better conduct, ver. 2-4. Still they persevere in their
want of understanding, in their walk in darkness, and every
thing is in confusion, ver. 5. The definite sentence is therefore
passed upon them, intimation of their destruction is made to them,
ver. 6 and 7. In conclusion, the Psalmist expresses in ver. 8
his desire for the appearance of the Lord to judgment.
The formal arrangement is very simple. The main division is
complete in seven, which is again divided into a four and a three,
the preceding judgment, and the final decision. To the main
division, which is throughout of a prophetical character, there is
appended a lyrical conclusion, in which the Psalmist expresses
his wish for that which he had already announced as just im
pending. The question arises, whether the wicked rulers against whom
the Psalm is directed are internal or external. The last view is
the one generally entertained. The Psalm is considered as di
rected " against the potentates of Asia about the time of the
captivity ;" " the miserable, the poor," &c. are viewed as the Is
raelites. But the only argument in favour of this view depends
upon a false interpretation of ver. 5 and 8 ; and there are nu
merous and decisive reasons in favour of the reference to inter
nal relations. Just at the very beginning God appears for judg
ment in the " congregation of God," and there calls to account
the wicked judges who must therefore belong to it. The name ¦
Elohim and sons of God which is given to them, is never used in
the Old Testament of heathen magistrates. It presupposes the
kingdom of God. When there is no king there can be no vice-
king. Besides, in ver. 6, in reference to this title of honour, al
lusion is made to expressions in the Pentateuch which are applied
exclusively to Israelitish rulers. In reference to heathen rulers,
it is matter of great difficulty that those in the Psalms are ac
cused of nothing else than faulty administration of justice, par
tiality in favour of the wicked, the denial of the rights of the
poor, and so on. The sins of the heathen judges lay entirely in
another direction. And on the other hand, these very charges
are brought forward in many passages against the Israelitish
rulers, for example, Is. iii. 13-15, a passage nearly related to our
Psalm, and which may serve as a commentary to it : " The Lord
standeth up to plead, and the Lord standeth to judge the peo-

30 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
pie : the Lord will enter into judgment with the ancients of his
people and the princes thereof; for ye have eaten up the vine
yard, the spoil of the poor is in your houses," Ch. i. 1 7 24. Mich
iii. 1-4. Jer. xxii. ] , &c. If we compare carefully these pas
sages and likewise the passages in the Pentateuch, in which the
Israelitish rulers are told their duties, such as Deut. i. 17, and
also the address of Jehoshaphat to the rulers sent forth by him,
it will not be possible with a good conscience to adopt the hypo
thesis of heathen rulers.
These passages, and also the fundamental passages of the
Pentateuch, are decisive against those who would refer the Psalm
exclusively, or only especially, to kings. It has to do with the
judges of the people, and with kings, if at all, only in so far as
they are judges. If the Psalm was composed in the time of
David, in favour of which supposition may be pleaded the pro
phetic tone peculiar to the Asaph of that period, and against
which no tenable ground can be advanced, (even Hitzig must
allow that there is no allusion of any kind, no late form or con
necting particle, no term which could be pronounced as being
decidedly of later origin to betray an author belonging to a later
age,) the Psalmist could not, in the first instance, assuredly have
referred to the king, — a view which is confirmed by the express
mention of " the princes," in ver. 7, as compared with " the an
cients of his people and the princes thereof," in Is. iii. Still
though the Psalm was in the first instance called forth by exist
ing relations, yet being destined for all ages, it undoubtedly ad
mits of being applied to kings in the discharge of their duty as
judges, in so far as they are guilty of that perversion of right
here imputed to them: comp, Jer. xxii. 1. ss.
The following remarks are designed to lead to a deeper insight
into the meaning of the Psalm. Nothing can be more unground
ed than the assertion which in modern times has been repeatedly
made, that the God of the Old Testament is a being altogether
strange to the finite subject. The Old Testament opposes this
view at its very opening, with its doctrine of the creation of
man after the image of God. With this doctrine in its com
mencement, it cannot possibly teach in any other part that there
is an absolute opposition between God and man. Besides, in
the Law of Moses, all those whose office it is to command, to
judge, and to arbitrate, all those to whom in any respect rever-

PSALM LXXXII. 31
ence and regard is due, are set apart as the representatives of
God on earth. The foundation of this is found in the command
ment, " honour thy father and mother," in the Decalogue. It
was shewn in the Beitr. P. iii. p. 605, that this commandment
belongs to the first table, — thou shalt fear and honour God, first
in himself, second in those who represent him on earth, — and far
ther, that the parents are named in it only in an individualising-
manner, as representatives of all who are possessed of worth, and
are worthy of esteem. The direction in Lev. xix. 32, rises on
the foundation of this commandment, where respect for the aged
appears as the immediate consequence of respect for God, whoso
eternity was designed to be revered and honoured under the
emblem of their old age ; also Ex. xxii. 27, according to which
we are taught to recognise in governors a reflection of the ma
jesty of God : " thou shalt not revile God, nor curse the ruler of
thy people," i. e., thou shalt not curse thy ruler (or in any other
way dishonour him), for he bears the image of God, and every
insult offered to such a representative of God in his kingdom is
an insult against God, in him God himself is honoured and re
vered : comp. I Chron. xxix. 23, " and Solomon sat upon the
throne of Jehovah.** But it was in connection with the office of
judge that the stamp of divinity was most conspicuous, inasmuch
as that office led the people under the foreground of an humble
earthly tribunal to contemplate the back ground of a lofjfcy di
vine judgment : " the judgment is God's," Deut. i. 17, whoever
comes before it, comes before God, Ex. xxi. 6 ; xxii. 7, 8.
The position assigned to the office of judge must, when pro
perly considered, have exerted a practical influence of a twofold
character. It must have filled those who were brought before
its tribunal with a sacred reverence for an authority which main
tained its right upon earth in the name of God. And on the
part of the judges themselves it must have led them to take a
lofty view of their calling, it must have called forth earnest
efforts to practise the virtues of him whose place they occupied,
him " who does not favour princes, and makes no distinction be
tween rich and poor, for they are the work of his hands," Job
xxxiv. 19, and it must have awakened a holy fear of becoming
liable to his judgment. For there could be no doubt that as
they judged in God's stead, the heavenly Judge would not suffer
them to go unpunished should they misuse tlieir office, but would

32 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
in that case come forth from his place, and utter his thundering
cry, " How long !" This last idea is expressly brought forward
in the law. In Deut. i. 17, solemn admonitions are addressed
to judges, grounded on the lofty position assigned to their office.
Comp. 2 Chron. xix. 6, 7, where Jehoshaphat, with still greater
copiousness of detail, addresses the following admonitions to the
judges whom he commissioned :— " Take heed what ye do, for
ye judge not for man but for God, who is with you in the judg
ment : wherefore now let the fear of the Lord be upon you, take
heed and do it, for there is no iniquity with the Lord our God,
nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts."
The Psalm has no reference to the depth of human sinfulness
except in so far as the judges lost sight of the above view, set
before their minds rather the rights than the duties of their ex
alted station, and abused for the gratification of their pride what
should have produced in them fear and trembling. The name
Elohim, which should have continually reminded them of their
heavenly Judge, served them as a shield for their own unrighte
ousness. They held it up in the face of all complaints and ob
jections. Every man who did not go in with their unrighteous
ness, they branded as a rebel against God. The Psalmist raises
his protest against this melancholy perversity. He shews the
wicked judges what it was that they really had to do with the
title Elohim. Asaph the seer lets them see, what the eye of
flesh did not see, God, God among the gods, and brings him out
to their dismay from his place of concealment.
There is a deviation so far from the language of the law of
Moses, that there the name of Elohim is applied only in general
to the bench of judges as representing God, and here, in the ex
pression, " in the midst of the gods he judges," it is applied to
individual judges. This difference, however, which has frequently
been misused in favour of completely untenable expositions, is
so far from being of any importance, that even in the Penta
teuch an individual person, although not a judge, if represent
ing God, is dignified with the name Elohim. Moses, in Ex. iv.
1 6, as the representative of God for Aaron, is called his god ;
and in like manner a god to Pharaoh, ch. vii. 1 : comp. Baum-
garten on the passages.
Luther, after giving a picture of the wickedness and profligacy
of the great men of his time, remarks : " There existed also

PSALM LXXXII. 33
among the Jewish people youths of this character, who kept con
tinually in their mouths the saying of Moses in Ex. xxii. 9. They
employed this saying as a cloak and shield for their wickedness,
against the preachers and the prophets ; and gave themselves
great airs while they said : Wilt thou punish us and instruct us ?
Dost thou not know that Moses calls us gods ? Thou art a rebel,
thou speakest against the ordinance of God, thou preachest to
the detriment of our honour. Now the prophet acknowledges
and does not deny that they are gods, he will not be rebellious,
or weaken their honour or authority, like the disobedient and
rebellious people, or like the mad saints who make heretics and
enthusiasts, but he draws a proper distinction between their
power and the power of God. He allows that they are gods
over men, but not over God himself. It is as if he said : It is
true you are gods over us all, but not over him who is the God
of us all. From this we see in what a high and glorious position
God intends to maintain the office of the magistracy. For who
will set himself against those on whom God bestows his own
name ? Whoever despises them, despises at the same time the
true Magistrate, God, who speaks and judges in them and
through them, and calls then- judgment his judgment. The
Apostle Paul, Rom. xiii. 2, points out the consequences of this ;
and experience amply confirms his statement. But again, just
as on the one hand he restrains the discontent of the populace,
and brings them, on account of it, under the sword and under
law, so does he, on the other hand, restrain the magistracy, that
it shall not abuse such majesty and power for wickedness, but
employ it in the promotion and maintenance of peace. But yet
only so far, that he will not permit the people to lift up their
arm against it, or to seize the sword for the purpose of punishing
andjudgingit. No, that they shall not do; Godhas not commanded
it. He himself, God, will punish wicked magistrates, he will be
judge and, master over them, he will get at them better than any
one else could, as he has done from the beginning of the world."

Ver. 1-4. — Ver. 1. A Psalm of Asaph. God stands in the
congregation of God, in the midst of the gods he judges. Ver. 2.
" How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of ihe
wicked ? Selah. Ver. 3. Judge the poor and the fatherless, give
their rights to the poor and needy. Ver. 4. Deliverthej^oor and
VOL. III.

34 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
the needy, rid them out of the hand of the wicked."— The fiftieth
Psalm, which was also composed by Asaph, begins, like the one
now before us, with an appearance of God for judgment. The
name Elohim, not Jehovah, designedly occurs in the first clause
of ver. 1, because the judges also had been designated by this
name : God judges the gods. The 3.22 is> " he is Placed." " lle
comes forward," as in Is. iii. 13. The sphere of the judging is
described in general terms in the first clause, and is more par
ticularly defined in the second. The general description refers
to the ground of this special judging act on the part of God .
because Israel is his people, among whom he can suffer no un
righteousness, no abuse of an office which bears his name, he
must judge his degenerate office-bearers.1 mrP Hl^' the con
gregation of Jehovah, ^"111^ my> the congregation of Israel
(for example Ps. lxxiv. 2), myn, the congregation, are stand
ing expressions for the people of God. The Psalmist places ^
instead of the Jehovah of the first expression, for the sake of the
allusion to the second, and also because ^ is more allied to
QV1^>N- Several deny the reference to Israel, and translate
either : in the assembly of God, the assembly which God ap
points, or that over which he presides, or : in the divine college
of judges. But fny never signifies an assembly or a college, but
always a community, a congregation. By Elohim several would
understand the sons of God, the angels : God holds a judgment
(upon the judges) in the midst of his heavenly court. But in
this way the fundamental thought of the Psalm which seems
placed at its head in marked antithetic expressions, God judges
the gods, is destroyed ; Elohim is never used for angels, (comp.
at Ps. viii. 5, Gesen. on the word,) and there is no reason why
it should be so used here, the same appellation applied to God
and to the angels manifestly leading to confusion ; it is impos
sible to tell in this case who is judged, or to whom the address
in ver. 4-6 is directed ; and finally, ver. 6, where the judges are
called gods, cannot possibly be separated from the words " in
the midst of the gods." The judging refers, in the first instance,
1 Luther : Be stands in his .congregation, for the congregation is his own. This
is a terrible word of threatening against these wicked gods or magistrates. For
they must here understand that they are not placed over stocks and stones, nor
over swine and dogs, but over the congregation of God : they must therefore be
afraid of acting against God himself when.tliey act unjustly.

PSALM LXXXII. VER. 5 — 7. 35 ,
to the sharp accusation of ver. 2-4. Still in these cases where
this is not attended to,1 it is completed in the definite sentence of
death contained in ver. 6 and 7. — Ver. 2 depends on Lev. xix.
15 : Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, thou shalt not
respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the
mighty, but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour :
comp. Deut. i. 17: Ye shall not respect persons in judgment.
The yyy stands here in some measure as an adverb, exactly as
DvWft in Ps- I"*7111- 1 : comp. at the passage. Gesenius in his
Thesaurus has proved, in a thorough discussion which in fact
exhausts the subject, that the phrase q^q j^yi signifies, not
" to lift up the face of any one," " to make him lift it up," but
" to regard the face of any one," " to respect his person," " to-
be inclined towards him," " to favour him." The Selah stand
ing here, as in Ps. iv. 4, between the prohibition and the com
mand, leaves time to lay the first to heart. — The- judging in ver.
3 denotes the opposite of not taking up their case, of sending
them away unheard: comp. Is. i. 17: judge the fatherless, plead
for the widow. The poor, — comp. Ex. xxiii. 3. The fatherless
— comp. Ex. xxii. 21. Luther : " Every prince should get these
three verses, yea the whole Psalm, painted upon the walls of his
room, upon his bed, over his table, and even upon his clothes.
For here they will find what high, princely, noble virtue their
situation demands ; so that assuredly worldly supremacy, next
to the office of the ministry, is the highest service of God, and
the most profitable duty upon earth'."
Ver. 5-7. — Ver. 5. They know not and understand not, in
darkness they walk on, all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
Ver. 6. I have said : Te a/re gods and sons of the Most High all
of you. Ver. 7. But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the
princes. — At ver. 5 we must supply : " as they have hitherto
done ; the divine reprehension and punishment have produced
no good effects." As God continues to^ speak in ver. 6 and 7,
we must conceive of this complaint in regard to the inefficacy of
what he had hitherto announced, as proceeding from him. At
" they know not and understand raiot," we are to supply the ob
ject from the context, afe in all similar cases (comp. at Ps. xiv.
1 Mich. ; Such is the great benignity and patience of the Supreme Judge, that
before pronouncing sentence he addresses to the criminal's before his bar a serious
admonition, with a view of bringing them, if possible, to a sound Btate of mind.

36; .' THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
3), viz., the sacred duties of their office, which had been incul
cated upon them in- ver. 2-4. Comp. Mich. iii. 2. "Is it not for
you to know judgment ?" The darkness indicates moral bewil
derment, comp. Prov. ii. 13: "They forsake the ways of up
rightness, and walk in the ways of darkness." At the last clause
we are by no means to supply therefore : the clause stands in
the same relation as the other clauses to the criminality ot the
judges : everything is ruined by them,— they ruin everything.
There is an implied comparison: everything in the land is tossed
upside down as in an earthquake. It is only in the comparison,
and not in the reality, that the reference to the earth lies.— In
the final judgment pronounced by God, ver. 6 and 7, the ele
vated station of judges is first acknowledged, on which they
grounded their assertion that they were invested with absolute
power, ver. 4, and then it is affirmed that this station by no
means frees them from responsibility, or affords them any pro
tection against that merited punishment which was just about
immediately to befall them. The but in ver. 7 supposes an
indeed understood in ver. 6.1 I have said refers to certain
generally well-known expressions in which the magistracy,
and in particular the judicial office, is designated by the name
Elohim, — the passages already quoted of the Mosaic law1. The
Elohim might here in itself be taken in the singular: ye are God,
bearers of his image, as Gousset and others expound. But ver. 1
renders it necessary to translate: ye are gods. Our Saviour in
terprets the passage in this way in Jo. x. 35. Along with the
fundamental passages to which it refers, and on which it cer
tainly forms an advance, in so far as the name Elohim is applied
to individuals, t*he passage before us is strikingly adapted to
give a blow to that rigid dualism of God and man, in which the
Pharisaic opposition to the God-man is rooted. The second ap
pellation, " Sons of the Highest," indicates the intimate charac
ter of the relation in which earthly judges stand to the Judge in
heaven. It was shown at Ps. ii. 7, that it is in this sense that
the sonship of God is spoken of everywhere throughout the Old
Testament. Luther: " It may well * make one wonder that he
calls such wicked individuals as those whom he here rebukes so.
1 Calvin : A concession in which the prophet shews the wicked judges, that they
will derive no protection from that sacred character with which God has invested
them. I acknowledge that you are God, &c.

PSALM LXXXII. VER. 5 — 7. "37
sharply, by the name of sons of God or sons of the Highest, since
children of God is an appellation which in Scripture is applied
to holy believers. Answer: It is just as great a wonder that he
should bestow upon such wicked people his own name; yea, it is
rather a greater wonder that he should call them gods. But it
all lies in the word: I have said. For we have often remarked that
the word of God sanctifies and deifies all things to which it is
applied. Wherefore we may call such situations as have had im
pressed upon them the word of God, in every respect holy divin«
conditions, although the persons are not holy. Just as father,
mother, preacher, minister, &c, are in every respect holy divine
situations, although the persons who are in them may be knaves
and rogues. Thus, inasmuch as God stamps the office of magistry
with his word, magistrates are correctly called gods, and the chil
dren of God, on account of their divine condition, and the word
of God, although they are really vile knaves, as he complains that
they are." — The 7th verse does not at all refer in general to mor
tality and death,— a reference which acquired proper force and
significance only in New Testament times, when " and after that
the judgment," was brought clearly out as standing in immediate
connection. The idea meant to be conveyed is, in accordance
with the Old Testament practice throughout, and especially that
of the Psalms in similar cases, a threatening of violent death, of
a cutting off in the niidst of .the days: comp. the heathen saying:
adgenerum Cereris sine caede et. sanguine paucidescendunt reges
et sicca morte tyranni. This is evident from "ye shall fall" of
the second clause (7*33 is always used of a violent death, Ps.
xci. 7; Ex. xix. 21; Jer. viii. 12, and in the full form, " to fall
by the sword," in Jer. xxxix. 18, and in other passages), by
which the general expression of the first clause, " ye shall die,"
which is accompanied only by the words " like men," is rendered
definite. The expression, " like men," " after the manner of
nien" (comp. at Ps. xvii.), intimates to the gods of the earth,
who fancied themselves to be above all other men, that as far
as death is concerned, they are subject to the general lot of hu
manity. The expression, " as one of the princes" (comp. 1 Kings
xxii. 13; xix. 2; Obed. ver. 11), reminds them of the numerous
examples in early times of similar dignitaries who were removed
by the judgment of God. The connection shows that it is fallen
princes that are meant. Any further reference (several exposi-

38 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
tors suppose that heathen princes are meant, who are not even
once particularly alluded to, others warriors, — not to speak of
still more arbitrary ideas) is altogether unknown to the context,
is in no respect called for, and indeed is of no use whatever.
The prophetic denunciation of the judgment of God is follow
ed, in ver. 8, by an expression of earnest desire for its accomplish
ment. — Lift up thyself, 0 God, judge the earth, for thou art Lord
.over all the nations. — The wish of the Psalmist, or of the church,
in whose name he speaks, refers, in the first instance, to Israel;
yet, as the special exercise of judgment on the part of God is
only an instance of what is general, the Psalmist calls upon him
to appear to judge tbe world: comp. at Ps. vii. 7, 8; lvi. 7; lix.
5. The Lord appears also, in the parallel passage, Is. iii. 13, to
judge the nations. The call made upon God to judge the earth
is based upon the fact, that all its nations are subject to him,
and responsible to him, no less than Israel, the peculiar n^PO
of the Lord, and, therefore, the immediate object of his judg
ment, ^pu with the accusative is, " to possess," and with
^ " to have a possession:" comp. Numb, xviii. 20; Deut. xix. 14;
Num. xxxiv. 29. (Bottcher is wrong, Proben. p. 184.)

PSALM LXXXIII.
The short prayer that God would help, ver. 1, is followed, in
ver. 2-8, by a representation of the trouble which occasions the
prayer: first, in ver. 2—4, the doings of the enemies, — they roar,
they take crafty counsel, they aim at nothing less than the entire
destruction of Israel; — second, their number, in ver. 5-8, — no
fewer than ten nations assembled around Ammon and Moab as
the centre-point, are united against Israel. The representation
of the distress is followed, in ver. 9-18, by the developed prayer.
This prayer first reminds God of the wonderful assistance which,
in similar circumstances, he had vouchsafed to his people in the
days of old, ver. 9-12; next it calls upon him to let loose the
storm and the tempest of his wrath upon the enemies, ver. 13-
15, and finally, by the destruction of the enemies, to promote
his own glory upon the earth, ver. 16-18.
The formal arrangement admits of being ascertained with ease
and certainty. If we cut off the title and the preliminary prayer

PSALM LXXXIII. 39
in ver. 1, whicli in reality belongs to it, we have two main divi
sions, which are also externally separated by the Selah, viz., the
representation of the trouble, ver. 2-8, and the prayer, ver. 9-16.
The seven of the first is divided into a three and a four, the
quality of the enemies, and their quantity; the ten of the second
by a seven, which again falls into a four and a three (the re
versed relation of the three and the four of the first half) and a
three. The ten hostile nations, in ver. 5-7, correspond to the
number ten of the verses of the second half: there are as many
verses of petitions as there are enemies; while the number of
individual petitions of this half is complete in twelve, the sig
nature of the people of the covenant. This number ten of the
nations is divided exactly in the same way as the verses: 4, 3,
3. In like manner, the number seven of the names of the ene
mies of the times of old, who were annihilated by the omnipo
tence of God, at the beginning of the second part, ver. 9-11,
corresponds to the number seven of the verses of the first half,
which speaks of the rage and the crowd of the enemies. Acci
dent here cannot possibly exist.
There is no room for doubt as to the historical occasion of the
Psalm. It refers to the war of Jehoshaphat against the allied
Edomites, Moabites, Ammonites, and other nations, and forms
the earliest as to subject of a series of cognate Psalms. While it
makes mention of the help of God in themidst of danger, the forty-
seventh Psalm was sung, after the discomfiture of the enemy, on
the field of battle, and the forty-eighth at the thanksgiving service
in the temple. The following reasons may be urged in favour of this
view, — a view which has been taken by all commentators, except
those who have been prevented from arriving at the truth by
some prejudice, such as that all the Psalms of Asaph were com
posed in David's time, or that the narrative at 2 Chron. xx. is
not historically correct. 1. Here;, as on that occasion, it is the
same nations, upon the whole, that meet us. The Edomites, the
Moabites, and the Ammonites, whom alone the author of Chro
nicles expressly names, are not onlymentioned in this Psalm, but
are also introduced as those with whom the whole enterprise ori
ginated. The others are grouped around these three; and at the
conclusion, the sons of Lot are expressly named as the instigators.
Even the narrative in Chronicles decidedly indicated that these
three were named merely as the centre of the undertaking, and

40 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
that there were others concerned of less note, the mention of
whom was not a matter of such consequence to the historian as
it was to the Psalmist whose object was promoted by a heaping
up of names. Not to mention that, according to Chronicles, the
enemy formed such a mass that Israel had no strength to resist
them, that the quantity of plunder indicated an enemy from a
far country, who had set out, bag and baggage, it is expressly said,
in ver. 1, "and with them others who dwelt remote from the
Ammonites, beyond them," (comp. on Qiilft^rTO Gler. and the
annot.) and in ver. 2, " they told Jehoshaphat saying, There
cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea, be
yond Aram" (not out of Aram, for there is no copula), out of
the country east of that stripe which is bounded on the north by
Syria, and on the south by the Dead Sea, therefore, from the de
serts of Arabia, whose hordes had in former times, made Palestine
the object of their marauding assaults. 2. The union and con
federacy of all the nations mentioned, ver. 3 and 5, is of great
consequence. Such a confederacy of nations took place only at
one period during the whole history, viz., in the time of Jehosha
phat. The remark of Koester, who finds it necessary to consi
der the confederacy of the nations as not a historical event,
" they plunder us as if they had preconcerted a plan," shows to
what arbitrary expedient those are obliged to have recourse who
do not adopt the reference to this transaction. 3. According to
ver. 4, the enemies kept their plans secret, and employed cun
ning preparatory to force. It is exactly in accordance with this,
that, from 2 Chron. xx. 2, it appears that Jehoshaphat obtained
intelligence of the undertaking of his enemies for the first time,
when they were already within his dominions, at Engedi : they
could not possibly have made their hostile preparations with
greater cunning and silence. The place, also, at which the
enemies made their entrance, leads to the same result. Their
marching southward so as to go round the Dead Sea, while they
might have quietly entered Canaan from the east, as Israel did
in former times, could only have been adopted for the purpose
of concealing their, object. 4. According to ver. 4 and 12, the
enemies had nothing less for their object, than to do to Israel
what Israel had formerly done to the Canaanites. It was no
ordinary marauding expedition; — the intention was completely
to root out Israel, and to take entire possession of his lands.

PSALM LXXXIII. 41
The enemies of Jehoshaphat, according to 2 Chron. xx. 11, had
the same object in view. That they had so, is obvious from the
quality of the booty which was found in tlieir tents. They had
set out, as Israel did of old, with bag and baggage. 5. The
mention of the Amalekites among the enemies of Israel, in ver.
7, renders it impossible to come down to times later than that
of Jehoshaphat. The last remains of the Amalekites were, ac
cording to 1 Chron. iv. 43, rooted out by the Simeonites, under
Hezekiah. From that time, they disappear altogether from
history. Ewald's assertion that Amalek stands here " only as
a name of infamy applied to parties well-known at the time," is
to be considered as a miserable shift. 6. The Psalm must have
been composed previous to the extension of the empire of the
Assyrians over Western Asia. For the Assyrians named last,
in the 8th verse,- appear here in the very extraordinary charac
ter of an ally of the sons of Lot. 7. Our Psalm, according to
the title, was composed by Asaph. In accordance with this, we
read, in 1 Chron. xx. 14, that the Spirit of the Lord came upon
Jehasiel, of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly.
This Jehasiel is probably the author of the Psalm. 8. Our Psalm
is a true picture of the state of feeling which prevailed through
out the people during the danger under Jehoshaphat. According
to the history of Chronicles, they praised God at that time, in the
midst of their danger, with loud voice, ver. 19 ; and here in the
title, which is an appendage to that of Ps. xlviii., the Psalm is
called a song of praise, (comp. on -yi^ at Ps. xlii. 9) ; and it is
such in reality, although it bears the form of a prayer, — a song
of triumph sung before the victory, — no contest, no doubt, the
distress is simply committed to God.
In establishing the correct view, we, at the same time, virtu
ally refute those of an erroneous nature, whose very existence,
as well as that of the prejudice against the historical character
of 2 Chron. xx. — a notion which even our Psalm, in common
with Ps. xlvii. and xlviii. (comp. Keil on 2 Chron. p. 241 ss..)is
sufficient to put to shame, — is to be accounted for by the extent
to which the abettors of the late origin of the Psalms have over
shot their mark. The hypothesis that the Psalm refers to the
occurrence at Neh. iv 1 ss. is negatived by this, among other
reasons, that it is scarcely possible to conceive anything less suit
able to it than these " railleries of the neighbours," who had no

42 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
further end in view than to hinder the building of the temple ;
and still further by the consideration that the Samaritans, who
were at that time the chief enemies, would not have been want
ing, and that the Amalekites and the Assyrians would not have
been mentioned. That the Persians are meant by the Assyrians
is again a miserable subterfuge. In a case where nine nations
are spoken of by their proper names, the tenth must be referred
to in the same way : that the Persians took any part in that ma
chination is a groundless assertion ; even had they done so, they
would not have occupied such a subordinate place as is here as
signed to the Assyrians. — The assertion first made by v. Til, and
subsequently repeated by Hitzig, that the Psalm refers to the
incidents of 1 Mace. v. is negatived by the following considera
tions : — At that time, there was no combination among the
neighbouring nations ; each acted by itself: these nations at
that time did not set out for the purpose of extirpating the Jews
generally ; they only rose up against those who were dwelling in
the midst of them : there is no passage where the Syrians are
designated by the name of Assyrians ; they never were, like the
Chaldeans and the Persians, the successors of the Assyrians in
the dominion of Asia : the Syrians took no part in that conflict ;
the mention of Endor as the place of the discomfiture of the
Canaanites, at ver. 1G, shows that the Psalm must have been
composed at a time when, in reference to the period of the
Judges, there were other sources of information at hand than
those which now exist. It is, therefore, not at all necessary to
have recourse to those general grounds -which are conclusive
against the existence of Maccabean Psalms. The incidents,
however, recorded in Neh. iv. and 1 Mace. v. are of importance
so far, that they show how intense and permanent was the
hatred of the neighbouring nations against " the people of God,"
and, consequently, go far to confirm the credibility of 2 Chron.
xx., and the historical character of ver. 2-8 of our Psalm.
Amyraldus : " The Psalm may be applied now to the enemies
of the Christian Church, of which Israel was the type. The
most important and formidable of these are assuredly sin and
Satan, from whom we most especially long to be delivered."
Title : A song of praise, a Psalm of Asaph. Ver. 1. 0 God,
keep not silence, be not dumb, and be not still, 0 God. — That i^n
signifies not rest, but silence, is evident from " thine enemfes

PSALM LXXXIII. VER. 2 — 8. 43
make a noise," in ver. 2, and from the following word, tZ^rm*;
comp. at Ps. xxviii. 1. The word also signifies to be silent, in Is-
lxii. 7, as is evident from the 6th verse.
Ver. 2-4. — Ver. 2. For lo, thine enemies make a noise, and
those who hate thee lift up the head. Ver. 3. They make cunning
plots against thy people, and consult against thy concealed ones.
Ver. 4. They say ; come let us root them out, so that they shall not
be a people, and that mention be no more made of the name of
Israel. — On ver. 2, Calvin : " It is to be remarked that those
who attack the Church are called enemies of God, and it is no
ordinary ground of confidence to have enemies in common with
God." They lift up the head, — proudly, boldly, confidently ;
comp. Judges viii. 28 : " And Midian was humbled, by the chil
dren of Israel, and did not any more lift up its head." — In the
first clause of ver 3, the translation generally given is : they
make artfully the plots in the councils. But as Qv^j-j in other
passages means to act cunningly, and -jip does not exactly in
dicate counsel or deliberation, it is better to consider -pp as
standing in the accusative, just as y-y does in ver. 5, and
IJDt^ in ver- 1 8> com- Ew § 483 : in reference to confidence,
comp. at Ps. lxiv. 2, confidential intercourse which they carry
on. The expression, " the hidden ones of God," instead of
" those under his protection," is explained by Ps. xxvii. 5 ;
xxxi. 21. — On ver. 4, Calvin : " It is as if they had formed the
daring purpose of annulling the decree of God in which the eter
nal existence of the church lies founded." The v^-q is away
from a people, — so that they shall be no more a people : comp.
Jer. xlviii. 2 ; Is. vii. 8. — There are five terms employed in these
three verses, descriptive of the doings of the enemies. The num
ber five as the signature of the half, of something unfinished,
points to the second half strophe, which is occupied with enu
merating the enemies.
Ver. 5-8. Ver. 5. For they have consulted from the heart to
gether, they have formed a covenant against thee. Ver. 6. The
tents of Edom and of the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Hagarites.
Ver. 7. Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek ; Philistia with the in
habitants of Tyre. Ver. 8. Even Assyria has joined them; they
stretch out tlieir arm to the sons of Lot. Selah. Calvin : " It is
not a little profitable for us to see in this case, as in a glass, what,
from the beginning, has been the experience of the Church of

'44 ' THE BOOK' OF PSALMS.
God, so that we need not be frightened too much when the
whole world is against us. When we see that nothing new befalls
us, we are strengthened in patience by the example of the church
of old, until God suddenly put forth his power, whicli alone is
sufficient to subvert all the machinations of the world. Several
expositors erroneously connect the 5th verse with what goes be
fore—a flat and insipid rendering. The 13 indicates a more full
exhibition of the relations alluded to in the preceding verses ;
and it is not co-ordinate with the 13 in ver. 2. The yj stands
like the -ftp in ver. 3, and the "rr^if in ver. 18, in the accusa
tive. The expression " with the heart" supplies a commentary
to Ps. lxiv. 5, 6, and denotes the earnestness and zeal of their
plans- ; the heart, with the whole fulness of its purposes, plans,
and wickedness, is engaged in the matter. Several expositors
refer erroneously to -jj-iN iS w^n one heart, in 1 Chron. xii.
38.- — In enumerating the nations, the first seven are grouped
together in such a manner, that we find associated with the
ring-leaders, who are Edom, Moab, and Ammon, those nations
who had been pressed into the service by them, — so that these
three names should be looked upon as if printed in large char
acters. That the arrangement is to be explained in this way, is
evident from the otherwise inexplicable separation of Moab from'
Ammon. As the Edomites were not a wandering but a settled'
people, we must either understand by " tents " camp-tents, or
" tents " is to be considered as a poetical expression for habita
tions, founded on the dwelling of the Israelites in the wilder
ness: comp. Jud. vii. 8; 1 Kings xii. 16. The Ishmaelites,
who are associated with the Edomites, dwelt, according to Gen.
xxv. 18, next to the Assyrians, and therefore, in the desert of
Arabia. The attendants of Moab, the Hagarites, were a wan
dering Arabic tribe, to the east of Jordan, which, in the time
of Saul, was dispossessed of its country by the tribe of Reuben :
comp. 1 Chron. v. 10, 19-22. They removed, in all probability
farther south, into that part of Arabia which adjoins Moab ;
and they were, therefore, their natural allies in this league. On
the right side of Ammon there was Gebal, in all probability an
Idumean district, and on the left, Amalek, who appears here,
as on a former occasion, Judges iii. 1 3, in a state of alliance
with him: "and he (Eglon, the king of Moab) assembled
around him the sons of Ammon and Amalek." — To the sever.

PSALM LXXXIII. VER. 5^-S. 4.")
nations, who formed the main body, there are added other
three. First, the Philistines, who are not, indeed, expressly
named in Chronicles, but concerning- whom it is taken for
granted, that tliose who always embraced the opportunity of a
war raised against the Israelites by other nations, would not
lose this opportunity of gratifying their deep-seated hatred.
The inhabitants of Tyre appear only as following in the train of
the Philistines. The merchants were induced merely by cupi
dity to join in this movement, as the tradesmen of Tarsus did in
Ez. xxxviii. 13. They are universally to be found wherever
there is anything to be earned. In Amos, also, i. 6-10, the
Philistines and the Tyrians appear in compact with each other,
and with the Edomites, in their purposes of hostility towards
the Israelites ; and the passage in Joel iv. 4, &c, shows how
natural is this addition of the Tyrians to the Philistines, where
we find it represented in prophetic vision that the Philistines,
along with the Tyrians and Sidonians, avail themselves of the
opportunity of a war raised against Israel by other nations to
gratify their hatred and their cupidity.— The Assyrians are
mentioned last, being at the greatest distance, and engaged only
indirectly and partially in the enterprise. According to Gen.
xxv. 18, they were the neighbours of the Arabian sons of tho
desert, yea, according to Gen. xxv. 3, they had Arabic elements
in the midst of themselves, so that it is, therefore, antecedently
probable that they should be found taking part in this great
movement of the Arabic tribes. The Assyrians finally, as the
associates from the most remote east, stand opposed to the Phi
listines and the Tyrians from the west. The seven wicked na
tions are bounded by these on the east and west. Last of all,
the sons of Lot are mentioned as the proper instigators and fire
brands of the war. The subject in "they stretch" is not the
singular Assyrian, but all the nations which had been named,
with the self-evident exception of the sons of Lot themselves.
It is only by adopting this view, which, indeed, is the most ob
vious one, so far as the language is concerned, that this conclu
sion receives its proper significance."1
Ver. 9-12. — Ver. 9. Do to them as to Midian, as to Sisera,
1 Venema : Finally, having enumerated the nations hi order, the Psalmist adds,
who were the authors of the war and who allies.

46 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
as to Jabin, in the valley of Kison. Ver. 10. Who were de
stroyed at Endor, they were dung upon the land. Ver. 11. Make
them, their nobles, as Oreb and as Seeb, all their princes as
Sebah and Zalmunna. Ver. 12. Who said: we will possess
ourselves of the habitations of God— Calvin. "The substance
is, may God who has so often smitten his enemies, and delivered
his timorous sheep out of the jaws of wolves, not leave them at,
this time unprotected against these forces." From the many
examples of divine judgment upon the enemies, which constituted
pledges of deliverance in this trouble, the Psalmist selects two,
the victory over the Canaanites from Judges iv. and v., and the
victory of Gideon over the Midianites from Judges vii. and- viii.
He begins with the latter as the more glorious of the two. But
in expanding the general subject of the 9th verse, in ver. 1 0 and
11, the order is reversed. Ver. 10 is an appendage to the second
clause; ver. 11 expands the first. " Do to them as to Midian"
(instead of " as thou didst to Midian," — the comparison being, as
is frequently the case, merely referred to, not drawn out, comp.
Ew. § 527) was fulfilled beyond what they asked or thought :
the discomfiture of the enemies, as was the case with the Midian
ites, took place by mutual destruction, — a means whicli has often
proved of signal service to the kingdom of God: comp. 2 Chron.
xx. 22, 23, with Judges vii. 22. The glorious victory over
Midian appears also in Is. ix. 4, and Hab. iii. 7, as the emblem
and pledge of glorious deliverances yet to come. The effort to
exhibit the individuals named, standing as much apart as pos
sible, " as Sisera, as Jabin," not " and Jabin," is explained by
the reference to the seven nations. On " in the valley of Kison,"
comp. Judges iv. 7, 13; v. 21. — -Endor in ver. 10 (comp. Robin
son, vol. iii. 468, 77), which appears here as the proper place of
the discomfiture of the Canaanites, is not expressly named in the
book of Judges. In the second clause there is an abbreviated
comparison, as is obvious from the other passages where this
same comparison occurs, drawn out, for example, 2 Kings ix. 37,
" and the carcass of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of
the field," Jer. ix. 21. Is. v. 25. — The " their nobles" in ver. 11,
is expository of " them." Oreb and Seeb were, according to
Judges vii. 25, the commanders of the Midianites, Sebah and
Zalmunna, Judges viii. 5-10; 12; 18-21, their kings. — Ver. 12
points once more to the guilt of the enemies which made them

PSALM LXXXIII. VER. 13 — 18. 47
worthy of a destruction similar to that which befell those of an
earlier period. Elohim (not Jehovah) is selected for the purpose
of making more distinct the criminality of the attempt. By the
" habitations of God" is meant the whole land of Canaan: comp.
2 Chron. xx. 11; "they have come to cast us out of thy posses
sion which thou hast given us to inherit," Ps. xlvii. 4.
Ver. 13-15. — Ver. 13. My God, make them like the whirl,
like the stubble before the wind. Ver. J 4. As fire which burns
up the forest, as flame which scorches the hills, Ver. ] 5. Lo
thou thus, pursue them with thy tempest, and terrify them with
thy storm.1 — The "like the whirl (comp. at Ps. lxxvii. 18), like
the stubble," in ver. 13, is equivalent to " like the stubble which
is whirled round and carried off:" comp. Is. xvii. 13, a passage
which depends on the verse before us. — As fire, ver. 14, as de
structively. The hills are mentioned, as is obvibus from the
parallel clause, in reference to what covers them.
Ver. 16-18. — Ver. 16. Fill their faces with shame, and may
they seek thy name, 0 Lord. Ver. 17. Let them be put to shame
and terrified for ever, and blush and perish. Ver. 18. And may
they know that thou with thy name, 0 Lord, art alone the most
high over the whole earth. — The object aimed at is intimated in
the words: may they seek thy name, and may they know thy
name. " Fill their face with shame" serves as the basis of the
first, and the contents of ver. 18 of the second: we can never
be more confident of the destruction of our enemies, and of our
own deliverance, than when these tend to promote the exaltation
and the glory of God. In point of form, however, the second
clause of ver 16 is independent of, and co-ordinate with the first:
— not: that they may seek. Otherwise, we destroy the number
of petitions, twelve in all, seven in this paragraph, corresponding
to the number seven of the verses of the preceding paragraph. —
On " their faces," ver. 16, comp. Ps. Ixix. 7. "Thy name" is
equivalent to " thee, rich in deeds, glorious." " May they seek
thee" (Berleb: as humble suppliants) has no reference to "con
version," but to the forced subjection of those who, like Pharoah.
1 "Venema: Having placed before our eyes the judgment of God upon the ene
mies,, as illustrated by the example of antiquity, he now describes it in a sublimer
style, with images drawn from wind, storm, and fire, and (ver. 16-18) exhibits the
scope and effect of these judgments, in order that men, rverwhelmed with shame,
may learn to reverence the majesty of Jehovah.

48 ' THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
are not able to hold out any longer against the inflictions of God.
This is evident, also, from the following verse, where the Psalmist
prays for the destruction of the enemies.1 It would be theheight
of folly to hope for the conversion of such enemies. — In the 18th
verse, the acknowledgment is not a voluntary but a forced ac
knowledgment: comp. Ps. lix. 13; 1 Sam. xvii. 46. The yyfo
is the accus., just as the y~ in ver. 5, and the Tip in ver. 3, "as
to thy name," i. e., "for the sake of thy name :" thou who art
rich in deeds, glorious. The name, the product of the deeds, is
what belongs to the Lord above all others who are called lords
and gods : these are all nameless ; the names which they bear
are mere names, shells without kernel. That we are not to give
the first half of the verse a sense complete in itself— and know
that thou alone hast the name of Jehovah— Is evident from the
parallel and in all probability dependent passage, Is. xxxvii. 1 6,
where Hezekiah says : Jehovah, Sabaoth, God of Israel, thou
art God Ha-elohim, alone for all the kingdoms of the earth, 2
Kings xix. 19.2 The Eljon is the predicate here just as Elohim
is there.

PSALM LXXXIV.
The Psalmist pronounces- himself happy in the possession of
the highest of all blessings, that of dwelling in the house of God,
that of communion with him; for inheritance follows adoption:
to those who participate in this blessing, the Lord will by his
salvation yet give occasion to praise him, ver. 1-4. He pro
nounces those happy (salvation to himself because he belongs to
their number) who place their trust in God, and walk blame-
1 Calvin: It is, I acknowledge, the first step towards repentance, when men,
humbled by chastisements, yield of their own accord; but the prophet adverts
merely to a forced and servile submission. "For it often happens that the wicked,
subdued by sufferings, give glory to God for a time. But because in » short
while they exhibit a frantic rage, their hypocrisy is sufficiently exposed, and the
ferocity which lay concealed in their hearts becomes apparent. He wishes,
therefore, that the wicked may be compelled reluctantly to acknowledge God: that
at least their fury, at present breaking forth with impunity, may be kept undei
restraint and within due bounds.
8 Is. xxxvii. 20 is to be supplemented from both these passages : and all the
kingdoms of the earth may experience that thou, 0 Lord, alone (art God.)

PSALM LXXXIV. 49
lessly: for their misery shall be turned into salvation, and the
end of their way is praise and thanks, ver. 5-7. The prayer
rises on the basis of the meditation : may God be gracious to his
anointed, for his favour is the highest good, whoever possesses
it is sure of salvation, ver. 8-12.
The whole Psalm contains 12 verses. It is divided into two
strophes ; one of meditation, in seven verses, and the other of
prayer, in five. The seven is divided into four and three : sal
vation as the necessary consequence of dwelling in the house of
the Lord, and salvation as the consequence of piety and blame-
lessness. The five which points out the second strophe as sup
plementary to the first is divided into an introduction and a con
clusion, each of one verse, and a main body of three verses.
The Selah stands where it is most necessary, at the end of the
first part of the first strophe, and at the end of the introduction of
the prayer-strophe. It is here that the parts, which ought to be
kept separate, might most easily be read together. The name Je
hovah occurs three times in the first and three times in the second
strophe. Sabaoth is added twice in each. If we add to the six
repetitions of Jehovah the four repetitions of Elohim, which
occurs generally in a subordinate position, so that Jehovah pre
ponderates, we have altogether ten names of God.
The ninth verse renders it evident that the speaker is the
Anointed of the Lord. This fact can be reconciled with the
title, which ascribes the Psalm to the soils of Korah, only by
the supposition that it was sung from the soul of the Anointed :
comp. the Intro, to Ps. xl. and xliii., where the case is exactly
the same.
The Psalm gives very slight intimation as to the situation of
the Anointed. That he was in a calamitous situation is obvi
ous from the whole tendency of the Psalm, which is manifestly
designed to pour consolation into the soul of the sufferer, and in
particular from " they shall still praise thee," in ver. 4, " going
through the valley of tears," in ver. 6, and the prayer in ver. 8
and 9, which is that of a sufferer standing in need of divine
assistance. It is intimated in ver. 7 that the sufferer particu
larly is separated from the sanctuary. Farther, the Anointed
stands in inward and near relation to the Lord, ver. 1-4 ; he is
one who has his strength in the Lord and trusts in him, ver.
5 and 12, and who has walked blamelessly, ver. 5 and 11, yea
VOL. III. e

50 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
lie stands as the teacher in Israel of these great virtues, ver. ft.
These marks lead to David in his flight from Absalom ; they
meet together no where else. This result obtained from the
consideration of the Psalm itself is confirmed by comparing it
with Ps. xlii. and xliii., in whicli the traces of that time, and
the reference to these events, are still more apparent. These
Psalms are so closely allied to the one before us, that it is im
possible to consider them apart. They both bear a considerable
resemblance to it, even externally, as might be made to appear,
— Ps. xlii. and xliii. stand at the head of the Korahite Elohim
Psalms, and this Psalm at the head of the Korahite Jehovah
Psalms, so that thus both are in a peculiarly close manner con
nected together. And they possess the following points in com
mon : — they were composed by the sons of Korah from the soul
of the Anointed ; they are all characterized by an ardour of
feeling, and a tender pathos, which here, as is also indicated by
the title, assumes the form of a pathetic joy ; in all, the Anoint
ed is in a state of suffering, and is separated from the sanctuary.
The fundamental thought also of this Psalm occurs in Ps. xlii,
6, 8, where the Psalmist obtains comfort in his misery, and the
hope of salvation because he is absorbed in a consciousness of
possessing the favour of God. As to particular expressions
comp. ver. 4 with Ps. xlii. 5, ver. 7 with Ps. xliii. 3, ver. 9 with
Ps. xliii. 5.'
The sons of Korah perform here, as in Ps. xlii. xliii., for David
in tho time of Absalom, the same duty. which David once per
formed for Saul. They sang quietness and peace from their soul
to his, giving back to him a part of what they themselves had
received from him, the " teacher," ver. 6. They brought to his
recollection the foundations of his hope; the blessing of com-
1 Even Ewald acknowledges that *Ps. xlii. xliii., and Ixxxiv. are inseparably
connected :— " These Psalms are manifestly so similar, in colouring of language,
in plan and structure, in overflowing fulness of rare figures, finally, in refined deli
cacy and tenderness of thought, and yet everything in both poems is so entirely
original, while nothing is the result of imitation from the other, that it is impossible
to avoid coming to the conclusion that both are the product of the same poet."
It is singular that with such acknowledgments and concessions the inference so
necessarily flowing from them in favour of the titles should be disregarded. How
comes it that in the titles those Psalms are attributed to the same authors which
on internal grounds are so intimately related, if these titles were composed upon
mere conjecture ?

PSALM LXXXVI. 51
munion with God (the blessing still left to him), which as the
fountain of all other blessings, must brighten his piety and his
blameless walk which have God for their object, must brighten
the suffering into joy.
The contents are nearly allied to those of Ps. Ixiii. which
was composed by David himself in the time of Absalom.
There also we find hope in reference to the future rising on
the basis of inward union with God enjoyed by the Psalmist at
present. It has been maintained as an argument against the composi
tion of the Psalm in the time of David, that the sanctuary in
ver. 1, 2, 3, 10, must have been a temple, a large building. But
the mention of " habitations" of God, in ver. 1, does not imply
this ; for even the tabernacle-temple was divided into several
apartments, and the habitations and sanctuaries of the Lord are
mentioned in other Psalms whicli manifestly belong to the times
of David, Ps. xliii. 3, lxviii. 35. The same cannot be said of
" courts" in ver. 2 and 10. The tabernacle, and therefore pro
bably also the tent erected by David for the ark of the covenant
on Mount Zion, had certainly only one court. But in poetical
language we not unfrequently find courts used in the sense of the
space before the sanctuary, where in reality there was only one
court. Thus, for example, in Ps. lxv. 4, which was composed by
David ; again in Is. i. ] 2, " who hath required this of you that
ye tread my courts?" Ps. xcii. 13, c. 4 : the one of the two courts
of Solomon's temple was the court of the Priests, and it therefore
cannot be meant as included. Finally, it is only by adopting a
false rendering that ver. 3 can be considered as making any men
tion of birds' nests in the sanctuary ; the same may be said of
ver. 5 ss., in regard to pilgrimages, — it is without any good rea
son, besides, that it has been said of these that they did not exist
in the time of David. An intimation that the sanctuary at that
time existed in a tent, occurs in ver. 1 0. The reference to the
tabernacle-house of God undoubtedly called forth in that pas
sage the mention of the tents of wickedness, instead of its
palaces. The Psalm has had the misfortune to be misunderstood in
various ways, particularly by the modern expositors whose
perception of its meaning is upon the whole more profound
than was that of Luther. The main ground of the misunder-

52 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
standings is the falsely literal renderings of those passages in
which mention is made of the house of the Lord. It is from this
that has arisen the idea that there exists in the Psalm " an ex
pression of earnest desire for the temple," in opposition to ver. 2,
where the Psalmist rejoices as one who already enjoys- the privi
lege of near access to God, to ver. 3, according to which the bird
has already found its house and the swallow its nest in the house
of God, and to ver. 10 in connection with to ver. 9, &c.
On the title " To the chief Musician after the manner (or ac
cording to the harp, comp. at title of Ps. viii.) of Gath, by the
sons of Korah, a Psalm," Arnd. remarks : The Gittith was a
spiritual musical instrument on which these Psalms were played,
which sounded pleasantly and joyfully. For the ancients did not
play all the Psalms upon the same instrument, but they varied
according to the strain of each Psalm. What should we learn
from this ? That our heart, mouth, and tongue, should be the
true spiritual musical instruments of God, the pleasant harps
and the good sounding cymbals, both mournful and joyful in
struments according to the dispensation of God and the times."
" To the Chief Musician," shews that the Psalm was intended
for something more than what immediately gave occasion to it,
that along with its individual application we must keep in view
its application for all the suffering people of God : comp. the
Intro, at Ps. xlii.
Ver. 1-4. — Ver. 1. How beloved are thy dwelling-places, 0
Lord, (Lord) of hosts. Ver. 2. My soul longeth and even faint
eth after the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh rejoice
to the living God. Ver. 3. Even the bird has found a house, ahd
the swallow a nest for herself, where she lays her young, thine
altars, 0 Lord of Hosts, my King and my God. Ver. 4. Blessed
are those who dwell in thy house, they shall still praise thee.
—The -p-p in ver. 1 signifies always beloved and never lovely;
comp. at Psal. xiv. 1 ; and the second verse is in entire har
mony with this, where the expression " how much loved they
are (by me) " is expanded ; and also the parallel passage, Ps.
xxvii : " One thing I desire of the Lord, that do I seek after,
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord." The Psalmist loves
the habitations of the Lord, because he is sure of finding safety
and protection there: comp., among other passages, Ps. xxvii. 5.
The term Sabaoth points to this ground of the love as one to

PSALM LXXXIV. VER. 1  4. 53
which marked prominence is given in what follows. The Lord
of Heaven is rich in salvation on behalf of his own people; the
man whom he takes into his presence is protected, and that,
too, although the whole world were to rise up against him:
comp. Ps. xxvii. 1, " Nothing can go entirely wrong with him
whom the Most High has resolved to aid." — The longing and
fainting, in ver. 2, do not at all indicate any desire completely
unsatisfied at the time, but rather a spiritual hunger, which is
immediately connected with satiety, a need which, as it has
arisen from enjoyment, also calls for enjoyment. This is evi
dent from the rejoicing, which stands, as far as the grammati
cal interpretation is concerned, inseparably connected with the
longing and fainting, but which, in consequence of the errone
ous view taken of the former, has been, to no purpose,, considered
as equivalent to to cry aloud.' 'pH ls of frequent occurrence in
the Psalms, and always signifies to rejoice. He who can rejoice
in God must be in possession of the object of his desire. In
proportion as the soul has already enjoyed the grace of God
does it earnestly long after it ; and in proportion as it longs
after it does it rejoice in God. Arnd : " This is the effect of
holy desire, the fruit of holy longing after God, for God is so
gracious and condescending, that he does not permit the heart
felt love and the holy desire which man bears towards him to
pass unrewarded, but so gladdens the man that he refreshes
him both in body and soul. There arises, therefore, out of
heartfelt desire after God a heartfelt joy, or a true joy of the
heart." The pj does not indicate a climax, but, as is frequently
the case (comp., for example, Ps. cxxxvii. 1), is a mere particle
of addition. The soul, heart, and flesh are exceedingly appro
priate, when used together, as expressive of the whole man,
and therefore as indicating the intensity of the desire (comp.
at Ps. Ixiii. 1), and the second clause begins with " they re
joice," to which the nominative is soul, heart, and flesh. The
"courts of the Lord" are the courts of the outward temple,
which is also designated in ver. 1 as the habitations: the de
sire, however, is, not to be present in this temple corporeally
but spiritually, which is possible even in the case of external
distance ; the servants of the Lord dwell always spiritually
with him in his temple, and are there cared for by him with
fatherly love, comp. at Ps. lxv. 4, xxxvi. 8, lxv. 4, and the

54 '. THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
parallel passages referred to there. The courts are specially-
spoken of here, as in Ps. lxv. 4, xcii. 13, because in the "ta
bernacle of meeting " they formed the external place of concourse
for the congregation; there also was, therefore, the spiritual
seat of its members ; thither there flowed upon them out of the
sanctuary the stream of the grace and love of God. The p-^ with
^N, to rejoice to God, who makes himself known in grace and
love to the longing soul, to rejoice in return or response, occurs
only here. On ipj ^ comp. at Ps. xlii. 2. — The simple thought of
ver. 3 is this: the dwelling in thy house, confiding relationship:
to thee, secures thy grace, with safety and protection. The
"bird" and the swallow is the Psalmist himself, the -fl"^ need
not to be very exactly defined ; the connection in which it is used
defines nothing except that from the parallel -prj-jj, and the ge
neral sense of the passage, it must denote a little, helpless bird :
comp. Ps. xi. 1, where David calls himself a " little bird," Ps. lvi.
Title (comp. Iv. 6), where he calls himself " the dumb dove of
distant places," 1 Sam. xxvi. 20, where he calls himself a flea,
and compares himself to a partridge on the mountains. There
is an abbreviated comparison : like a little bird, which, after a
long defenceless wandering, has found a house (Matth. viii. 20)
in which it may dwell securely, a nest to which it may entrust
with confidence its dearest possession, its young, thus have I, a
poor wanderer, found safety and protection in thy house, 0 Lord-
Jo. Arnd : " David gives thanks to the Lord for this, and says,
my poor little soul, the terrified little bird has now found its
right house, and its right nest, namely thy altars ; and if I had
not found this beautiful house of God, I must have been for ever
flying about, out of the right way. I would have been like a
lonely bird on the house-top, like an owl in the desert, Ps. cii.,
like a solitary turtle dove ; give not thy turtle dove into the
hands of the enemies," says Ps. lxxiv. The p^ does not con
nect the whole passage with what goes before (comp. Ew. § 622,
Ps. Ixxxv. 12) ; not: even the bird has found, but: the bird
has even found. Feeble man, in this hard, troublous world, des
titute of the help and grace of God, is compared to the " little
bird," and the " swallow." The house, in an extended sense, is
brought into notice as a place of safety for the bird, for the little
bird itself, the nest as a place of safety for its most precious
possession. On -^n for " where" comp. Ew. § 589. The

PSALM LXXXIV. VER. 1  4. 55
"¦-prVirQtE ]"IN 1S tlie acciis. as at 1 Kings xix. 10, 1 4. The
plural refers to the altar of burnt-offering, and tho altar of in
cense-offering : comp. Num. iii. 31. The altars are specially
mentioned instead of the whole house, because there the relation
to God was concentrated. There the soul brings forward its
spiritual offerings, which constitute the soul even of material
sacrifices, and hears the much-loved responsive call of God, the
assurance of his help, and his salvation, even when the body is
not near the altar. " My King and my God" (joined together
in this manner only in Ps. v. 2) gives, in connection with Sa-
boath, the ground why the Psalmist considers it such a happy
thing for him that he has been permitted access to the altars of
God, why the house of God is to him what its house and nest are
to the little bird. How should he not feel infinitely safe whom
his King and his God, he who guides the stars in their courses,
has taken him into his own dwelling-place. Luther took a cor
rect view of this verse, as is obvious from his " namely thine
altars." Modern expositors, however, have gone astray, in con
sequence of their having unfortunately taken up the idea that
the Psalm contains the expression of the earnest longings after
the temple of one separated from it. They translate : " Even the
sparrows find an house, and the swallows a nest, for themselves,
where they lay their young, in thine altars, Jehovah Sabaoth,
my King and my God," and suppose the idea intended to be
conveyed is : and are thus happier than I am, who am separated
from thy sanctuary. But the thought obtained in this way is
one, notwithstanding the defence which has been made of it by
De Wette and Maurer, of a trivial character, and unworthy the
holy earnestness of Israelitish poetry ; a bird, certainly, was in
no very enviable situation which had fixed its place of dwelling
and its nest in the house of the Lord. The main thing, more
over, I am less fortunate than they is wanting, and added to the
passage without any reason whatever. The " with thine altars,"
instead of " at " is very strange, and certainly the unusual j-^
would not have been used for the purpose of avoiding the am
biguity. The birds durst build their nest if generally in the
sanctpary, yet certainly- not in the neighbourhood of the altars.
Finally, verse 4th is not at all suitable, if we suppose that ver. 3
contains a lamentation over absence from the sanctuary ; and even
ver. 2 can only by a false interpretation be brought, in this case,

56 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
into harmony with ver. 3. — The dwellers in the house of God, in
ver. 4, are, as was formerly shown at Ps. xxvii. 4, not those who
regularly repair to it, but the inmates (Jer. xx. 6) of God's house
in a spiritual sense. As the Psalmist, according to what has been
said before, belongs to their number, in praising their happiness
he praises at the same time his own : happy, therefore, also I.
In the second clause, the ground of this praise is given : for they
shall still (even though for the present they may be in misery)
praise him; he shall, by imparting to them his salvation, give
them yet occasion to do so : comp.. " he will praise me," for
"he will give occasion to do so," Ps. 1. 15, 23, and also Ixxix. 13.
It is usually translated : always they praise thee. But with this
construction the use of y^y in the parallel passage, Ps. xlii, 6,
is not attended to. Besides, -p*^ never means always. Gen.
xlvi. 29 is to be translated : and he wept still upon his neck
when Israel spoke. In Ruth i. 14, the -py, " they wept still,''
refers back to ver. 9.
The sons of Korah now open up, in ver. 5-7, to the anointed
of the Lord the second fountain of consolation; they point out
to him the pledge of salvation which had been imparted to him
through his trust in God, and the blamelessness of his walk. —
Ver. 5. Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee, in whose
hearts (are) ways. Ver. 6. Going through the valley of tears, they
make it a well; the teacher is even covered with blessing. Ver. 7.
They go from strength to strength, he appeals before God in Zion.
— Ver. 6 and 7 contain the grounds on which the declaration
of blessedness made in ver. 5. is founded : Blessed are they, for
in passing through the valley of tears, &c. Ver. 5 contains two
conditions of salvation. First, that a man has his strength in
God, has him as his strength. Jo. Arnd: "But what does
having God for our strength mean? It means that we place
the trust of our heart, our confidence, help, and consolation only
in him, and in no creature, be it power, skill, honour, or riches.
That is a happy man who knows in his heart of no other
strength, help, and comfort, than of God." The second condition
of salvation is, that a man has ways, made roads, in his heart. By
this is designated zealous moral effort, blamelessness and righ
teousness. The heart of man, in its natural condition, appears
like a pathless wilderness, full of cliffs and precipices; and re
pentance is a levelling of the roads. The following passages are

PSALM LXXXIV. VER. 5 — 7. 57
parallel : Ps. 1. 23, " whoso offereth praise (= has his strength in
thee) glorifies me, and whoever prepares a way, to him will I show
the salvation of God ;" Prov. xvi. 17, " the highway of the upright
(in opposition to the pathlessness of the wicked) is far from evil,"
«fec; and Is. x). 3, 4, " prepare the way of the Lord, make straight
in the heath a pathway for our God; every valley is exalted, and
every hill shall be made low, and every steep place shall be made
plain, and the rugged place shall become a valley : " comp. the
proof given in the Christol. iii. p. 395, that by the figurative
language of the preparing of the ways we are to understand,
the zeal of moral effort, as referred to in that passage. Both of
these conditions of salvation are united, as they are here, in Ps.
xxvi.: the second' has prominence given to it, for example, in
Ps. xv.; Ps. xxiv. As in the 12th verse, "who trusts in thee."
corresponds to " who has his strength in thee," " who walk
blamelessly," in ver. 11, corresponds to " the ways in their
hearts." Luther's translation is not sufficiently exact: who walk
after thee from the heart; those of recent date are entirely false:
whose heart thinksupon the streets, the pilgrimages to Jerusalem.
The pilgrimages are in no respect suitable if the connection be
viewed correctly. J-p^pft ^oes no!i mean ways generally, but
made roads, it means streets, not once the streets, which is still
much too vague. — The sense of ver. 6 is: to those whose mind is
in this state, suffering is turned into joy, misery into salvation.
"Wandering" is not, "although they wander," but "while they
wander." The stat. constr. stands, because the preposition even
might be omitted: comp. at Ps. ii. 12. There is a reference to
the second half of the preceding verse: those who have levelled
the roads of their heart shall be prospered in regard to their
outward way. The valley, properly the depth, or the deep, is
an emblem of a low and miserable condition. Into such a valley
David found himself cast down from the mountain of his pros
perity in the time of Absalom. The old translators, with won
derful agreement, give to *j$^ the sense of weeping; and even
the Massorah remarks that the ^5 at the end stands instead of
pj. Others, on the ground that the form with the ^ never occurs,
consider Baca as the name of a tree, which is mentioned in 2 Sam.
v, 23, 24, and the parallel passage in Chron., according to the old
translators, a mulberry tree, according to Celsus in Hierobot., a
tree something like the balsam shrub. If we adopt this view, wo

58 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
must consider that the reason why the valley of the Baca tree is
mentioned is, that the tree has its name from weeping;1 so that
in reality the sense is the same as on the former view, — in the vah
ley of the tear-shrubs. The appellation of Zalmon in Ps. lxviii.
14, is similar to this. Then, against the idea that the Baca tree
grows only in dry places, that the valley of Baca, therefore, simply
denotes such a place, it may be urged with effect that valleys are
not usually dry, and that the Baca tree, according to the only
passage in Scripture where it is mentioned, grew in the very fruit
ful valley of Rephaim, Is. xvii. 6. In this case, also, instead of,
" they make it a well," we would have expected, " they make it
rich in wells." But that whole reference to the Baca trees must,
in all probability, be given up. As nothing remains left of
them except the name, the naming of them is flat and trifling
enough. In the parallel, and, in all probability, fundamental
passage, Ps. xxiii, 4, there occurs also an appellative: even
though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death :
comp. also Ps. cxxvi. 5, 6. The sweet fountain of salvation
stands in marked contrast to the bitter fountain of weeping.
A valley of weeping also occurs in Burkhardt ii. p. 977, Gesen:
" After you have advanced two hours, the valley for an hour
gets the name of Wady Beka (sl£>Ji), or the valley of the
weeping, and, according to tradition, it got the name because a
Bedouin wept, when, as his enemy was pursuing him, his dro
medary fell down, and he therefore could not follow his com
panion."2 We adopt, therefore, the vale of tears3 David
experienced what it was to wander in this valley of tears,
when he went up by Mount Olivet and wept, 2 Sam. xv. 30.
As the valley of weeping is an image of misery, the fountain is
an image of salvation. (Luther gives erroneously the plural
instead of the singular.) They make it, namely, inasmuch as
they, by their faith and their righteousness, call Aown the
grace of God upon them, or open the doors for the blessing.
1 Abul Fadli, in Celsus i. p. 336, says of the Arabian Baca tree: when its leaf
is cut, a certain tear drops from it, white, warm, sharp, yet of no virtue.
3 Burkhardt knew nothing of the Baca trees growing in this valley, and Gese
nius in vain endeavours to propose them here contrary to the Arabic authorities.
3 Ven. . A valley represents a depressed and abject condition ; a valley of tears
must therefore represent such a condition in connection with much misery, and
affording very little consolation or non-2 at ail.

PSALM LXXXIV. VER. 5 — 7. 59
The p;) stands as in ver. 2. The pjgyi is the fut. in Kal as at
Lev. xiii. 45, Jer. xliii. 1 2. The verb signifies always in Kal to
be covered, even in Lev. xiii. 45, Mich. iii. 7, with the accusative
of the thing with whicli any one is covered, here nii*11> ^le
plural, pointing to the fulness and multiplicity of the blessing.
TVWO is ^le instructor, the teacher, 2 Kings xvii. 28, Is. xxx.
20, Prov. v. 13. The object of the teaching is to be taken from
ver. 5 : who not only has his own strength in the Lord, and his
ways in his own heart, but who also directs others to this,
instructs them. This was David's high calling and earnest
endeavour, as his Psalms testify; comp., for example, Ps. xv.
Ps. lxii. 8. The correct view is to be found in Luther. The
translation which has hitherto been the common one is alto
gether erroneous ; and the harvest-rain covers it with blessing.
For the pppft signifies always " teaching," or " teacher,"
never " rain," or " early rain," which is always ppy-p, with the
single exception of Joel ii. 23, where, however, pppft 1S used
in the sense of the early rain, only on account of the similarity
in sound to the pppft, which occurs immediately before in its
ordinary sense ; comp. the Christol. on the passage. The p|ft*y
occurs only once in Hiph., in Kal throughout quite generally.
The fyOp'2 would not have stood without the preposition, had
id not been that pjjajj is so constantly used with the accusative
of the thing with which one is covered, that there is no danger
of mistake. The omission of the suffix referring to the valley
would be harsh. — The ^npj in ver. 7 is power, might, ability ;
comp. " In God we shall get ability, and he will tread down
our enemies," in Ps. xl. 12. From strength to strength, the Ber-
leb. ; from one degree of strength to another. Comp. Jer. ix. 2,
Ps. cxliv. 3. The subject in pj^pi is, as is apparent, the
teacher. The ^ in the phrase " to appear before God," else
where rarely used, is selected with reference to the second
clause ; from strength to strength, and finally to God in Sion.
There the faithful appear altogether praising and giving thanks,
after their sufferings had been brought to a close. Comp. ver. 4.
That there is here, however, a special reference to the violent
separation of the Psalmist from the sanctuary, is evident on com
paring Ps. xliii. 3.1
1 Luther, after the example of the Septuagint, as if the reading were 'jn trans
lates " the God of gods," and therefore wholly misunderstands the words.

60 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
The prayer in ver. 8-14 follows the meditation. — Ver. 8. 0
Lord, God, God of hosts, hear my prayer, accept it, 0 God of
Jacob. Selah. Ver. 9. Thou, our shield, behold now, 0 God,
and look upon the face of thine Anointed. Ver. 10. For a day
in thy courts is better than a thousand (elsewhere). 1 will rather
lie at the threshold in ihe house of my God than dwell in the
tents of wickedness. Ver. 11. For a sun and shield is the Lord
God, the Lord gives grace and glory, he denies no good to
those who walk blamelessly. Ver. 1 2. 0 Lord of hosts, blessed
is the man who trusteth in thee. — " Our shield," in ver. 9,
(comp. at Ps. iii. 3) shews, as " God of Jacob " in ver. 8 had
already done, that in the one person the whole people is ex
posed to danger. It is emphatically placed foremost, because on
it +he assurance of the answer to the prayer depends. The
translation, "look upon our shield," is altogether at fault. The
11th verse is sufficient proof against it. — On "behold," comp.
2 Kings xix. 16, "Incline, 0 Lord, thine ear and hear, open, 0
Lord, thine eyes and behold," where the object to be heard and
seen is more particularly described. " The whole fore-men
tioned state of things" is what must be supplied. The face of
the anointed is his humble supplicatory face. " Thine anointed"
contains in it the basis of the prayer : my face, because I am
thine anointed, comp. Ps. xviii. 50, cxxxii. 10. — The Psalmist,
in ver. 10, gives the reason why he turns to the Lord with be
seeching prayer, why his highest wish is that he may help him
impart to me thy favour and help me, for to be in thy favour is
the highest of all good. The "for" by which the verse iscon-
nected with the preceding one, is fatal to the idea, that it is not
the Anointed that is praying for himself, but the Psalmist that
is praying for his king, and also to the supposition, that the
expressions which refer to the house of God are to be inter
preted externally. This view could not be held unless it were
the case that the Psalmist, in the preceding context, had been
praying for restoration to the outward sanctuary. Ver. 12,
however, would not in this case be suitable. Than a thousand,
which are spent elsewhere, in the world, and in pursuit of its
pleasures. At the expression, " I will rather lie at the door,"
like Lazarus at the door of the rich man, I will rather be con
tent with the most despised place in the kingdom of God, the
most distant relation to him and to his grace, we must suppose

PSALM LXXXV. 61
added, " if it cannot be otherwise, if God does not permit me
to a nearer approach to him." There is not here any expres
sion of unpretending modesty and humility, as Calvin1 supposes,
but an expression of the very high sense which the Psalmist
had of the value of the grace of God in salvation, above all the
pleasures and all the means of support furnished by the world.
Instead of the mere " dwelling," Luther has falsely substituted
" long dwelling." We are to think of a dwelling whether as an
inhabitant or as a client, and of wickedness, as richly furnished
with all human means, as was the case with the enemies of
David in the time of Absalom.2 We have the same thought in
another form in Ps. iv. 7. — In the ] 1th verse, we have the rea
son assigned why the favour of God is the best gift ; whoever
has him for a friend, receives in due season a fulness of gifts,
and may therefore be comforted and happy even in misery. A
sun and a shield, that is, deliverance and protection. Instead
of the figure of the sun, the more common one in other pas
sages is usually that of light; comp. especially Ps. xxvii. 1 ; still
there occur the passages, Is. lx. 19, 20, Mai. iii. 20, Rev. xxi. 23,
of a kindred nature to the one before us. Arnd. : " As the natu-
tural sun is the light, life, and joy of all natural things, so God
himself is the light of all those who dwell in his house, their
salvation, and the strength of their life. But the Lord is not
only a sun, he is also a shield, such a protection as covers the
body and the soul like a shield, so that no murderous weapon
of the devil and of men can strike and mortally wound us."
By grace is meant the effects and gifts of grace, deliverance
from enemies, &c. On glory, comp. at Ps. xlix. 16 ; and on
" walk in a blameless," for as a blameless man, at Ps. xv. 2.

PSALM LXXXV.
The contents of the Psalm are made up of a prayer on the
1 " A rare example of piety. For although many desire for themselves a place
in the Church, yet ambition is so prevalent that few are content to remain in the
common number. For almost all are so hurried on by the mad desire of rising
higher, that they cannot remain at rest unless they occupy a prominent place."
2 "Ven. : It is not any tents^ or tents of any kind, that are understood, bat rich,
powerful, glorious, and splendid tents.

62 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
part of the people, for deliverance during long protracted misery:
The prayer rises, first in ver. 1-4, upon the foundation of the
early grace of God ; after this it is more fully developed in ver.
5-7, and thus the number seven of this first strophe is divided
into a four and a three. The second strophe, which contains the
promise of deliverance, consists exactly of the same length. Only
there is wanting a verse at the conclusion, which, as in Ps. lxxxi.,
is to be supplied from the title ; and we are thus reminded of
Hab. iii. 1 9, where the usual appendage borrowed from tlie titles
of the Psalms stands at the close.
It has been generally supposed that the people gives thanks in
ver. 1-3, for restoration from captivity ; and after this, in ver. 7,
prays to the Lord to complete the work which he had begun, to
remove entirely his anger from the people, and to put them in
full possession of deliverance. But the idea that vers. 1-3 refer
to restoration from captivity, depends altogether upon a wrong
translation of the phrase Jp^ty lli? in ver. I- This never means
to bring back the prisoners, not even, to turn the captivity, but
always to turn back to the prison, that is, to the misery (comp.
at Ps. xiv. 7) ; and this translation is especially demanded here
by the i^lty *n ver- ^> and the mtWl *n ver ^- ^ae olause at
the beginning " thou hast shown thyself merciful to thy land,"
is altogether against the reference to the Babylonish captivity.
" These words," remarks Claus with correctness, " appear much
rather to suit a time when the people dwelt in their land, and
had been visited with severe punishment." Further, the for
giveness and the showing of favour in ver. 1-3, are of a universal
character, and just as then the wrath is completely removed, so
in ver. 4-7 the people still lie completely under wrath. Ver, 1-3
cannot therefore be considered as referring to events of recent
occurrence, but to transactions of a remote age. Luther correctly
gives : thou hast been gracious in the days of old. The peo
ple cannot be considered as praying at ver. 4, &c, that the Lord
would complete a work, which, according to ver. 1-3, had been
begun, but that he would anew act at the present time as he had
done in the days of old.
The Psalm will not bear an historical exposition. The descrip
tion of the distress out of which the people had been delivered,
is conveyed in terms which are entirely general ; and in like
manner, there are no individual references in the representation

PSALM LXXXV. I — 4. G3
of the relations of the present. In the confident expectations
entertained of deliverance, the prominence given to peace would
seem to point to an oppression which had arisen from enemies ;
while, on the other hand, " the land gives it increase," especially
when viewed in connection with the fundamental passage, Lev.
xxvi. 4, appears to indicate that the distress had arisen from a
failure of the crops. We are hence entitled to draw the conclu
sion that the Psalm was designed for the use of all times of pro
tracted distress — of all times in which men did not witness tho
fulfilment of the promise of Lev. xxvi. 3-13 ; the bringing to re
membrance of which was evidently the design of the second part.
The time of composition cannot be determined ; the title, " To
the Chief Musician by the sons of Korah, a Psalm," gives as
little clue to this as it does to the contents of tho Psalm.

The introduction, ver. 1-4, is entirely similar to the introduc
tion in Ps. ix., and also in Ps. xl. : compare also Ps. lxxxiii. 9-1.
There cannot be given any more solid foundation for a prayer in
whicli it is desired that God should do something, than to ap
peal to what he has already done, inasmuch as, just because
he is the unchangeable God, those deeds which proceed from the
necessity of his being, partake of a prophetic character. — Ver. 1 .
Thou didst manifest thyself gracious, OLord, to thy land. Thou
didst turn back to the prison house of Jacob. Ver. 2. Thou didst
take away the iniquity of thy people, thou didst cover all their sins.
Selah. Ver. 3. Thou didst take away all thy wrath, thou didst
cease from the fury of thine anger. Ver. 4. Turn back therefore
to us, 0 God, our Saviour, and cause thy wrath against us to cease.
— Every man is left at liberty to think upon one of great ex
amples of the divine compassion in the days of old. The pause
after ver. 1, pointed out by the Selah, is intended to bind ver.
2 and 3 closely together, and in this way to intimate that every
thing said of the early grace of God was only designed to servo
the object of giving a basis to the prayer for new grace. The
yttfil ^ands in ver. 3, absol. to cease from, as in Ez. xviii. 30,
32. It is evident from Ez. xiv. 6, that this usage is properly
dependent upon an omission, — to turn back the face or the
heart : compare on such frequent omissions of the object in
Hiph. Ew. § 239. Maurer's translation, " thou hast stilled in

64 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
part thine anger," is not only " unnatural," but is contradicted
in one breath by the Psalmist : all their sins, all thy wrath. Al
lusion is made to Ex. xxxii. 12, where Moses says to God: turn
back from the fierceness of thy wrath. This prayer was at that
time graciously heard. — The y/Qf with the accusative has always
the sense of to turn back : compare at Ps. xiv. 7. The yjfiy be
longs to the verb : make it in our case to cease ; compare iftyft,
from beside him, so that it is no longer near him, in Ps. Ixxxix.
33. To connect the noun with the verb of indignation by the py,
is not usual.
Ver. 5-7. — Ver. 5. Wilt thou then be angry with us for ever?
prolong thine anger to all generations? Ver6 . Wilt thou not
turn back, quicken us, and shall not thy people rejoice in thee ?
Ver. 7. Let us behold, 0 Lord, thy mercy, and give us thy salva
tion. — On ver. 5, Berleb. : " The question supplicates as at Ps.
lxxvii. 7, or is put in this mournful form, with a view to move
the heart of God, who, in virtue of his fatherly love, could not
possibly fail to return a favourable answer." Michaelis: " While
thine anger on other occasions lasts only one moment," Ps. xxx.
5 : comp. Ex. xxxiv. 3, 6. The ^It^D 'n ver- 6 cannot, from
ver. 1 and 5, be construed as an adverb, it rather stands in im
mediate connection with l^nn : on ^s word comp. Ps. lxxx.
18; Deut. xxxii. 39 ; Hos. vi. 2. The return of God is the in
dispensable condition and means of quickening. The " thy peo
ple" contains the basis of the prayer. To rejoice in their God
(comp. Ps. v. 11, xl. 16) is essential to the being of the people
of God.
Ver. 8-11 — Ver. 8. / will hear what God the Lord speaks.
For he speaks peace to his people and to his pious ones, only that
they return not to foolishness. Ver. 9. Truly salvation is near to
those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land. Ver. 10.
Mercy and truth meet each other, righteousness and peace embrace
each other. Ver. 1 1 . Truth springs from the earth, and righteous
ness looks from heaven.— It is not the Psalmist that speaks in
ver. 8, but the peeple, as in the fourth and following verses, and
in the whole Psalm; and the answer is got by the same party
from whom the question and the prayer had proceeded. ^*p
is equivalent to " our God," comp. Ps. lxviii. 20. The " for"
contains the basis of the zeal and the joy {I will hear) with which
the people prepares to listen. The church has already observed,

PSALM LXXXV. VER. 5—11. 65
that the answer to her prayer is a favourable one. In reference
to the speeches of God, the Berieb. Bible: " Dost thou ask how
this happens ? Know that it happens in the simplest and surest
of all ways, by his own holy and good spirit, when he imparts to
the soul such good instruction and impression as that thus it
learns to know his will. He speaks, therefore, nothing else than
what already stands in the Bible, and only brings to remem
brance what he had already said, and caused to be written. He
explains it, points it out, and applies it to the condition of souls
and to all circumstances." It has been already observed, that
the address of God here is, in particular, nothing else than a re
petition of Lev. xxvi. 3-13. If that fundamental passage be
compared, it will immediately be perceived, that by the peace
nothing else is understood than protection against enemies, with
which in that passage also the fertility of the land is conjoined
as the second gift of a gracious God. The clause designed to
be read with emphasis " to his saints," following up the expres
sion of a previous verse, " to his people," and the still more de
finite clause, "and they may not return to foolishness," i.e.,
" but that only they do not return," indicate that like the fun
damental promise, where everything expressly and repeatedly
is made dependent on obedience to the commandments of
God, the promise drawn from it also is throughout a condi
tional one, — the new salvation rests throughout upon the foun
dation of the new obedience : comp. Ps. lxxx. 1 8. Inasmuch as
this was always imperfect, the people of the Old Testament
never obtained full possession of the blessings here promised. —
The *-tn in ver. 9 is the particle of assurance : comp. at Ps.
lviii. 12. — On the 10th and 11th verses many errors have been
fallen into in regard to the subject-matter, from not observing
that the language from the relation in which the passage stands
to the first part cannot possibly apply to anything else than to
the gifts of God: we have there what the Lord has formerly ful
filled and ought now to perform, and here what he is about to
perform, exactly in accordance with " he speaks peace to his
people," of ver. 8, and with the fundamental passage. — The
mercy in ver. 10 is the mercy of God, the truth therefore can be
nothing but his truth. For both the mercy and the truth of
God occur thus bound up together, (comp. for example Ps. xxv.
10, xl. 11, lxi. 7), and if the truth were to be viewed in con
VOL. III. F

gg THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
nection with men, it would have been necessary to have defined it
more exactly.1 The meeting each other, and the kissing, denote si
multaneous appearance and friendly agreement. The righteous
ness, as is evident from the parallelism with the first clause, and
ver. 11, is not subjective righteousness, but righteousness as the
gift of God, the matter-of-fact proclamation of righteousness;
comp. at Ps. xxiii. 3.— The righteousness springs out of the earth,
ver. 11, as to its .consequences, in the rich increase, which God,
always' consistent in word and deed, gives to the land ; comp.
" our land gives its increase," ver. 1 2, which serves as a com
mentary. To "the righteousness looks down from heaven,"
that is, descending in blessings upon the people of God, we have
there the corresponding clause, "the Lord gives what is good."
Is. xiv. 8 is parallel and probably dependent upon this passage:
"Drop down ye heavens from above, and let the skies pour down
righteousness, let the earth open, and let it bring forth salva
tion, and let it cause righteousness to spring up together."
Ver. 12, 13.— Ver. 12. The Lord also gives what is good, and
our land gives -it increase. Ver. 1 3. Righteousness goes forth
before him and makes her footsteps a way. — On the second half
of the 12th verse comp. Ps. Ixvii. 6. Here, a* there, the words
are from Lev. xxvi. 4. — The way to the right interpretation of
the second half of ver. 13 has been obstructed by perversely in
terpreting righteousness in a moral sense. 'Righteousness makes
her footsteps for a way (comp. Is. li. 10), and thus we are en
abled to walk in the ways of righteousness and salvation, comp.
at Ps. xxiii. 3.
PSALM LXXXVL
The Psa'lmist.grounds his prayer for assistance upon the mercy
and forgiving love of God towards his own people, according to
which he cannot overlook their misery or permit their prayerto
be unheard, ver. 1-5, then turning from what is the first of the
enemies of trust in God in trouble, viz., doubt as to his willing
ness to help, to what is the second, viz., doubt as to his ability, he
grounds it next upon the omnipotence and glory of God — so great
1 Cocceius : "The former denotes 'patetnal love and its gifts, the opposites of
anger, enmity, and condemnation, the latter the exhibition and the fulfilment of the
promises."

PSALM LXXXVI. 67
that in future times all the heathen shall do homage to him their
creator, ver. 6-10. To these foundations there is added a third in
ver. 11-13, the early inexpressible grace of God: inasmuch as
God formerly delivered him from the jaws of death, how should
he not now help him, and should not the Psalmist confidently
hope for his assistance ? The prayer and the representation of the
distress up to this point have been set forth only incidentally
and in connection with the representation of the grounds of the
confidence ; now, however, that these last had been completely
given, the prayer and the description break forth in an inde
pendent and developed form, ver. 14-17.
The Psalm is divided into two strophes. The number ten of
the first is divided by a five, the number seven of the second by
a four and a three. The first strophe gives the general grounds
of confidence, and in the second the prayer follows upon the
special grounds.
The title, " a Prayer of David," is justified as far as the first
part of it is concerned, by the circumstance that the Psalm, in
point of form, bears throughout a devotional and supplicatory
character ; it never sinks down from prayer to meditation, comp
on pj~»g]-| at Ps. xc, the consequence of which is unusually fre
quent addresses to God. It has been objected against the second
part of the title that the Psalm, in consequence of the numerous
borrowed passages which it contains, is manifestly the produc
tion of a later date. But the circumstance that the passages,
with the exception of those from the Pentateuch, are all bor
rowed from the Davidic Psalms, and none from later produc
tions, shews that we must keep by the era of David, and at the
same time leads to the idea, — an idea which we shall find con
firmed by subsequent examination, — that the borrowed passages
originated not in feebleness but in design.
The situation in the life of David may with certainty be as
certained. The Psalmist finds himself in misery, deprived of all
human help, ver. 1 ; his life is endangered by a band of proud,
violent, ungodly men, ver. 2, 1 4, after God, at an early period,
had shewn towards him great mercy, and had delivered his soul
out of the deep hell, ver. 13. As the last passage manifestly refers
to his deliverance from the hand of .Saul, we are here limited to
those dangers to which Jie was exposed in the time of Absalom.
It is very probable that this Psalm was sung by the sons of

68 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
Korah from the soul of David, when they accompanied him in
liis banishment. This was manifestly the case with Ps. xlii., xliii.,
and Ixxxiv., and the composition by the sons of Korah, which it
was necessary should be there expressly marked, as Ps. xlii. and
xliii. open the series of the Korahitic-Elohim Psalms, and Ps.
Ixxxiv. the series of the Kor.-Jehovah Psalms, is in the case before
us determined with equal certainty by the position of the Psalm
in the middle of the Korahitic Psalms, from which the title gets
its necessary supplement. The prayer, however, is David's, not
only because it was intended for him, and was sung from his
soul, the Korahites did no more than give back to him what
they had got from him ; but also because the poem is throughout
interwoven with quotations from the Davidic Psalms. This fact
is much more easily explained if we suppose one of the sons of
Korah rather than David himself to have been the author. It
must have gone to David's heart to have been comforted with
words which he had either addressed to his own afflicted soul in
troubles which the Lord had gloriously averted, or with which he
had comforted others. — The tenderness of feeling which charac
terizes the other Psalms which the sons of Korah sang to their
afflicted king, is so very marked in this case that it is impossible
to overlook it.
It has been objected to the Psalm that the sentiment isnot
at all of a noble character, the poet boasts of his piety. This
objection has been met in our remarks upon other Psalms, in re
ference to whicli it has been in like manner brought forward ;
comp. for example Ps. xvii. xviii. It is a very preposterous ob
jection to be urged against one who founds his hopes entirely
upon the forgiving mercy of God, comp. ver. 5, 15.

Ver. 1-5. — Ver. 1. Incline, 0 Lord, thine ear, hear me, for I
am miserable and poor. Ver. 2. Protect my soul, for I am pious,
deliver thy servant, 0 thou my God, who trusts in thee. Ver. 3.
Be gracious to me, 0 God, for I cry to the econtinually. Ver. 4.
Rejoice the soul of thy servant, for to thee, 0 Lord, I draw my
soul. Ver. 5. For thou, 0 Lord, art good, and forgiving, and
rich in mercy for all who call upon thee. — In ver. ] the misery
is not considered as forming of itself a sufficient basis for the
prayer, — this basis is supplemented in what follows. I am
miserable, and (what is equivalent to being one of thy servants)

PSALM LXXXVI. VER. 6—10. 69
full of trust in thee, seeking help from thee alone, and thou art
rich in goodness and forgiving mercy towards those who are
thine. This goodness and -compassion of God is the proper
ground of hope, comp. ver. 15 ; the piety and trust of the Psal
mist merely denote the condition of its development. — Ver. 14
forms a commentary upon the " protect my soul" of ver. 2. In
reference to -ppn comp. at Ps. iv. 3.1 — The " I draw my soul to
thee," in ver. 4, is to be considered as understood with marks of
quotation. It forms the beginning of Ps. xxv. — The " forgiv
ing," in ver. 5 is related to the " good," as the species to the
genus : God would not be good if he did not forgive to his peo
ple their sins of infirmity.
Ver. 6-10. — Ver. 6. Hear, 0 God, my prayer, and attend to
tlie voice of my supplication. Ver. 7. In the day of my calamity
I cry to, thee, for thou shalt hear me. Ver. 8. There is none like
to thee among the gods, 0 Lord, and there is nothing like thy
work. Ver. 9. All the heathen whom thou hast made shall come and
worship before thee, 0 Lord, and give the glory to thy name. Ver:
1 0. For thou art great and doest wonders, thou, 0 God, alone. —
The plural feminine from j-\l2^3fi]-|, which does not elsewhere
occur, is one constructed by the Psalmist for the purpose of im
printing still more distinctly upon the word the character of
weakness and entreaty. — In ver. 7, assurance of being heard is
given as the basis of the cry to God in trouble : for thou shalt
hear me, — certainly not : would that thou wert willing to hear
me. The basis on which this confidence rests is given in ver.
8-10, in the reference there made to the glory and omnipotence
of God : no man can hinder his work, &c. — Before ver. 8, ac
cording to this remark, for is in reality to be supplied. The
¦ l On " who trusts in thee," Calvin : " We know that some were endued with
that measure of integrity that they have obtained among men the praise of the
highest equity : as Aristides boasted that he had given occasion of grief to none.
But because the men, along with the excellency of their virtues, were either filled
with ambition, or so inflated with pride, that they trusted in themselves rather than
in God, it is not wonderful that they paid the penalty of their vanity ; just as in
reading profane histories we foolishly wonder how it happened that God exposed
honourable, grave, and self-denying men to the multitude of the wicked ; whereas
trusting to their own virtue, they despised, in their sacrilegious pride, the grace of
God. For whereas their virtue was the idol which they worshipped, they did not
condescend to lift their eyes to God. Therefore although we maintain a good
conscience, and God can be appealed to as the highest attestator of our innocence*
yet if we desire his aid, we must cast our hopes and our cares upon him."

70^ THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
Verse reads literally : there is not (a God) as thou (art) among!
the gods, and there are not (works) as (are) thine. The funda
mental passages are Ex. xv. 11, "who is like thee, 0 Lord,;
among the gods," and Deut. iii. 24, " where is there a god in,
heaven and upon the earth, who does according to thy works
and according to thy great deeds." On " among the gods,"
Calvin : " Should any one assert that it is unseemly to compare
God to the empty fictions, the answer is easy, the discourse is
accommodated to the ignorance of men, because we know how
daringly superstitious men raise their whims above the heavens.
David casts contempt in a forcible manner upon their stupidity,
inasmuch as they manufacture gods which in no way are attested
to be gods." That thus, " among the gods," is to be understood
as if it were " among the imaginary gods," is clear from the 9th
verse, where even the heathen belong to the works of God, whose
gods therefore have no domain left thera on which to exercise
any power. In the parallel passages, Ps. xviii. 31, " for who is
God save the Lord," 2 Sam. vii. 22, " there is no God besides
thee," (in a preceding clause as here: there is no God like
thee,) divinity and therefore existence is denied to all other
gods. — In ver. 9. for the purpose of intimating the transcend- -
ant greatness of God, it is mentioned that at a future time
all the heathen shall serve him ; comp. Zeph. ii. 11, " and men
shall worship him, every one from his place, all the isles of
the heathen," Zech. xiv. 9, 16, and the ChristoL on the last
passage. How should such a God not hear the supplication
of his servant ! The expression, " whom thou hast made," in
cidentally refers to the ground of the hope of the future- conver
sion of the heathen. To be and not be conscious of being cannot
always continue apart ; the creature must necessarily, at a fu
ture period, return to a state of obedience to its Creator. Comp*
Ps. xx. 28, where the announcement that the heathen shall, at
a future period, do homage to the Lord, is founded on the fact
that he alone is lawful King of the earth. We here see what a
fulness of prophetical matter, and of joyful expectation of the
dawning of the day of knowledge, even in the midst of the
dark night of error which covered the earth, was furnished
by the sound doctrines in regard to the creation, which meet
us at the very threshold of the sacred Scripture. The ex
pression, " whom thou hast made," ought always to lift us to

PSALM LXXXVI. VER. 11—13. 71
blessed confidence, as often as the state of the world before God,
falls heavily upon our souls. The proper basis of the confidence,
however, is given in ver. 10. God, God alone is great, and does
wonderful deeds, and this his greatness manifesting itself in
wonderful deeds, cannot but produce a lasting impression. The
heathen shall at a future time come and honour his name, the
product of his deeds. The hammer of the greatness of God shall
break the rock of their hearts.
Ver. 11-13. But the Lord has given to the Psalmist (0 that
he did but lay them to heart !) special pledges of acceptance and
deliverance. He has already brought him once from death to
life : how should he not now prevent his death ! The Psalmist
not merely as one considering, but as one praying, makes men
tion of the former favour of God, and his heart is full of confi
dence.-1— Ver. 11. Teach me, 0 Lord, thy way, I will walk in thy
truth ; incline my heart that I may fear thy name. Ver. 1 2. /
will praise thee, 0 Lord my God, with my whole heart, and hon
our eternally thy name. Ver. 13. For thy grace has been great
towards me, and thou didst deliver my soul out of deep hell. —
" Teach me thy way, 0 Lord," in ver. J 1 ,, is borrowed word for
word from Ps. xxvii. 11. As the quotation here is undoubtedly
designed, the way of the Lord must have the same meaning here
which it has there — viz., his guidance, the way of salvation along
which he leads his people. The Psalmist had already, in fulfil-;
ment of the prayer of Ps. xxvii. 11, learned this way externally,
but he prays, judiciously applying the sense of Ps. xxvii. 11, that
the Lord would teach him inwardly also,, still more perfectly this
way, would lead him heartily and fully to appreciate the grace
which had been vouchsafed to him as being the only ground on
which hope can grow. The truth ot God is always the truth
(comp. Ps. xxx. 9), which belongs to God, the agreement be
tween word and deed as manifested in the experience of his
people, never the truth which he desires, and is well-pleasing
to him, or faithfulness towards him ; eomp. at Ps. xxv. 5. To
walk in the truth of God signifies, according to the fundamental,
passage, Ps. xxv. 3, to he always mindful of it. David had there
represented walking in the truth of God, as the condition of de
liverance. He is tenderly reminded of this here by the sons of
Korah. They pray out of his soul ; as thou hast led me in thy
truth, Ps. xxv. 5, as thou hast richly manifested this, in my ex-

i Z THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
perience, so may I also turn to my own words (Ps. *»/cvi. 3),
walk in it, meditate on it with my whole heart. That the fear
of the Lord, for which the Psalmist prays in the last clause, is
reverential gratitude for the manifestation of the glory of the
Lord in his guidance, is evident, not only from the second
clause, but also from the first clause of ver. 12, which may be
considered as a commentary on the expression. The fear here
corresponds to the praise there. The fear of the name of the
Lord exists already in the Psalmist's heart, but he feels that
it is not there in a perfect state; he prays to the Lord therefore,
that he would unite his heart to fear his name, i. e., that he would
fill it in all its parts with reverential gratitude, that he would
entirely remove from him the intervening ground between the
torrid and the frigid zone; comp. " I will praise thee with my
whole heart," in ver. 12, Ps. xii. 2, James iv. 8. — Ver. 13 points
more distinctly and clearly than the preceding one, to the
mighty deliverance in the time of Saul, with allusion to Ps, lvi.
13, where, in a Psalm of David's, composed at this time, we
read: " For thou hast delivered my soul from death, so that I
walk before God in the land of the living;" comp. also Ps. xviii.
5, " The cords of hell compassed me about, th esnares of death
surprised me." It is impossible to translate with Ew. " the
deepest hell," but only " the under hell," or " the hell deep
below;" comp. Deut. xxxii. 22.
Ver. 14-17: the developed prayer.— Ver. 14. 0 God, the
proud rise against me, and the band of the violent stands against
my soul, and they do not set thee before their eyes. Ver. 15.
And thou, 0 Lord, art a God, compassionate and gracious, long-
suffering and of great mercy and truth. Ver. 16. Turn thyself
to me, and be gracious unto me; give thy strength to thy servant,
and help the son of thine handmaid. Ver. 17. Perform to me a
sign for good, that those may see it who hate me, and be ashamed
because thou, Lord, assistest me, und comfortest me. — Ver. 14
is copied quite literally from Ps. liv. 3. The effect in David's
case must have been very striking, when those very same words
were here put into his lips in this new distress, which had been
used by himself so nobly on a former occasion. The "violent,"
who at that time sought after his soul, were now at rest in their
graven The most remarkable of the variations (these always
occur in such cases) is that pv^, proud, occurs instead of

PSALM LXXXVII. 73
Qi»rt strangers, barbarians (comp. at Ps. xix. 13), and instead
of the violent, the band of the violent, the plural form of the
verb being retained, which points back to the original text.
The conspiracy of Absalom is more exactly indicated by this
expression than by the mere word violent. Even the Elohim
is transferred from the original passage in which the Psalmist
removes his refuge away from the earth, where he is defence
less, to heaven, flees to God that he may undertake for him in
opposition to men. — In ver. 15, the Psalmist turns back once
more to the basis. He holds up before God the great comfort
ing expression which had been made use of in Ex. xxxiv. 6.
" Towards thine own" must be supplied; comp. ver. 5. — The
son of an handmaid, ver. 16, is a home-born slave; comp. Ex.
xxiii. 12. As it is incumbent upon the servant that he serve the
Lord, it is the duty of the Lord to help and protect the ser
vant. — The sign which the Psalmist asks in ver. 17, is a matter-
of-fact attestation of the divine favour. Neither the sense
of the word nor the connection admits of a miraculous
sign. What the Psalmist speaks of, according to the preceding
context, and the conclusion of the Psalm, is simply help and
comfort, by which his enemies may see, that it is not without
good ground that he calls God his God. For good, for prosperity,
comp. Ps. xvi. 2. In the last words (not while thou helpest me,
in this case the tenses would not be preterites), the Psalmist
grounds his prayer upon confidence, with an expression of which
. the Psalm appropriately closes. The preterites are to be ex
plained by the strength of the faith which anticipates the future.

PSALM LXXXVII.
Sion, the much valued city of God, is protected and honoured
by him, ver. 1-3. The fulness of the heathen shall one day
enter into it, find in it their true home, and all the fountains of
their salvation, ver. 4-7. Ver. 1-3, the contents of which are
general, are to be considered as forming the introduction. The
main thought is that contained in ver. 4-7, the glorifying of
Sion by the reception of the heathen into the number of its
citizens; and a well-defined form and arrangement of this
thought forms the proper kernel of the Psalm, viz., " Sion, the

74 BOOK OF PSALMS.
birth-place of the nations," which occurs in every one of the three
verses (4-6), which are bounded by a Selah behind and before*
The formal arrangement is, in general, easily discerned; the
number seven of the verses is divided by a three and a four.
(Ver. 7, as far as the main idea is concerned, is intimately con
nected with ver. 3-6; it contains the praises of Sion as sung by
its new citizens.) If we search deeper, it is manifest that the
numbering pervades the words as well as the verses. The whole
is grouped round the 4th verse, which stands in the middle, and
contains twelve words. The three preceding verses have the
numbers 7, 7, 5, and the three following verses have exactly the
same (in ver. 5 the ^t^ ^N is considered as one word, and in
like manner the ^'2->l~i'i)- If we consider the 7 and the 5 as the
broken 12, the whole becomes characterised by the 7 and the 12,
the signature of the covenant, and of the people of the covenant.
The seven is, according to common rule, divided by the three
and the four. Everything here agrees too harmoniously toge
ther to admit of the arrangement being the result of chance.
The view is one of considerable importance in more respects than
one. Thus it attests the originality of the title in ver. 1, and
consequently, of the titles generally ; for the title forms part of
the artificial structure of the Psalm, a structure which falls to
pieces as soon as the title is removed. In like manner, it sets
aside arbitrary attempts, such as that of Ewald, who magnani
mously endeavours to cover over, out of his own resources, the
pretended defect at the beginning of the Psalm. And it also
explains, adequately, the very concise form of expression through
out Psalms whicli certainly looks like one, the words of whicli
have been numbered.
The title furnishes no means for expounding historically the
Psalm. For the song of the sons of Korah, to whom it is as
signed, was heard at very different times. Yet an historical ex
position is demanded by the contents. For hopes such as those
here expressed, suppose some actual occasion by which their
flame, always glimmering under the ashes, might be kindled up
in the soul of a prophet, or ot a, Psalmist, who is particularly de
pendent upon such actual occasions. These actual occasions are
of a twofold character : either the depth of misery, the sad con
trast between the idea of the people of God, and their appear
ance, which powerfully constrains heaven-enraptured souls to

PSALM LXXXVII. 75
seek compensation in the future, and opens their spiritual eye
to behold the glory pointed out to them by God, (this is the
history of the Messianic prospects immediately before the exile,
during it, and shortly after its close) ; or some great present sal
vation, in which the believing soul sees a prelude and a pledge
of the perfection of salvation, and by which it is lifted up to the
active exercise of hope in regard to it. The spirit and the tone
of the Psalm render it manifest that it was an occasion of the
latter kind, as at Ps. lxviii. lxxii., that existed in the case before
us ; the former is, generally speaking, rather prophetic than
lyric ; poetry is dependent upon the popular tone of mind, and
is drawn forth by it, while prophecy corrects it. The whole
character of the Psalm agrees with the title, which designates
it a Song of Praise. There are no traces of tears recently dried
up in the clear countenance of the Psalmist, as there were, for
example, in that of Jeremiah, when he began to sing the song
of Israel's deliverance. Triumphant joy pervades it from be
ginning to end.
If we endeavour to define more closely the historical occasion,
everything leads us to the joyful events under Hezekiah. We
cannot fix upon an earlier time. For before this time Babylon
could not have been named, as it is here, as being, next to Egypt,
the representative of the power of the world. Its rising gran
deur became first known in the time of Hezekiah. In the forty-
eighth Psalm, which was composed by David, Egypt and Cush
still appear, ver. 31 , 32, as the representatives of the might of
the world : in Asia at that time it had no adequate repre
sentative. Further, the name Rahab, haughtiness, pride, by
which Egypt is here designated, occurs for the first time in Is.
xxx. 7, in a prophecy belonging to the time of the Assyrian
oppression under Hezekiah, and this passage is undoubtedly the
fundamental one on which the others, the passage before us
and Ps... Ixxxix. 11, depend, — the name does not occur in Is.
li. 9, 10 : comp. at Ps. lxxiv. 13. Isaiah indicates pretty
clearly that he is the author of the name, when he says : there
fore I call it Rahab. And in like manner, we cannot come down
to a later time. The deliverance under Hezekiah is the last
great joyful event previous to the captivity ; and the name by
which Egypt is here designated forbids us again to descend to
a period later than that event. The name " haughtiness,"

76 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
" pride," was suitable only so long as Egypt continued to bo a
formidable power (and that Rahab is to be explained in this
way is manifest from Job ix. 13; xxvi. 12; Is. li. 9; comp.
at Ps. lxxiv. 13,besides Is. xxx. 7); the word is never applied
to a ferocious aquatic animal, a sea monster ; by the battle
at Karkemish or Circesium on the Euphrates, the haughti
ness of Egypt was humbled, its pride was broken. The name
appears, indeed, in Ps. Ixxxix. 11, but only in reference
to the haughtiness and pride of the past, the incarnation of
which was Pharaoh in the time of Moses: but here the allusion
is that even this still haughty and proud power shall take upon
itself the yoke of the Lord, — Rahab, — Egypt, with all its
haughtiness and pride. — Further, it is evident from Ps. xlvi.,
Ixxv., Ixxvi., which were all composed at this time, that the
Psalm-poetry received a mighty impulse from the events under
Hezekiah, and was at that time awakened out of its long slum
ber. The first of these Psalms, like the one now before us,
belongs to the sons of Korah, and shows that these men at that
time were found among the organs by whom the joy of inspired
men and the confidence of the people received their adequate
expressions. This Korahitic-Jehovah Psalm is intimately con
nected with that Korah itic-Elohim Psalm, not only in spirit
and tone, which it possesses in common with Ps. xlvii. and
xlviii., the ancient models after which the Korahitic Psalms of
the time of Hezekiah were composed, but also in particular ex
pressions, such as the praise of Sion (comp. Ps. xlvi, 4, 5, with
ver. 1-3 here), the name "the city of God," which is given to
it here (comp. ver. 4 there with ver. 3 here), and the words,
" he" establishes it," here in ver. 5, and there in ver. 5. — If we
suppose the Psalm to have been composed on the occasion re
ferred to, it will appear quite intelligible that the Psalmist
should break out so suddenly at the beginning with praise of
the security of Sion: he merely lends his mouth in this case to
the full heart of the people ; verse second also, " The Lord
loveth the gates of Sion more than all the dwellings of Jacob,"
is seen in its true light, for this preference for Sion was at that
time verified — its gates remained closed upon the enemies,
while all the rest of the country was subject to tlieir sway, —
the heart alone remained uninjured. In like manner, also, the
expression in ver. 5, " He establishes it, the Most High," re-

PSALM LXXXVII. 77
ceives its foundation.— That time also was peculiarly well-fitted
to develop the germ of the main-idea of our Psalm, the hope,
namely, which always slumbered among the people, of the con
version of the heathen to God and to his kingdom. The
ancient promise, " In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth
be blessed," had at that time found a prelude of its fulfilment.
The common enemy of the human race had been cast to the
ground for the sake of Sion: the heathen shared in a blessing
which was in the first instance imparted to her. That they
were not wholly hardened against this favour, but that they
responded to the exhortations of Asaph, " Let them bring gifts
to the Dreadful One," Ps. Ixxvi. 12, is evident from 2 Chron.
xxxii. 23, "And many brought gifts to the Lord to Jerusalem."
What time could be better fitted than this to awaken the hope
of the future conversion of the heathen? — Finally, if we assume
the occasion referred to to have been the correct one, a sur
prising light is thrown upon the enumeration of the nations,
which thus is saved from the appearance of arbitrariness. The
nations enumerated are only such nations as were bound up in
community of interest with Israel at that time, and are hence
the same as the "many" of Chronicles. The Egyptians formed
always the chief object of attack to the Assyrians, and were
severely threatened by Sennacherib. The Ethiopians at that
time were closely bound up with the Egyptians (comp. Rosel-
lini i. ii. p. 105), and Torhaka, king of the Ethiopians, was, ac
cording to Is. xxxvii. 9, in the train against Sennacherib. The
king of Babylon, whose rising power the spiritual eye of the
prophets had already before this time beheld in the foreground
of the future, and whom they had represented to themselves as
the heir of the decaying Assyrian (comp., for example, Is. xxxix.
23, 17; Micah iv. 10), sent a present, after the Assyrian catas
trophe, to Hezekiah, and sought to enter into closer terms of
friendship with him. Isaiah, in chap. xiv. 29, threatens the
Philistines with dreadful misery from the Assyrians, and it is
evident, from chap. xx. 1, that this threatening was fulfilled. —
Rich Tyre would, in all probability, come in next after Judah.
— Thus, therefore, everything unites in favour of the assump
tion of the composition at the time referred to, in favour of
which it may still be added that some passages remind us verv
strikingly of Isaiah

THE BOOK OF. PSALMS

Title. By the sons of Korah, a Psalm, a Song of Praise. Ver.
1. His founded (city), upon the holy mountains. Ver. 2. The
Lord loves the gates of Sion more than all the dwellings of Jacob,
Ver. 3. There is spoken a glorious thing of thee, thou city of God.
Selah.— The suffix in ijiTID^ ver- *> refers not to Sion' whicJl
everywhere throughout the Psalm is feminine, but to Him of
whom the soul of the Psalmist, and of the people at that time was
so full, that every one would immediately think of him, even when
he was not expressly mentioned, the Lord ; comp. ver. 2 and 5,
and Is. xiv. 32, liv. 11, where the founding of Sion by the Lord
is, in like manner, mentioned. We cannot translate: his found
ing, for the noun pillpi never occurs; it must be: his founded
(city), as a simple participle. The founding of Sion took place
in a spiritual sense, when it was chosen to be the seat of the
sanctuary; comp. the being born used of the spiritual birth in
ver. 4-6. It was at that time that the place, though it had
previously existed, received its true foundation. It is better to
supply " is founded," out of " his founded city," than to insert
the mere " is :" comp. -jpi with 3 of that on which it is founded
in Is. liv. 11, "I will found thee on sapphires." As in other
passages Sion is always spoken of only as the holy mountain of
the Lord (eomp., for example, Ps. ii. 6, xliii. 3), and as the
Psalmist, throughout the whole Psalm, has to do, not with the
whole of Jerusalem, but only with Sion, Mount Sion here also
must be understood as alone meant. The Psalmist speaks of
mountains, because Sion is one part of a mountain range; comp.
Robinson ii. 15. The whole was indebted for its dignity to this
particular part. The sanctity of the mountain range, of which
Sion formed the kernel (the remaining portion was merely the
shell) denoted its separation from all the other mountains of the
earth, its inapproachable character, its impregnable security
against all the attacks of the world. For this sanctity it was
indebted to the choice of God, fixing it as the seat of his church
upon the earth. The mountain is holy " as the mountain which
the Lord chooses for his seat," Ps. lxviii. 1 6. The praise which
is here bestowed upon Sion belongs peculiarly to the church of
God upon the earth. As it belonged to Sion only in so far as
it was the seat of ike church, so it belongs to the church
only in so far as it is really the church. — On the expression,
"The Lord loveth," in ver. 2, comp. Ps. Ixxviii. 68. Theses

PSALM LXXXVII. VER. 4 — 7. 79
are specially mentioned, because it was against them that the
assaults of the enemies were in the first instance directed. If
they remained safe, the whole city was safe: comp. Is. lx. 18.
: — " There is spoken," in ver. 3, stands instead of " men speak."
The nVIS^ ^s ^ie accusative. The form of expression is de
signedly general: by God, by man, among Israel, among tho
heathens, Sion gets glorious praise. Glorious: because the Lord
protects thee, wonderfully maintains thee, shall at a future time
wonderfully increase thy citizens; comp. the glorious praise of
Sion in Ps. xlviii. and xlvi., which may serve as a commentary.
Of thee: — comp. on -^*"T with ^ of the object. We may also
translate, " in thee," the glorious things of God's wonderful
protection and blessing upon thee; comp. Ps. xlviii. 3: " God is
known in her palaces for a refuge." "Thou city of God" (comp.
Ps. xlvi. 4, xlviii. 1 ) contains the ground of the fact that there
is said something glorious of Sion or in Sion.
Ver. 4-7. — Ver. 4. I announce Rahab and Babylon as those
who know me, behold Philistia and Tyre with Cush: this one was
born iliere. Ver. 5. And of Sion it is said: every one is born in
her, and He establishes her, the Most High. Ver. 6. The Lord
shall count in the writing down of the nations: this one was bom
there. Selah. Ver. 7. And singers and dancers: "all my foun
tains are in thee." At the time when these hopes were ex
pressed, the number of the members of the kingdom of God had
been very much melted down. The ten tribes had already been
led away into captivity, and Judah remained alone in the land. In
these circumstances the longing after the fulfilment of the old pro
mises of a posterity to Abraham as numerous as the stars of heaven
and the sand of the sea, must have been awakened with pecu
liar power, and must have seized with especial ardour upon every
thing, such as the above-mentioned events in the time of Heze
kiah, which furnished a foundation on which such a hope could
rest, and brought into view a compensation for the loss of Israel
-in the coming in of the heathen. In like manner in the present
day, the melancholy condition of the church among ourselves
makes us look with earnest longings towards heathen lands, and
observe every sign which intimates that the Lord will there
collect new members for his church. — In the first half of ver. 4,
the Lord speaks, and from the second half to the end the Psalm
ist; for it will not do to suppose that the Psalmist begins with

80 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
" and" in ver. 5. The difference, however, is one purely formal,
so that it would scarcely be proper to read the address of the Lord
with inverted commas. The Psalmist, who speaks in the spirit of.
the Lord, merely continues what the Lord had begun. The y^m
is to mention' to announce, as Ps. xx. 7; xiv. 17; lxxi. 16;
Ixxvii. 11 ; Jer. iv. 16. Theiy-p1? is as mV knowers, such as
know me, like .i^Qpi'? N2P to 9° out a,s a free man' ^x' *xi' 2'
On to know the Lord, compare at Ps. xxxvi. 10 ; Isaiah xix. 21
is parallel : " And the Lord shall be known to the Egyptians, and
the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day." The translation
of Gesenius must be rejected: I will make them known to my
(old) acquaintances. For the mere announcement is not suffi
cient ; the quality must be pointed out. Is. xix. 19, &c, is, for
example, really parallel, where Egypt and Assyria, instead of
which we have here Babylon on the ground already mentioned,
serve the Lord, and Israel is third in the covenant ; and also Is.
xliv. 5, "This one shall say I am the Lord's, and this one shall call
himself by the name of the God of Jacob, and this one shall sub?
scribe with his hand unto the Lord, and surname himself by the
name of Israel." After " behold Philistia and Tyre with Cush,"
we must- supply : this shall be said of them ; compare 13110 in
ver 3, and iq^i in ver. 5. This supplementary clause is indi
cated by the quotation given of the words which these utter: this
one was born there. Tyrus had already been named in Ps. xiv. 12,
as among the nations which shall in future times turn to the Lord
and his kingdom. The Berieb. Bible : " The Syrians had already
furnished workmen and materials for Solomon's temple, as a good
type that they also would join in the fellowship of the Church of
New Testament times, of which the Canaanitish woman formed
the first fruits." On the conversion of the Cushites, compare Ps.
lxviii. 31, lxxii. 10. Berieb. : of which the eunuch of Queen Can-
dace, Acts viii. 27, was the first fruits. " This one" does not re
fer to individuals, but to the ideal persons of the nations who had
formerly been spoken of, and with whom thePsalmist has through
out to do ; compare particularly, " when the people shall be re
corded" in ver. 4. The " being born" stands here in anticipation
of the New Testament doctrine of the second birth in a spiritual
sense : besides the passage before us, it occurs only in Job xi.
1 2, " and the vain man shall be wise, and the wild ass born a
man." Sion is the birth-place of the higher existence of the hea-

PSALM LXXXVII. VER. 4 — 7. 8]
then, their spiritual mother city. They shall be there born anew
as children of God and children of Abraham. — In ver. 5, the
great favour which the Lord shews for Sion in making her the
birth-place and the true home of the heathen, is again touched
upon for the purpose of placing it in connection with a second
favour, that namely of strength and maintenance. It is in this
connection, that what is new and advanced in the thought lies.
Calvin : " It often happens, that in proportion to the rapidity
with which cities rise to distinguished eminence, is the shortness
of the continuance of their prosperity. That it may not be thought
that the prosperity of the church is of such a perishable and
transitory nature, it is declared that the Most High himself will
establish her. It is not surprising, as if it had been said, to find
other cities shaken, and subjected from time to time to a variety
of vicissitudes ; for they are carried round with the world in its
revolutions, and do not enjoy everlasting defenders. But it is the
very reverse with the new Jerusalem, which, being founded upon
the power of God, shall continue when even heaven and earth
shall have fallen into ruins." On iqi^ with ^ compare iii. 2 ;
lxxi. 1 0. We may also translate here, " to Sion," although in
point of form the address is not directed to Sion. The ^i^
ty-i^is to be considered as one noun, and signifies each and every
one (comp. Esth. i. 8 ; Lev. xvii. 10, 13), — man is added to man,
nation to nation, comp. at ver. 4. He, he himself and no other,,
not a weak human being. The Most High — comp. Ps. xlvii. 2.
— In ver. 6, which Luther has wholly misunderstood, irjp has its
usual sense, to count, compare 2 Sam. xxiv. 10, where it is used
of David numbering the people. The Lord numbers the nations
1, 2, 3, &c, and in doing so, in assigning in the case of each the
reason why he counts it in, he makes the remarks : this one was
born there. The y\FQ is not a noun (no such noun occurs), but
an infinitive : in the noting down of the people — not when he
notes down, but when they are noted down. The Lord merely
presides at the taking up of the lists, and intimates who are to be
marked down. There lies at the foundation a reference to the
usual enumeration and citizen-rolls, compare Ez. xiii. 9, which
gave a poor and miserable result as compared with the high
expectations and hopes which had been called forth in the
church of God at its commencement. There comes at last,
however, a numbering which satisfies all these hopes. Whole
VOL. III. Q

&2> THE BOOK OF PSALMS. *.:
hosts of nations shall be added to the kingdom of God.—
Ver. 7 is so far separated from ver. 4-6, as is intimated by
the Selah, as that there is nothing more said in it of Sion
as the birth-place of the heathen ; it is so far connected, how
ever, as that the matter spoken of is still the relation of the
heathen to Sion. It contains the words with which these new
citizens of Sion praise it as the fountain of all their salvation :
and singers and dancers (at the head of that great procession of
the heathen) speak then : all my fountains are in thee. The
mention of singers and dancers leads to a joyful procession; in
which the redeemed from the heathen, as Israel did on a former
occasion after their passage through the Red Sea, Ex. xv. 20,
21, express their gratitude to the Lord and to his church. In
such joyful processions the singers here first named occupy the
chief place; compare at Ps. lxviii. 25. What these did with
their lips, the ring-dancers expressed in music and by mimicry;
compare Ps. cxlix. 3 ; cl. 4, " let them praise his name in the
dance." As : the one no less than the other. *yyr\ 1S a verbal
noun from Pil. of ^y\T\, compare r$$y\Xy&, the ring-dancers in
Jud. xxi. 23, which, according to ver 21, is to be derived from
iyij-j. Ps. xxx. 11, and the example of David, 2 Sam. vi. 16,
render it manifest that the ring-dance was not confined to young
women, but was also engaged in by men. The fountains are the
fountains ot salvation which revive the thirsty soul and the thirsty
land ; compare Ps. Ixxxiv. 6 ; Is. xii. 3, " with joy shall ye draw
water out of the wells of salvation." In Ezekiel, chap, xlvii.,
there flows a fountain proceeding out of the sanctuary in Sion,
spreading the blessings of fertility and life through the wilder-,
ness into the Dead Sea, the two emblems of the heathen world :
compare on the representations of the blessings of the kingdom
of God by the emblem of a stream, at Ps. xxxvi. 8 ; xlvi. 4. The
-n can refer, as in ver. 3, only to Sion : in the Lord and thus,
in Sion his church, which he has made the depository of all his
treasures ; compare Is. xiv. 14. Calvin : " Now that we know
that whatever has been foretold by the Spirit has been fulfilled,
we are more than unthankful if experience superadded to the
words of the Scripture, does not still more confirm our faith.
For it is not possible to say how gloriously Christ by his appear
ing has adorned. the church. Then the true religion which had,
hitherto been confined within the narrow boundaries of Judea,

PSALM LXXXVIII. S3'
spread over the whole world. Then, for the first time, God who
had hitherto been known only by one family, was called upon,
in the different languages of all nations. Then the world, which.
had hitherto been miserably rent in pieces by the innumerable.
sects of superstition and error, was gathered together into the
holy unity of faith."

PSALM LXXXVIII.
The -Psalmist, in ver. 1 and 2, prays suppliantly for help;
grounds this prayer, ver. 3-9, upon the fact that he is sunk in
the deepest misery, and standing on the verge of complete de
struction, at the gates of death ; and intimates, in ver. 10-12,.
that God cannot possibly five over his own people to- this. After
a short effort at renewed prayer, there follows a new representa
tion of the sufferings of the Psalmist, and with this the whole ter
minates, ver. 13-18.
The understanding of this Psalm is entirely dependent upon
the correct view of its relation to Ps. Ixxxix. We shall therefore
direct attention to this subject in the first instance. Several
expositors have noticed that the two Psalms stand intimately
connected together j1 no expositor, however, has sufficiently fol
lowed out the traces which have been discovered. We maintain
that the two Psalms together, like Psalms ix. and x., xlii. and
xliii., and many other pairs of Psalms, form one whole consisting
of two, parts. 1. The Title of Ps. lxxxviii. furnishes more than
one reason in favour of this. Its. disproportionate length, so very
striking, becomes explained at once as soon as it is viewed as
belonging to one great whole. In the need place, it is very strik
ing that the last words of the title, " an instruction of Heman
the Esrahite," correspond exactly to the title of Ps. Ixxxix.,
" an.- instruction of Ethan the Esrahite." By this we are un
questionably led to the idea that the above are the titles of the
two parts respectively, and that the preceding portion of the title
of Ps. lxxxviii. is the title of the whole. Finally, the ¦p*^ placed,

1 Amyraldns on Ps. Ixxxix. : " It is common to this Psalm with the last, that
although each names its author in the title, these authors are both unknown, and
besides in both Psalms there, is contained a most vehement lamentation, uttered
with incredible ardour of soal."'

84 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
as it were, at the top of the title, is perfectly decisive. We have,
on a former occasion, shown that this word. does not denote a
poem generally, but a song, a song of praise; comp. at Ps. xlii. 8-
lxxxiii. title. Now if we refer the title entirely to Ps. lxxxviii,
it is impossible to tell what to make of it. The Psalmist is so
completely unmanned by a sense of his misery, that he can
scarcely adopt the language of prayer, and certainly not that of
praise. On the other hand, if we refer the title to the whole of
both Psalms, the term is quite appropriate. Ps. Ixxxix. begins,
with manifest reference to the title, with the words, " I willsin^
the grace of God," and bears from ver. 1 to. ver. 38 throughout
the character of a song of praise.1 This character belongs to the
whole, as soon as it is recognised as a whole. The introductory
and concluding portions, dark in themselves, are illuminated by
the light of a centre-sun. And the? design of the whole then
becomes manifest, namely, to give instruction how, in circum
stances of great distress, to gain the victory over despair by
praising God. 2. If we separate Ps. lxxxviii. from Ps. Ixxxix.
it stands alone in the whole book of Psalms. All expositors re
mark with one voice, that such a comfortless complaint nowhere
else occurs throughout its entire compass. Stier, for example,
says : " The most mournful of all the plaintive Psalms, yea, so
wholly plaintive, without any ground of hope, that nothing like
it is found in the whole Scriptures." The fact is all the more
striking, that the Psalm begins with the words, " 0 Lord, thou
the God of my salvation," after which one certainly might ex
pect anything else rather than a mere description of trouble, in
which the darkness is thickest at the close, contrary to the usual
practice, for in all other cases the sun breaks through the clouds
at the end, if it had not done so before : — the peculiar feature of
this Psalm is, that it ends entirely in night. The importance of
these facts is obvious from the circumstance that Muntinghe has
been led by them to adopt the idea that the Psalm is merely a
fragment of a larger one — an idea utterly destitute of probability,
for we have no such thing as fragments either in the book of
Psalms, or indeed within the whole compass of the literature of
the Old Testament. As soon as the connection between Ps.
1 Ven : The subject-matter of the Psalm, if you regard the largest portion of it,
is the celebration of the grace and truth of God, especially in reference to the
promise of the perpetuity of the kingdom of David.

TSALM LXXXVIII. 85
lxxxviii. and Ixxxix. is acknowledged, the difficulty disappears.
The Psalmist might, in this case, give free scope in the first part
to his pain and lamentation, in obedience to an irresistible im
pulse of human nature, knowing that in the second part the
rising sun of consolation would dispel all this darkness. 3. The
concluding portion of Ps. Ixxxix., ver. 38-51, strikingly agrees
with Ps. lxxxviii. The situation is the same, that, viz., of one
who has speedy destruction before his eyes, who stands at the
gates of death. The complaint is as deep and painful here as
it is there. Ps. Ixxxix. 47, 48, ought especially to be compared
with Ps. lxxxviii, 10-1 2. 4. If we consider both Psalms as one,
we obtain, by counting the comprehensive title of Ps. lxxxviii.,
the significant number seventy.
It may be urged against the unity of both Psalms, that in
Ps. lxxxviii. it is a private individual who speaks, but in Ps.
Ixxxix. it is the people, or, according to the idea of others, an
oppressed king of the family of David; that in Ps. Ixxxix. the
sufferings distinctly arise from enemies, which in Ps., lxxxviii.,
even although the assertion of some, "that the Psalmist- is ill
of a mortal disease," and the assertion of others, " that he is
languishing in prison," be rejected, as arbitrary and unfounded,
the description of the sufferings is of such a kind that it would
apply in general to any great distress. But these remarks, in
so far as they are founded in truth, agree perfectly well with
the view given above as to the unity of the two Psalms — a unity
which is not indivisible, but is made up of two parts; — and are
consistent with the contents of the titles. The author has con
structed the first part of the double whole in such a way, that
it may not only serve a sorely oppressed people, but also every
individual saint may find in it an adequate expression of his own
feelings — an arrangement which is exceedingly natural, inas
much as in seasons of public distress the individual is too often
little else than an image of the whole, and which has many
analogies on its side, especially in the prophecies and lamenta
tions of Jeremiah, in reading which one feels often inclined to
ask whether the prophet means himself or the people. The
Psalmist therefore has carefully avoided everything which re
ferred definitely and exclusively to the people, and, in like
manner, everything which might lead to any particular kind of
trouble. There does not occur, however, anything (aud onlj

86 THE BOOK OF-PSALMS.
this would be decisive against the unity) which in any measure
contradicts the reference to the whole community; — in ver. 8,
to which reference has been made, the acquaintances are neigh
bouring nations. After this, as soon as the people only speaks
in Ps. Ixxxix., every objection is removed. And that it is the
people that speaks there, and not the anointed, is clear as day.
The promise is there in ver. 20 ss. directed, not as in the funda
mental passage, 2 Sam. vii., to David, but to the people. The
complaint as to difference between that promise and present
experience, is raised, not on behalf of David, but on behalf of
the people. The difficulty is this, that the divine favour which,
according to the Word of God, the people should have enjoyed
through the family of David, had been withdrawn. David, and
his Son, the anointed, are throughout spoken of in the third
person; the people unquestionably comes forward as different
in ver. 17, 18, 50.
If we adopt the unity of the two Psalms, it becomes no very
difficult matter to assign the date of the composition of the
whole. It cannot have been composed earlier than the times
immediately preceding the Babylonish captivity: for the people
stand here at the very brink of a precipice. It is even better
to refer to the time of Zedekiah, than, with Venema, to the
time immediately after the death of Josiah. The Psalm must
have been composed before the captivity: for there is no trace
of the destruction of the city and temple, which could scarcely
have been omitted if it had taken place; the kingdom of David
is in a state of depression, and verging towards extreme old age,
but still it exists (comp. especially ver. 45 and 51), and the
prayer of the Psalmist is, that the Lord would deliver it from
impending destruction; according to ver. 43, the anointed of
the Lord still carried on wars, although unfortunate ones.
Assumptions such as those, which refer the composition of the
Psalm to the times of the Maccabees, render it necessary to
have recourse to the desperate expedient of understanding the
expressions, " David," " his son," " the anointed of the Lord,"
as meaning, not the. royal family of David, but the royal nation
— -an assertion which does not require one word to be thrown
away upon it.
The Title runs: A Song of Praise, a Psalm, of the sons of
Korah. ,To the Chief Musician,.iupon the distress of oppression.

PSALM LXXXVII 87
— An instruction by Heman ihe Esrahite. — The expression, " to
the Chief Musician," amounts to a notice that we have before
us a proper church- song. The ^o^Vb fhtVS by lias oeen
already explained at Fs. xiv., vol. i. p. 206. That " of the
sickness" is to be interpreted of sickness in a figurative sense,
as equivalent to severe suffering — a sense in which the word is
frequently used, as, for example, Is. i. 5; Ps. liii. Title — is evi
dent from the term which is appended as an explanation, j-y**,;}^,
denoting the afflicting cause: comp. ver. 8, 15, Ps. xc. 15, cii.
23, cxix. 75, or that in which the distress consists of it. If we
connect these words with the *-p^ of the beginning we have a
description of the design of the Psalm: to comfort, in severe
suffering, by the praise of God. Let us now direct our atten
tion to the special title of Ps. lxxxviii. It bears the name of
Instruction or a didactic Psalm (at Ps. xxxii. Title), and the
Psalm gives direction not to allow our sorrows to prey upon our
selves, but to pour them out before God — the A B C of all suf
ferers. If they follow this direction, they may be again spoken
with. He who has learned to complain to God, will soon learn
to hope in God. As the authors of the whole Psalm had already
been said to be the sons of Korah (comp. at Ps. xlii.), it is ob
vious that the Heman the Esrahite, who is named here, and
Etham the Esrahite, who is named in Ps. Ixxxix. should not
be considered as the proper authors of the parts marked by
their name, but as men into whose mouths the contents of
these parts were put. The b i& here, as in other passages,
the ""? auctoris; but it denotes the imaginary and not the real
author — a sense in which it may naturally be understood in
those cases in which the real author had either been named
or otherwise indicated, as in Ps. Ixxxvi. The reasons which
induced the sons of Korah to introduce these names of Heman
and Etham need not remain doubtful. There is no doubt that
these two men were the famous musicians of the time of David,
who are so often named next after Asaph. Etham is the same
as Jeduthun, who is in several passages named in an exactly
similar relation as third next to Asaph and Heman. The at
tempt which Berthold makes in his Intro, iii. i. p. 1975 ss. to
prove them different persons, strikes in the opposite direction.
Etham is probably the proper noun, and Jeduthun (the praise-
man, comp. JilTltl^ ^n 1 Chron. xvi. 41, xxv. 3, Ges. on the

8$ ME BOOK OF PSALMS.
word), an ideal name, devised by David,—and hence we may
explain the variety in the form: comp. Ps. xxxix. Title. These
men were not at all ordinary musicians . they were also, what
they must have been to enable them to be founders of the sacred
music, divinely inspired sages. In 1 Kings iv. 31, it is said of
Solomon: "And he was wiser than all men, than Etham the
Esrahite, and Heman, and Kalkol, and Dardah," and in 1 Chron.
xxv. 5, Heman is called " the king's seer in the words of God."
Both, however, were not composers of Psalms. The sons of
Korah were at this time desirous, on the one hand, of honour
ing their own poem, and of strengthening its impression by pre
fixing to it the names of these celebrated men next after their
own, and, on the other hand, of perpetuating the memory of these
men, who appeared to such disadvantage, compared with their
" brother" (1 Chron. vi. 24) Asaph, who is so often named in
the titles of the Psalms ; — they wished " to raise up seed" to the
childless sages. In doing so, they had the example of David be
fore their eyes, who, in Ps. xxxix. Title, had named Jeduthun for
the purpose of honouring him, and handing his name down to
posterity, not indeed as the author, but as the chief musician
(comp. at the passage), and also the example of their ancestors,
who had on several occasions sung from the soul of David: comp.
for exarnple, Ps. xlii., xliii., Ixxxiv., Ixxxvi. — Heman is here, and
Ethan in Ps. Ixxxix., called the Esrahite. We learn the import of
the term in 1 Chron. ii. 5, "and the sons of Serah: Simri, and
Ethan, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darah" (we have the same
names in I Kings v. 11, with the unimportant difference of Dar
dah instead of Darah). The ^ is hence an AI. prothet., and
Ethan and Heman were named Esrahites, because they belonged
to the family of Serah, the son of Judah, which they adorned by
their famous names. It is certain that they were not the descend
ants of Serah, the son of Judah. The whole music connected with
the worship of God in David's time, and in later periods, was in
the hands of Levites; and this every child knew, so that nobody
could think of tracing the descent of the famous chief musicians
of David to the tribe of Judah. Heman, according to the ex
press and well-defined intimations given in 1 Chron. vi. 18 ss.,
xv. 27, was a Levite of the family of the Kohathites, the grand
child of Samuel, whose spirit passed over to the " seer in the
words of God," through his son Joel ; Ethan, according to

PSALM LXXXVIII. VEIL ], 2. 89
1 Chron. vi. 29-32 (comp. xv. 17, 19), was a Levite of the fa
mily of the Merarites, a son of Kisis, 1 Chron. vi. 29, or, ac
cording to another form of the name of Kusaja, xv. J7,1 as
Asaph, according to 1 Chron. vi. 24-28, was a Levite of the
family of the Gershonites. Hence Heman and Ethan could
have been reckoned as belonging to the family of Serah, only
in the sense that they dwelt in this family, as " strangers
and sojourners" (comp. Jud. xvii. 7), and were incorporated
with it, as citizens. And there are not wanting examples of
Levites being spoken of as belonging to the family of which, in
their capacity as citizens, they formed part. Thus Samuel the
Levite, 1 Sam. i. 1, is called an Ephraimite ; and, in Jud. xvii.
7, there follows immediately after the words " of the family of
Judah," the remark, " who was a Levite, and he sojourned there ;"
comp. Beitr. P. iii. p. 60. Heman and Ethan were hence
adopted sons of Serah, who brought their father, however,
more honour than did all his real children. From the above
induction it is clear, that Movers on Chron. p. 237, was too pre
cipitate in finding the accounts of Heman and Ethan to be
contradictory accounts, which are quite consistent with each
other, when rightly understood, and that Keil on Chron. p.
164, and Gesen. in his Thes. under Heman, were, in like
manner, too precipitate in denying the identity of the per
sons in the different passages.
The Psalmist has included the whole within the remarkable
number 70, and given to each separate part an artificial ar
rangement, in which the numbers 7 and 10 play the chief
parts. Thus the main division in Ps. lxxxviii. consists of se
ven verses, which are divided into a four and a three, ver. 3-9,
and 10-12.

Ver. 1, 2. — Ver. 1. Lord God, .my saviour, I cry in the day
time, in the night before thee. Ver. 2. Let my prayer come be
fore thee, incline thine ear to my cry. — On the " my salvation-
God," Calvin : " In thus addressing God he lays bridle and bit
1 In 1 Kings v. 11, Ethan and Heman are called sons of Machol. There is,
however, no contradiction between this and ihe notice given in Chron. Machol
is not a proper name ; it never occurs as such ; we must translate : sons of the
dance, Stiller: skilfvl im leading down the sacred dance: comp. "daughters of
music," Eccl. xii. 4.

90 THE' BOOK OF PSALMS.
on the excess of his pain, he shuts the door of despair, and
strengthens himself to carry the cross." The extremely concise
character of the second half of the verse is explained by the cir
cumstance, that the words are numbered for the purpose of inti
mating beforehand the 7, as the signature of the whole Psalm.
The two clauses are to be supplemented from each other; in the
first, before thee; and in the second, I cry. The fundamental
passage is Ps. xxii. 2: "My God, I cry in the day time and thou
answerest not, and in the night season and I am not silehced."
According to this passage the p-p here must stand for pft-p, or
p"p;i. It certainly does not occur thus in any other passage, but
there are many analogies in its favour, and the short form might
the more readily be used here as n^i^'a foH°ws- Forced trans
lations, such as " at the time when I cry I am in night before
thee," are foundered by the fact that DV in parallel with Tub can
only mean day,1 and that the Psalmist, according to ver. 13,
prays in the morning.
The Psalmist grounds, in ver. 3-9, his petition that he may be
finally heard in the prayer which he unceasingly addresses to
God, without having hitherto obtained any answer, upon the
greatness of his distress. — Ver. 3. For my soul is filled with suf
fering, and my life is near to sheol. Ver. 4. 1 am reckoned like
those who go down to the grave, lam as a man to whom there is no
strength. Ver. 5. Among the dead free, like the slain, who lie in
the grave, whom thou rememberest no more, and they are cut off
from thy hand. Ver. 6. Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in
dark places, in deeps. Ver. 7. Thy wrath lieth upon me, and thou
afflictest me with all thy waves. Selah. Ver. 8. Thou hast re
moved my acquaintances from me, thou hast made me an abomi
nation unto them, I am shut up and do not go out. Ver. 9.
Mine eye languisheth because of misery, I cry to thee, 0 Lord,
every day, I stretch out to thee my hands. — Instead of " my life
stretches to sheol," in ver. 3, Ps. cvii. 18 has, " to the gates of
death." — The first clause of ver. 4 is from Ps. xxviii. 1, with the
1 On " before thee" Calvin : " Nor is the particle, before thee, superfluous ; all,
men alike complain in their grief ; but this is far from pouring out their groans in
the presence of God: nay, they must seek some hiding-place where they may mur
mur against God, and find fault with his severity ; others utter openly their cla
morous words'. Hence we see what a rare virtue it is to place God before us, and
to direct to him our prayers."

PSALM LXXXVIII. VER. 3—9. 91'
change of ij-\^\i>t22 into inittfTO- ~Wtih the™, i-v-, as them, or
like them. The men without strength (not is strength, for to whom
there is no strength), are, according to the connection, the dead.
It is only on this interpretation that we can explain the as. The
Psalmist was already without strength; but he is rather exactly
like a dead than like a living man on the brink of the grave. — In
" free among the dead," in ver. 5, the Psalmist overlooks the
small difference which still exists between him and the dead, and
reckons himself among the latter, as he does also in ver. 6 ; ver.
4, and the remaining portion of ver. 5, shew that the sense is,
" already as good as dead, and, therefore, free from thee." Free
dom, in connection with earthly relations, is,. generally speaking,
a great good. Yet, with good human masters, there have been
cases in which the slave did not choose to avail himself of the
freedom to which the divine law entitled him; comp. Deut. xv.
16, "I will not go out from thee, because I love thine house,
and I am happy with thee." But, with the heavenly master,
freedom is pre-eminently an evil ; to be the servant of God is the
highest happiness ; comp. Ps. Ixxxvi. 16. For his service is joy,
because his yoke is easy and his burden is light, his command
ments are more precious than gold, yea, than much fine gold, are
sweeter than honey and the honey comb (comp. the praise of the
divine commandments in Ps. xix.) ; and, what is of special conse
quence here, God gives to his servants a great reward, Ps. xix.
12; he not only demands service from them, he also cares for
them with tender fatherly love, feeds them at his table, and holds
his protecting hand over them; comp. Ps. xxiii. Over against
these rich blessings, which the service of God brings with it,
there is the mere naked freedom remaining for those who have
been removed from the service of God — a poor thing. Allusion
is made, as is obvious, to Job iii. 19, " And the servant is (there
in the world of spirits) free from his master ; " it may be a fortu
nate thing to become free from an earthly master, but to' be fr§e
from the heavenly master is assuredly misery. Great difficulty
has been experienced in interpreting the words before us.
Hence have proceeded such translations as : among the dead is
my couch, or among the dead I am sick, weak, or laid prostrate.
The usage of the word is against this: the, sense ot freedom
is the fundamental and the only sense of the root )i}QT\ m He
brew (Havernick on Ez. xxvii. 20). In Ez,, in the above men-

.<)2 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
tioned place, tyon "Hai is "glorious coverings," comp. 1 Sam.
xvii. 25, where itygn. which generally denotes not the " set
free," but the " free man," signifies a " free lord ;" magnificence
cannot be wanting. In 2 Kings xv. 5, 2 Chron. xxvi. 21, j-y,^
rWDH or mt^Qn is a llouse of .freedom, a house where the
lepers dwelt, those who were likened to the dead, struck off
from the roll of the servants of God. This is manifest from the
remark which follows in Chron.: " for he, Uzziah, was cut off
from the house of the Lord," had lost his place there where all
the servants of the Lord dwell (comp. at Ps. Ixxxiv. and the
parallel passages), in consequence of which Uzziah lost his com
mand over his fellow-servants, which was handed over to his
son Jotham. This strikingly harmonious parallel passage fur
nishes the second proof in favour of the above translation. The
third lies in the expression, " those whom thou rememberest no
more, and who are cut off from thy hand," which agrees remark
ably well with the first clause as understood by us, and serves
to explain it exactly as in the above quoted passage of Chron.,
" to dwell in the house of freedom," is explained by " to be cut
off from the house of the Lord." The comparison with ihe dead
is followed by that with the slain, because the Psalmist was
threatened with violent deprivation of life. " To be cut off/rom
the hand of God," his helping and protecting hand, is to be
made away with in a violent manner, in consequence of violent
destruction to be no longer the object of God's helping grace;
compare at the parallel passage, Ps. xxxi. 22, " I am cut off
from thine eyes," cut off, and consequently withdrawn from thy
gracious look. We have already, at Ps. vii. 5, adverted to the
idea which lies at the foundation of the whole verse, that the
dead are no longer the objects of the loving care of God, In
Old Testament times this had a mournful truth. The darkness
of the intermediate state previous to the appearing of Christ,
h&d not yet been illuminated by the morning of divine grace —
the paradise of which the Lord spoke to the thief was first
opened up at his death — the intermediate state under the Old
Testament was indeed not distinctly known as such; the clear
view of the resurrection was first opened up by Him who is the
resurrection and the life. It was under the New Testament
that it was first said of the grave : " It is to me a chamber
where I lie on roses, because by thy death I conquer death and

PSALM LXXXVIII. VER. 3— 9. 93'
the grave." The servants of God at that time could not but
shudder when they stood immediately over the abyss of death,
and looked into the utter darkness, "the darkness of death
, without order." — The grave of deep places, in ver. 6, is sheol,
deep under the earth, compare on -p^ of sheol at Ps. xxviii. 1 ,
the " lower places of the earth," in parallel with " sheol," in
Ps. Ixiii. 9, Ez. xxvi. 20, and " the lowest hell" in Ps. Ixxxvi.
13. • The " dark places" are as usually (compare at Ps. lxxiv.
20) the dark places of sheol. The Psalmist, a living corpse, is
as good as brought to that place. On j-p^jQ, in other passages
n w^O> water-deeps; compare at Ps. Ixix. 2. — The " waves" in
ver. 7 are the tumultuous sea-waves of trouble and pain, com
pare at the fundamental passage, Ps. xlii. 7. The ¦"p'-'Oty'O is
the ace, according to thy waves — with them. The Selah is
appended to fp^y, in order to give prominence to that word which
is intended to explain the title fp}}^. The want of the suffix,
otherwise strange, may also be accounted for by a reference to
this explanation. — The complaint of the estrangement of
acquaintances and friends in consequence of suffering, ver. 8,
meets us frequently in the Psalms, compare at Ps. xxvii. 10,
xxxviii. 11, Ixix. 8. (Job xix. 13). .What is true ot personal is
also true of national relations ; like causes produce like effects.
The expression, " thou hast made me an abomination to them"
(the plural has an intensive force — as it were a whole assemblage
of abominations), alludes to Gen. xliii. 32, xlvi. 34 (compare
Ex. viii. 22), according to which Israel was an abomination to
the Egyptians, and therefore contains a slight intimation of a
national reference. The last words, " I am shut up and do not
go out," must necessarily be considered as referring to the
acquaintances, and cannot be viewed in connection with a refer
ence to Lam. iii. 7, 9, shut up by misfortune, I can find no way
of escape," but "shut up by public reproach, which keeps me
in the house like a prisoner, I do not go out, I stir not from the
door," with reference to Ps, xxxi. 11, "they who see me in the
street flee from me," and especially to Job xxxi. 34, where
Job is expressing his willingness to suffer in case of his guilt
what he must now suffer unwillingly, says, " I should be afraid
before a great multitude, and the contempt of families should
terrify me, and I will be silent and not go out of doors." — On
^-j in ver. 9, compare Deut. xxviii. 65. Instead of" the eye,"

94 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
Luther, without any reason, has the " person," compare at Ps. vi.
7, Ixix. 3. On " I streteh out my hands," Arnd : " I sigh with,
my heart, pray with my mouth, and supplicate with my hand,
like a child which stretches out both its hands to its mother."
Ver. 10-12. The Psalmist, who is now within one single step
of death, represents to God, that if he delay any longer to help
him, he will deprive himself of the possibility of manifesting his
glory to which his very being prompts him, and of the praise of
his own people, which is very pleasant to him, compare at Ps.
vi. 5. For it is to the living only and not to the dead that he can
shew wonders ; and it is the living only that can praise him : —
" Make haste therefore and help me, ere I go to the land of dark
ness when I shall be lost to thee. Ver. 10. Wilt thou then do won
ders to the dead, or shall shadows stand up and praise thee. Selah.
Ver. 11. Shall thy mercy be recounted in ihe grave, thy faithful
ness in destruction. Ver. 12. Shall thy wonders be known in
darkness, and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness." —
That God cannot shew wonders to the dead (ver. 10) is a strong
reason why he should, while his people are still in life, manifest
on their behalf his wondrous power. The existence of the
Christian church furnishes a mighty proof that he has done this;
the maintenance of Israel in a time when everything seemed to
proclaim entire destruction, proceeds on the supposition that he
does this. The ^Uq stands collectively, compare at Ps. lxxvii.
11. The mention of wonders points to the national reference of
the Psalm. The Rephaim were a Canaanitish giant-race, whose
name was applied to the shades of the lower world. Contact
with these is something terrible for the living ; the spirits of
the deceased are represented to the imagination as possessed of
a gigantic form, compare 1 Sam. xxviii. 13, where the witch of
Endor, on the appearance of Samuel, says, " I behold gods as
cending out of the earth." Beitr. ii. p. 261. Against other at
tempted derivations it may be urged that they do not explain
the fact, that this term applied to the dead is only used in poet
ry ; that it is in the highest degree improbable that a word
written exactly similar should have two derivations and signifi
cations ; and ^g-^ signifies to heal and nothing else, and that it is
altogether foreign to the Hebrew to consider Rephaim a term
applied to the shades as bearing an agreeable sense. The m}
is not to be considered as signifying to raise again from the

VSALM LXXX. VER. 13 — 18. 95
dead, (that would be contradictory to the true doctrines, which
is never done in the Old Testament,) but to rise up, compare Ps.
Ixxviii. 6. The language refers to what takes place in death,
not after death. The *-p-*fp ^so could scarcely want the co
pulative. The Selah gives God, as it were, time to weigh the
weighty reason, and then the development follows. — In the
grave and in destruction, ver. 11, — in the place of destruction,
sheol, the mercy and the faithfulness of God could not be praised
so much as by his own people on earth, when he manifests these
graces in delivering them from impending death (compare at
Ps. xxx. 9), partly because of the want of opportunity for its
manifestation, and partly because of the want of ability to praise
him. — The " land of forgetfulness," in ver 12, is not the land
where one is forgotten (Ps. xxx. 12), but the land where one
forgets, Luther: " Where one remembers nothing," compare
Eccl. ix. 5-10, " there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge,
nor wisdom in the grave. God does no wonderful works to the
dead, because they would not be known by them. The great
wonder of the resurrection is not excluded, because the language
used applies only to tliose wonders which are performed to such
as remain in a state of death. And that the Psalmist does not
acknowledge this, is not to be explained by " the difference
between seasons of faith and despondency in the human soul
which is found existing even in the present day." For it is
a didactic poem that we have here before us. Such a poem
may descend very low to suffering ; but it must always remain
above it!
Ver. 13—18. — Ver. 13. The Psalmist, in ver. 13, prepares for
prayer, makes even an effort at it in ver. 1 4, and soon sinks
back, ver. 15-18, into lamentation, which reaches its summit
in the last words. Ver. 13. But I cry to thee, 0 Lord, and in
the morning my prayer shall anticipate thee. Ver. 14. Why,
0 Lord, dost thou cast off my soul, hidest thy face from me ?
Ver. 15. I am miserable and ready to expire from my youth.
I bear thy terrors. I will despair. Ver. 1 6. Thy wrath goes
over me, thy terrors annihilate me. Ver. 1 7. They surround
me like water ihe whole day, they are round me altogether.
Ver. 1 8. Thou hast removed from me friend and neighbour,
mine acquaintances^r-the place of darkness. — "In the morning,"
in ver. i3, denotes the great earnestness in prayer : comp.- at

96 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
Ps. v. 3. Ivii. 8. The Q-p is to surprise, comp. at Ps. xxi. 3.-—
On ver. 14, Calvin: "Although these lamentations at first sight
exhibit expressions of pain without any consolation, they never
theless contain tacit prayers. For he does not proudly contend
with God, but mournfully desires some remedy to his calami
ties." On "why dost thou cast off," (comp. Ps. xlii. 2) Arnd:
" Thus it is when the cross lasts long, conflicts arise about cast
ing off. But there is no casting off; there is only a waiting for
the hour of help, the hour of the Lord." — In ver. 1.5, there is
no reason for departing from the usual sense of -^ youth.
(Luther falsely: that I am thus cast off.) When a great afflic
tion befalls us, we cannot regard it as standing alone, we look
upon it as the last step of a ladder, which we began to ascend
as soon as we came into the world; so when we meet with any
great deliverance, we think upon all the mercies which we have
experienced from our youth. In the funeral hymn: "And now
I have ended life's hard course," we read: " In every year from
tender youth, I have learned how hard's the road to heaven."
Israel, who must first occur to our thoughts, says, in Ps. cxxix.
1, in language which corresponds exactly to the clause before
Us, " they have oft oppressed me from my youth up." The
oppression in Egypt befell Israel in his youth (comp. Hos. xi. 1),
in consequence of which he was brought to the very verge, of
destruction, so that he might with truth say, " I am miserable
and ready to expire from my youth," just as the antitype, the
Lord, who was born in a stable (= Egypt), was soon sought
after by Herod (= Pharaoh) that he might be put to death.
and was exposed to the danger of his life on many occasions on
the part of his enemies. The terrors of God are the terrors
which he sends. The 'n2ia^ ig fr°m flB to despair, to aspire.
The form has its usual sense. The Psalmist is so far gone that
he resolves to give himself over to despair, to give up that op
position to it which he cannot any longer maintain. — In ver.
16, the form l^nflS!}. which nowhere else occurs, is formed
out of the Piel, which occurs elsewhere, by the Psalmist him
self, for the purpose of alluding to the rnJTDS of LeV- xxv. 23,
" the land shall not be sold for annihilation (so that the right
of the possessor shall not be wholly annihilated) for the land is
mine, for ye are strangers and sojourners with me." God

PSALM LXXXIX. VER. 1-4. 97
appears— this is the force of the allusion — to be failing, contrary
to his own law, inasmuch as he is completely alienating his
property, so that the possibility of redemption is excluded.1—
In ver. 18, the usual translation is: my acquaintances are dark
ness, i. e., have disappeared. But we must rather, with J. D.
Michaelis and others, explain: my companions— the place of
darkness, i. e., the dark kingdom of the dead is instead of all
my companions, has come near to me, while they have gone
back. The following considerations may be adduced in support
of this:— Tjtynft signifies always, even in Is. xxix. 15, xlii. 16,
not darkness, but a dark place, and it occurs in this sense, and
is even applied to the darkness of sheol ip ver. 6 ; according to
the usual translation, the verse does not close vyith a thought of
sufficient strength, but with merely a flat repetition of ver. 8,
whereas, according to our translation, the Psalm ends with an
energetic expression of its main thought : the immediate
vicinity of death ; the darkness is thickest at the end, just as it
is in the morning before the rising of the sun; and, finally, there
is a strikingly parallel passage in Job xvii. 14: "I call the
grave* my father, and the worm my mother and sister."

PSALM LXXXIX.
The Psalmist, in language of joy and praise, calls to remem
brance first the promise of God which secured the perpetual
existence of the kingdom of David, and consequently the pre
servation of the people, ver. 1-37, then complains that the
present state of matters forms a sad contrast to this promise,
ver. 38-45, and finally prays to God that he would remove this
contrast, ver. 46-51. In reference to other introductory matter,
compare at Ps. lxxxviii.
Ver. 1-4. The Church resolves that, she will eternally praise
the mercy and the faithfulness of the Lord, because these shall
eternally be manifested to the family of David, and through
that family to tne people, in virtue of the promise which God
1 Ewald takes another view: he, however, has nothing except a false rendering
of Hos. iv. 18, to refer to in support of his view of the import of the form. That
passage should be translated: they love, "give ye" as a description of their in
satiable avarice, which always puts "givei" into their mouth.
VOL. III. H

gg THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
gave to David that he would eternally defend his family, eter
nally maintain his throne.— Ver. ]. I will sing eternally the mer-
cies of the Lord, I will make known with my mouth thy faithful
ness from generation to generation. Ver. 2. For I say : eternally
shall mercy be built, the heaven— thou maintainest thy faithfulness
in it. Ver. 3. " I have made a covenant with my chosen one. I have
sworn to David my servant. Ver. 4. For ever I will maintain
thy seed and I build thy throne from generation to generation."
Selah.— The mercies of the Lord, ver. 1, are, according to the
context, especially the manifestations of his love towards the
family of David (compare ver. 49, and " the mercies of David,"
Is. Iv. 3), and the faithfulness of God is that by which he fulfils
the promises made to this family. The determination to praise
for ever these manifestations of the love and faithfulness of
God, shows that it is not one single individual that speaks, but
the congregation of the Lord, convinced of its own eternal
duration. It is the work of faith to go forth on the supposition
of eternal duration at a time when everything visible proclaims
near destruction, and to give expression to the determination
to praise for ever the love and the faithfulness of God at a time
when everything appears to declare that he has changed his
love into hatred, and has broken his promises. The Q^iy here
and in ver. 2, 37 is for oV*C?V> compare at Ps. lxi. 4. — Tfre de
termination to praise for ever the mercy and the faithfulness of
God is founded on the conviction that these will stand the trial.
Ver. 2. Mercy appears here under the figure of a building in
continual progression, in opposition to one which, when still
unfinished, falls into ruins. The faithfulness is established in
the heavens, in order that it may partake of their eternity, be
like them eternal ; compare ver. 36, 37, on the eternity of tlie
heavens at Ps. lxxii. 5, and a similar figurative expression, Ps.
cxix. 89, " thy word stands fast in heaven." The heavens have
emphatically the foremost place assigned to them in the collo
cation of the words. — In ver. 3 and 4, the foundation of the
firm hope of the eternal continuance of the mercy and the
faithfulness of God is the promise of God to David in 2 Sam.
vii.; in reality we ought to supply " for thou didst say." This
promise, on which see the remarks made in this commentary at
Ps. xviii. 28-47 (vol. i. p. 310-323,), upon which also Ps. xxi.,
lxi., cxxxii., lxxii., ex., depend, forms the proper centre-point

PSALM LXXXIX. VER. 5  7. 99
of the Psalm. It is merely alluded to here shortly and sum
marily, but it is entered upon at large in the 19th and following
verses. As surely as this promise culminates in Christ, so
surely is it significant to us, comp. at Ps. lxi; and we may
learn from this Psalm not only in general how in the Church's
most troublous times we may conquer that fear with which the
visible aspect of affairs fills us, by clinging to those promises
whicli the Lord has given her, but may also be ourselves com
forted with that consolation which is administered here to the
Old Testament Church. The promise of God to David extends
to all ages, even to the end of the world.1
In a promise, everything depends upon the person who pro
mises. The question therefore occurs: has he the will and the
power to fulfil the promise ? and where it is men who promise,
the answer to this question is never very consolatory, often very
mournful. Hence the Psalmist, before unfolding farther the
contents of the promise, proceeds in ver. 5-18 to praise the glory
of God, especially his omnipotence and faithfulness. This inde
pendent portion of the Psalm is very artificially arranged. The
whole consists of 1 4 verses. The praise of God is completed in
10, ver. 5-14. To this there is added a declaration as to the
happiness of the people who have such a God, verv .15-18. The
ten is divided into a three and a seven, — the introduction and
the proper treatise. The three of the introduction and the four
of the conclusion make up a seven, which corresponds to the
seven of the main division. The unbroken seven is enclosed
within the broken one.
First, ver. 5-7: The omnipotence and faithfulness of God are
devoutly praised even by the angels, his heavenly congregation.
— Ver. 5. And the heavens praise thy wonders, 0 Lord, and thy
truth in the assembly of the holy ones. Ver. 6. For who in the
clouds is like to the Lord, who comes like to God among the sons
of God? Ver. 7. God is very terrible in the confidence of the
1 On " I have sworn," Arnd: " Who does not see here how great is the friend
ship and how faithful is the love which God bears to man, and how deep the lofty
majesty of God condescends when he swears to man ? And why does he do this ?
In order that he may make his promise sure, that he may strengthen our faith and
help our weakness ; — so desirous is God that we should believe on him and not
doubt his promise. In Heb. vi., such causes are assigned. 0 blessed people, for
whose sake God sweaiB ! 0 miserable people, who will not believe God even when
he swears I '"

100 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
holy ones, and dreadful for all who are round about him.— And
the heavens praise, ver. 5:— and therefore it is clear of what
mighty importance, what a precious treasure, this promise is,
the author of which is praised even by the angels (not wherefore
or truly). Ps. xxix. 1, 2, is a parallel, and in all probability
the fundamental passage, where in like manner the praise of
God by the angels appears as an evidence for the infinite great
ness of God. Heaven is in opposition to earth. The second clause
shows that it comes into notice in regard to its inhabitants, the
angels. The wonders are named as works of omnipotence;
comp. ver. 8; where we have as here wonders and faithfulmess,
might and faithfulness. In the second clause " they praise,"
must be supplied from the first. The angels have, as in the
fundamental passage Deut. xxxiii. 2, 3, the name of th,e> "holy
ones," i. e., the sacred and the glorious (comp. at Ps. xxii,. 3),
for the purpose of pointing to their dignity, which serves for a
basis on which to lay the glory of God, to whom they are
devoutly subordinate. The holy ones in heaven stand opposed
to the weak mortals of earth whose praise has not much to say.
The expression, "the assembly of holy ones," points to the
congregation of God upon the earth, which, in its weakness, sings
his praise. — In ver. 6 and 7, the fact that even the holy ones
praise God, is grounded on the infinite superiority of God above
the most glorious creatures.1 In ver. 6, irnil), cloud, the singular
only here, and in ver. 37, in other passsages, Qipn*© is em"
ployed poetically for the heavens. On the Bne Elim, sons of
God, comp. at Ps. xxix. 1. The agreement in this very singu
lar expression, shows that the Psalmist had this passage: dis
tinctly before his eyes. The thrice repeated Jehovah, also,, in
ver. 5 and 6, is assuredly designed. — In ver. 7, the ^ stands
in reference to its appellative sense, the strong one. "The
confidence of the holy ones" (comp. at Ixxxiii. 3, lv. 14), de
notes the confidential community to whom God vouchsafes*^
intrust his secrets, Job i. 6, ii. 1, though not his deepest ones,
1 Pet. i. 12. Notwithstanding this, there always remains an
infinite distance between him and them; comp. Job iv. 18, xv.
1 Ven.: " The duty rendered to God by the inhabitants of heaven is confirmed
and illustrated by the infinite superiority and excellence of God, in which he yerj
far excels them, so that there is no room for even any comparison between thera
and God."

PSALM LXXXIX. VER. 8  14. 101
15. God does not cease to be, even to his holy ones, the object
of fear. As the -p£ is masculine, and does not exactly denote
assembly, the fty^ cannot be an adjective, " in the great assem
bly of the holy ones," but only an adverb, " very much," as at
Ps. Ixii. 2; comp. -*nNQ in Ps. xlviii. 1. Those who are around
God in heaven stand opposed to those who are so on earth ;
comp. Ps. Ixxvi. 11.
Ver. 8-14. — The Psalmist praises first, in general, the might
and the faithfulness of God, ver. 8; occupies himself next, in
detail, first with the might of God, ver. 9-1 3, dwelling at the
greatest length upon it, because it is at this point that his most
painful doubt arises; and afterwards, at the close, with the moral
attribute, the truth (corresponding to the faithfulness) which
forms the conclusion, ver. 14. In depicting the omnipotence of
God, prominence is given first, ver. 9, to the dominion of God
over the sea, because it presents, with its tumults, the emblem
of the power of the world, by which Israel was oppressed,
the Psalmist passing from the figure to the reality, ver. 10;
next, the dominion of God over the solid land is adverted
to, in opposition to the sea, with which the description had
begun; and "lastly, the conclusion, ver. 1 3, consists of a general
ascription of praise to God for his power. — Ver. 8. 0 Lord, God
of Hosts, who is mighty as thou art, 0 Lord? and thy faithful
ness is round about thee. Ver. 9. Thou rulest over the pride of
the sea, when its waves swell thou stillest them. Ver. 10. Thou
didst crush Rahab, like one slain, by thy mighty arm thou
didst destroy thine enemies. Ver. 11. Thine is the heaven, thine
also the earth, the world and its fulness thou hast founded them.
Ver. 12. The north and the south thou hast created, Tabor
and Hermon rejoice in thy name. Ver. 13. Thine is a mighty
arm, strong is thy hand, high is thy right hand. Ver. 14.
Justice and judgment are the ground (on which) thy throne
(stands), mercy and truth go before thy face. — On pp in ver. 8,
comp. at Ps. lxviii. 4. The Jah, as the concentration of Jehovah,
is the more emphatic word. The second vocative, moreover, would
have been of no use if Jehovah had stood. The spirit, impressed,
with a sense of God, feels the necessity of repeating frequently
that name of God, in which his being is comprehended; comp., for
example, ver. 6. The faithfulness of God is round about him,
surrounds him as his attendants, so that he never appears with-

102 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
out it. — In ver. 9, the ff\m is not " the lifting up," but the
"pride," as "thou rulest" shews; comp. niNU *n ^s- x'yL 3.
The figurative expression is chosen with reference to what it re
presents, the pride of the sea of the people. A reference to this
also explains the fact, that in such representations of the omni
potence of- God, the subjugation of the waves of the sea is dwelt
upon with peculiar delight ; comp. at Ps. xlvi. 3, lxv. 7. It has
been already intimated in the summary, that the whole arrange
ment of the clauses of this paragraph cap only be explained on
the supposition, that the Psalmist regards the sea a symbol of
the power of the world.1 The N"*rty* is a noun abbreviated from
the infinitive of ij^^ ; comp. the ^ity of Job xx. 6. — From the
ordinary sea the Psalmist turns, in ver. 10, to the sea of the na
tions. He mentions Egypt first as a particularly powerful and
famous humbled enemy of God and his people in past times ;
after this, as Egypt got its main overthrow in the sea, the figure
and the reality meet together ; and after this he turns generally
to the enemies of God. By the name Rahab, here applied to
Egypt (comp. at Ps. Ixxxvii. 4), attention is directed to its
appellative sense, pride, haughtiness, pp^, which had already-
been used of the ordinary sea. The expression, "like one
slain," is to be considered as equivalent to, so that the proud,
haughty person sinks down to the feebleness of a slain man ;s
comp. Ps. lxxxviii. 5. — On ^j-|, land, in opposition to sea, as
y-^, earth, in opposition to heaven, comp. at the fundamental
passage, Ps. xxiv. 1, 2. — Ver. 12 describes the dominion of God
1 Calvin : " And thus when the world is in a, state of the greatest excite
ment, the Lord can immediately bring all things into a tranquil condition."
Arnd : " It is indeed a mighty power on the part of God which holds the
sea ; and the man who has not seen the sea, has not seen the smallest por
tion of the power and wonders of God. As now God rules over the sea, he
rules also over the whole world, which indeed is a very boisterous sea when
the persecutors rise against the church like great waves and billows ; but he
stills them so that they must not destroy Christ's poor little sheep. Yea, he
also rules in our heart ; when it is as unquiet and impetuous as the sea, so
that the great billows of conflict, trouble, anguish, despair, strike against the
heart, then shall we know that the Lord rules over such hellish floods. There
fore in such troubles we should pray : O Lord, thou who rulest over the impetu
ous sea, art able to render quiet and soft even my little restless heart."
3 Arnd: "The Son of God has not only slain and laid low the Egyptians,
and all outward enemies, but also the hellish Egyptians of our sins, which pur
sue us in great numbers, and whose captain is the devil."

!!!!!¦

PSALM LXXXIX. VER. 15—18. 103
over the earth in its whole extent After the north, and the
right hand = the south, Tabor lying on the one side of Jordan,
and Hermon on the other, can only be considered as representa
tives of east and west ; comp. Ps. xlii. 6. They were well fitted
to represent these on account of the manifest traces of the creat
ing power of God which they bear. They rejoice, because their
very existence is a matter-of-fact praise. In thy name, — over
it, over the deeds of thy glory which have been done on them ;
comp. ver. 16, and on " the name of God," for example, at Ps.
xliv. 5. — In ver. 13, according to the connection of arm, hand,
and right hand, according to "thy mighty arm," in ver. 10, and
according to ver. 21, we cannot explain : thine is might with
power, but only : thine is an arm with strength, a strong power
ful arm. — In ver. 14, Y\yft is not foundation, basis, (this sense is
neither ascertained nor suitable; what should it mean? thy king
dom stands through righteousness? who would overthrow it then,
if God were not righteous *i) but as always the site, the soil
on which the building rests : the dominion of God, is the sense, is
situated on the domain of justice and righteousness. The Q-rp
signifies to go before, to come before, qijq Q^p occurs in the
sense of to come before the face, Ps. xvii. 12, xcv. 2. It is not,
therefore : mercy and truth step before thee, or stand before
thee, but : they go before thee ; comp. at Ps. Ixxxv. 13.
Ver. 1 5-18. Happy the people who have such a God, a God
of omnipotence, faithfulness, and righteousness ! Salvation can
never fail to be imparted to such a people. For this holy and
awful God is, as he has solemnly said and sworn, the protection
of his anointed one. — Ver. 15. Happy the people which know the
joyful sound : 0 Lord, in the light of thy countenance they shall
walk. Ver. 16. In thy name they rejoice always, and through
thy righteousness they are glorious. Ver. 1 7. For thou art their
mighty ornament, and by thy favour thou exaltest our horn. Ver.
18. For our shield is the Lord's, and our King is the Holy One
of Israel's. — At the expression, " who know the joyful sound,"
ver. 15, we must supply from the preceding verse, "in the pre
sence or before the face of such a God ;" who knows to rejoice
to thee. The joyful sound is that which Israel shouted to God,
his king and saviour, with the mouth and trumpets (comp. Num.
x. 1 ss.), at the regular periodical festivals, and on extraordi
nary occasions, such as in war ; comp. Num. x. 9, Jos. vi. 5, 20,

104 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
1 Sam. iv. 5, 6, 2 Sam. vi. 15, the treatise "on Balaam," at
Num. xxiii. 28, where Balaain says of Israel, "the shout of a
king is in the midst of hihi." We are not justified, with many,
in limiting the joyful sound to the festivals, or in interpreting
it exclusively of the sound of the trumpet, comp. at Ps. xxvii. 6.
The relation of the two clauses of the verse to each other, as is
also the case in Ps. Ixxxiv. 4, is that of cause and effect, not:
who walk, but : they shall walk in the light of thy counten
ance, in the splendour of thy favour ; comp. at Ps. iv. 6, xliv.
3, xliii. 3. The face of the Lord is itself the light which brightly
illuminates their otherwise dark way. Arnd: " There is great
loveliness in the countenance of a joyful virtuous nian ; there
is greater loveliness still in the countenance of an angel ; but
the highest loveliness is in the countenance of God. Just as
parents look joyfully Upon their little children, and when they
are learning to walk guide them with their countenance and
eye, so does the merciful God to those who love him." — In ver.
16, "in thy name," as is manifest from the parallel clause,
"through thy righteousness" is to be understood as equivalent
to " over it," " over thy glory manifested in guiding them,"
comp. at ver. 12. The righteousness of God is also here that
property by which he gives to eveiy One his own, salvation to
his people. The "lEW is not " they are proud," but '" they
are high," "lifted up as the right hand of God itself," ver. 13,
comp. " thou liftest up," ver. 1 7, and Ps. xxvii. 6. — As it is un
doubted that ]-nNQ]-i can only signify " an ornament" (comp.
Ps. Ixxviii. 61, the Christol. on Zech. xii. 7), and jjj only
" strength," " might," we can only translate in ver. 17 : for thou
art their mighty ornament; comp. "the arm of thy strength,"
for "thy strong arm," in ver. 10; "the ark of thy strength,"
instead of "the strong ark," Ps. cxxxii. 8. The -foty looks
back to fyj-i in ver. 1 3. On " thou liftest up our horn," comp.
at Ps. Ixxv. 10, xcii. 10. The Keri, oy^/-|, "our horn is high,"
has been introduced only by an unseasonable comparison of i^yy**
in ver. 16, and of QTipt in ver- 24- — In ver. 18, the confidence
which had been expressed in the preceding verses is grounded
upon the mighty assistance of the Lord. How can he do
otherwise than give it, when Israel's king is his anointed; '
and Israel's guardian is his guarded one ? The ^ denotes here,
as in Ps. xlvii. 9, "for the shields of the earth are the Lord's,"

PSALM LXXXIX. VER. 19 — 28. 105
Him to Whom the king belongs. The common translation is :
for the Lord is our shield, the Holy One of Israel our king. But
^ never stands in this way before a nominative, and the thought
is not sufficiently suitable, as the joyful confidence in the salva
tion of God expressed in ver. 15-18 is in this way wholly dis
joined from the person of the anointed, around which the whole
Psalm revolves. In reference to the appellation of God, " the
Holy One of Israel," comp. at Ps. lxxi. 22, Ixxviii. 41 .
There follows, in prosecution of the subject entered upon in
ver. 3 and 4, a more full development in two sections, of the
glorious promise made to the anointed, and in him to the people,
ver. 19-38. First, in ver. 19-28, it is represented that God had
promised perpetual deliverance to the people in him, perpetual
victory over its enemies, perpetual dominion ; and after that the
objection is met that this promise may, in consequence of the
sins of the anointed, become altogether null : God has already
explained that the promise is in its nature an unconditional one,
that he will punish the sins of his chosen family, but that he
will never withdraw his favour from it, and from the people in
it, ver. 29-37.
Ver. 19-28. — Ver. 19. At that time thou didst speak in the
appearance (to Nathan) to thy holy ones, and didst say : I have
laid help upon a man of war, I have lifted a young man out
of the people. . Ver. 20. I have found David my servant, with
my holy oil I anointed him. Ver. 21 . With him my hand shall
be constant, yea, my arm shall strengthen him. Ver. 22. The
enemy shall not oppress him, and the wicked shall not afflict
him. Ver. 23. And I beat down before him his opponents, and
his haters I will strike. Ver. 24. And my truth and mercy are
with him, and through my name his horn shall be exalted.
Ver. 25. And I put his hand upon the sea, and upon the rivers
his right hand. Ver. 26. He shall also thus address me: Thou
art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation. Ver. 27.
/ will also make him my first-born, most high over the kings of
ihe earth. Ver. 28. I will perpetually secure for him my mercy,
and my covenant shall remain continually with him. — That the
paragraph ends here, and that ver. 29 belongs to what follows,
is evident from the circumstance that there it is the seed of the
anointed that is spoken of, while here it is only one person that
always meets us> the ideal person of the anointed, the royal
/

106 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
family of David represented by him. — The " at that time," in
ver. 19, connects the paragraph with ver. 3 and 4. Vftn,
vision, is the term applied to the revelation of God made
to and by Nathan in 1 Chron. xvii. 15, comp. the pit)-j in
2 Sam. vii. 17. In its original form the promise was directed
to David. But it is made very manifest in 1 Chron. xvii. 15,
and 2 Sam. vii. 10, that it was intended not only for him but
also for the people. This view of the promise, as intended for
the people, is the only one that is kept before our eye through
out the whole of the Psalm; and in accordance with this, the
people, as the original recipient of the revelation, are termed
" thy holy ones," and in harmony with it David, in what follows,
is spoken of in the third person. All the old translators, many
MSS. and editions give ""*rT"lDn ^n ^ie P^urak The singular
owes its existence, as in Ps. xvi. 10, to an exegetical incapacity.
It was felt to be impossible to reconcile the plural with the
application to David or Nathan ; and to one or other of these,
all interpreters, without exception, down even to modern times, ¦
have applied the expression, without observing that in the fol
lowing part of the Psalm it is the people that complains that
God does not appear to be keeping his promise, and that it is
the people that prays that he would fulfil his promise. When
one goes deep into the root of the matter, the singular is seen
to be unsuitable. The address cannot be made to David, for he
is never addressed throughout the remaining portion of the
Psalm. The Psalmist has given no ground for changing the
address, which historically was directed to David through
Nathan, into an address to Nathan, so that he should be consi
dered as the person meant by the holy one ; it would be consi
dered as a step backwards, inasmuch as the language employed
in the Psalm does not refer to a decree of God received inward
ly, but to one openly promulgated ; and there is, moreover, no
ostensible reason why Nathan should be termed the holy one of
God. His piety has nothing to do with the matter. The divine
revelation made through Nathan first goes backward in ver. 19,
20, to what had taken place long ago, the first choice of David
by Samuel, and there is next connected with this in the 22d
and following verses, the promise for the future which rests
upon this as its basis. The expression " I have laid help" is
not to be understood as equivalent to " I have provided help,"

PSALM LXXXIX. VER. 19 — 28. 107
but it means: I have on behalf of you, my holy ones, laid help
upon him, made him the depository of my help, or constituted
him a helper; compare Jud. xiii. 5, when it is said of Samson:
he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hands of the Philis
tines. On the term, " a man of war," compare 2 Sam. xvii. 10,
all Israel knoweth that thy father is a man of war. David was
a powerful young man (compare Ps. Ixxviii. 31, 63 — Luther
falsely a chosen one), at the time when his selection became
possessed of vitality in his deed of heroism against Goliath.
Still we must not limit ourselves to David as an individual. We
must rather consider him as the representative of his eternally
youthful heroic seed, a seed which reached its summit of per
fection in Christ (Jesus = him on whom God has laid help),
compare ver. 45. — " I have found," in ver. 20, intimates that the
choice of David was not a blind, arbitrary act lifting him out of
the mass of the people, but a step taken in consequence of a
fixed divine purpose. For the sake of impressing this upon the
people, God, according to the history of the choice of David, put
on the appearance of seeking and finding. The anointing of
David with the holy oil was, according to 1 Sam. xvi. 13, the
form under which the gifts of the Spirit were imparted to him,
which were developed in the most glorious forms in Christ who,
at the same time, was anointed in him. — " With whom my hand
shall be established," in ver. 21 (compare ver. 37; Ps. Ixxviii.
37), is to be considered as equivalent to " my hand shall be con
tinually with him," ver. 24, 1 Sam. xviii. 12, 14, 2 Sam. v. 10.
— In ver. 22 the ni*$;-| is " to act like a creditor," (a ntyiJ)) " to
oppress." The second clause is quite literally taken from 2 Sam.
vii. 10, " neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them
any more as in the beginning." What is there said of the peo
ple is applied here to the anointed, who receives everything for
the community, and without whom the community receives
nothing. — In ver. 25, the hand is that which takes possession of
anything. The article in the sea, in the river, stands generi-
cally as in Is. xliii. 2. The sea and the rivers generally are
meant as in Ps. xxiv. 2. The Psalmist enlarges the promise, as
the language of prophecy had already done, with special refer
ence to Ps. lxxii. 8, "he has dominion from sea to sea and
from the river to the ends of the earth." As decisive against
the limited application to the Mediterranean Sea and the

108 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
Euphrates, may be mentioned the parallel passages already
referred to in Ps. lxxii., and in the prophets, the clause, "the
highest over the kings of the earth," in ver. 27, and the plural,
"the rivers," which cannot be explained by connecting the
Tigris with the Euphrates, for no such connection ever occurs.
— On " He will call me my father," ver. 26, compare 2 Sam. vii.
14, and the investigations at Ps. ii. 7. — The first-begotten in ver.
27, as in Ex. iv. 22, where the word is applied to Israel, and
Heb. i. 6, where Christ the true David is thus named, is at the
same time the only-begotten. In the second clause, what is said
in Deut. xxviii. 1 (compare xxvi. 19) of the people, " and the
Lord thy God make thee higher than all the nations of the
earth," is transferred to the anointed, in whom and through
whom the people were to obtain their lofty destination. Here
also we must ascend to Christ, compare Ps. lxxii. 11, 12; it
was only a feeble type of the fulfilment that was witnessed in
David, compare 1 Chron. xiv. 17.
Ver. 29-37. — Ver. 29. And I set upon eternity his seed, and
his throne like the days of heaven. Ver. 30. If his sons forsake'
my law and walk not in my statutes. Ver. 31. If they profane
my ordinances and observe not my commandments. Ver. 32.
i" visit with the rod their iniquity, and with stripes their sin.
Ver. 33. But my mercy I will not withdraw from him, nor
break my faithfulness. Ver. 34. I will not profane my covenant,
and I will not alter what has gone out of my lips. Ver. 35. One
thing have I sworn in my holiness, I will not lie to David.
Ver. 36. His seed shall be eternal, and his throne as the sun
before me. Ver. 37. As the moon he shall be established for
ever, and the witness in the clouds is perpetual. — At the begin
ning and at the end of this paragraph there is an assurance of
the perpetuity of the kingdom of David. And in the middle of
it, the Psalmist removes everything which appeared to endanger
that perpetuity, by dwelling upon the one verse, 2 Sam. vii. 14,
what had obtained a very peculiar importance in consequence of
the history, the manifest dreadful sins of the family of David,
which seemed to imply total rejection. — On ver. 29, comp. 2 Sam.
vii. 12; Ps. lxxii. 5, 7, 17. The expression, as " the days of hea
ven," is taken from Deut. xi. 21, where there is promised to the
people, in case they remain faithful to the covenant, a continuance
"on earth as the days of heaven."— In ver. 30 and 31, the strongest

PSALM LXXXIX. VER. 29—37. 109
possible descriptions of sin are designedly chosen in order to ex
press the thought that the substance of the covenant is altoge
ther independent of human conditions, that even the greatest
unfaithfulness on the part of man does not alter the faithfulness
of God. — In ver. 32, the words themselves do by no means con
vey the idea of a slight punishment ; and neither can this be
said of the fundamental passage, 2 Sam. vii. 1 4, " if he (the seed
of David, his race) errs, I will visit him with the rod of men, and
with the stripes of the children of men," i.e., with such punish
ments as all men (because all are sinners) are exposed to, grace
shall not remove him from this the common lot of men, he has no
commission to sin, contrary to Prov. xxiii. 13, 14, " withdraw
not thy son from chastisement ; if thou smitesthim with the rod-
he shall not die, and thou shalt deliver his soul from hell." The
alleviating limitation is here first given in ver. 33, as it is in the
fundamental passage in ver. 15. The alleviation, however, is
not to be misunderstood, as if it referred to individuals contrary
to the nature of the thing, and contrary to the history, accord
ing to which, annihilating judgments did descend upon the re
bellious members of the family of David ; but the opposition is
of the punishment of sin in the individual, and of grace contin
ually remaining to the family. We must not •fail to notice that
in ver.' 33 it is not said : I will not withdraw my mercy from
. them, the sinners, but from him, the family as such. Now that
, the kingdom has passed from the sinful to the holy seed of
David, the direct application of this paragraph has ceased. The
case provided for in the promise cannot again occur. Still there
exists .between Christ and his Church a case analogous to that
between David and his seed. As David's family was chosen in
him (compare 1 Kings xi. 36, 2 Kings viii. 19, Is. xxxvii. 35,
2 Chron vi. 42), so that it always remained in possession of the
favour of God, notwithstanding the fall and rejection of many
of its individual members, in like manner the Church is chosen
in Christ, and the sins of its members may hurt themselves but
cannot injure it. Notwithstanding the fall of a whole genera
tion, it always flourishes again and under the most inexorable
judgments which are not. removed by the appearance of Christ,
but rendered more severe, compassionate grace is always con
cealed. — In reference to the -vpty with ^ in ver. 33, comp. at Ps.
xliv. 17. — The ^j-j in ver. 34 signifies, as it always does, to pro-

HO THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
fane The covenant sworn lay God was a holy one, comp. at Ps.
Iv. 20: and " in my holiness" at ver. 35. That is holy whicli
God, the holy One, promises, desires, and has agreed to. " I
will not profane" refers back to " if they profane" in ver. 31.
The second clause rests on Deut. xxiii. 24 (comp. Num. xxx.
13), " whatever has gone out of thy lips thou shalt perform
and do." God desires, on the part of his people, truth and
fidelity towards himself only on the ground of his own truth
and fidelity towards them. All the commands of him who
has said, " Be ye holy for I am holy," are also promises.— In
ver. 35, the tfpi'& is not once (this sense is generally un"
certain, and it is still more uncertain whether once could be
taken as equivalent to once for all), but one thing, as at Ps.
xxvii. 4, — if I have anywhere sworn anything to him, I have
sworn this. The thing sworn, and, according to the second
clause (on which we may compare Num. xxiii. 19, 1 Sam.
xv. 29), the thing to be kept inviolate, follows in ver. 36 and
37. On "in my holiness" (Gesenius, manifestly falsely: in
my sanctuary), comp. Ps. lx. 6. — The " before me," in ver. 36,
is " under the sheltering covering of my favour." — The constant
witness, in ver. 37, is the moon. As God has connected with
his own duration the continued existence of the family of David,
so has he, in like manner, given a constant witness which would
convict him of unfaithfulness, should he permit this family to fall
to the ground. As long as the Church of God beholds the moon
shining, which no more goes out in darkness than the other wit
ness and pledge, the sun, she may be full of comfort and joy, —
he promises to her David life and victory, even though he seems
to be laid on his death-bed, and the sons of wickedness shout
over him as one already dead. Many expositors give the totally
false rendering : the witness in the clouds, God himself is to
be depended on : — the still more arbitrary view is not for one
moment to be thought of, which refers to the rainbow, with
which the family of David had nothing to do. God cannot be
named as his own witness, and 10^2 in parallel ¦j^i cannot signify
" to be depended upon," but only " constant," as in ver. 28.
With the joyful assurance of the everlasting continuance of
the family of David, and, therefore, of her own deliverance, the
Church proceeds to contemplate the actual state of matters at
the present moment. (Ps. xliv. 9, and following verses, are ex-

Psalm lxxxix. ver. 38 — 45. HI
actly similar.) The contradiction between the present state of
matters and this assurance gives occasion to the Church to utter
a painful lamentation, ver. 38-45. She soon turns, however,
from the lamentation to the prayer, ver. 46-51, that the Lord
would remove the appearance of contradiction. — The whole has
fourteen verses, the first paragraph twice four, and the second
twice three (comp. n^D 'n ver- **^)> the four of lamentation is
both times supplemented by three of prayer so as to form
seven. Ver. 38-45. — Ver. 38. And thou easiest off and rejectest, art
angry with thine anointed. Ver. 39. Thou destroyest the cove
nant of thy servant; thou profanest on the ground his crown.
Ver. 40. Thou tearest down all his hedges, thou layest in ruins
all his strong works. Ver. 41. All who pass by rob him, he was
a reproach to our neighbours. Ver. 42. Thou dost exalt the right
hand of his enemies, thou lettest all his foes rejoice. Ver. 43.
Thou causest also the strength of his sword to turn back, and dost
not stand by him in battle. Ver. 44. Thou robbest him of his
purity, and castets his throne to the ground. Ver. 45. Thou
shortenest the days of his youth, thou coverest him with shame.
Selah. — It is to be observed that all the objections of the Psal
mist are directed to the one point, that the family of David is
apparently in danger of utter destruction. It is not anything
that had hitherto happened, considered in itself, that disquiets
him — all might have happened only in terms of ver. 32 — but as
foreboding a yet more dreadful future. He is contending only
against appearances, and knows in God that he is contending only
against appearances, yet the contest is, on that account, all the
harder ; the signs are very threatening, and, were it not for God
and his word, he would be'forced to regard it as folly still to hope.
No difficulty would ever have been felt by expositors with the
lamentation, if it had been viewed as, what it really is, the basis
of the following prayer, and if, at the same time, attention had
been directed to the light which breaks in upon its darkness out
of the preceding praise of God. — The expression, "Thou profanest
his crown," in ver. 39, is to be explained by the fact, that the
crown was the official badge of the king, as the anointed of the
Lord. There stood also upon it, though in an invisible form,
what was visible on that of the high priest, " holiness to the
Lord," Ex. xxviii. 36, xxix. 6. In reference to ^"IN^ " on the

112 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
ground," comp. at Ps. lxxiv. 7— In the first clause of ver. 40,
the king appears under the image of a vineyard, whose pro
tecting walls have been thrown down, and in the second, of a
city whose fortifications (for this is the proper meaning of
"ISIO) have keen demolished, comp. Job xvi. 14. The sense
is: thou hast left him defenceless and helpless. That we can
not translate " Thou breakest down all the walls of his city,"
is clear from this, that mTl ^s never used of the walls of
cities, but always of the enclosures of vineyards or sheepfolds,
and also from comparing the parallel passage, Ps. lxxx. 12,
" Why hast thou broken down its wall {i. e. the wall of thy
vineyard)? " It is quite obvious that this is the fundamental
passage. In that passage " its wall " (its fence) is an expres
sion for which preparation had been made, as the language
used had all referred to the Lord's vine, and allusion had been
made to Is. v. 5. The expression in the 41st verse, "all who
pass by the way," is also borrowed from the eightieth Psalm.
Those quotations in the Psalm before us from the eightieth
Psalm, quotations which it is impossible to mistake, show that
we formed a right judgment as to the age of that Psalm. Had
it referred, according to the assumption of several, to the
Chaldean catastrophe, it would have been later than the Psalm
before us. The sense of destruction, ruin, is commonly given
here to nniTO- But this sense is not well ascertained, and
the ordinary sense, terror, is also here very suitable : thou
causest his fortifications to be terrified before the enemy, and
to be removed; comp. Jer. xlviii. 1, " the fortification is con
founded and dismayed." — In ver. 41, "the passers by" are the
nations of the Asiatic kings who visited Judah in marching
through against the king of Egypt (comp. at the fundamental
passage), the neighbours, the surrounding nations who, on a
former occasion, approached David and Solomon with rever
ence, and paid tribute; comp. 2 Sam. viii. 2 ; 1 Kings v. I;
now they despise the anointed of the Lord in his disgracefully i;
degraded condition, comp. Ps. lxxx. 6, lxxxviii. 8.— In ver 42, '
the Psalmist complains that the anointed of the Lord missed
the fulfilment of the prayer, " let not mine enemies triumph
over me," which appeared to have been secured to him for all
eternity. But it is well for him that he derives all the suffer
ings of the anointed singly and alone from the Lord, and con-

PSALM LXXXIX. VER. 46—51. 113
siders human enemies only as instruments in his hands. This
is the first foundation of the hope of deliverance.— The ex
pression, " thou causest his sword to turn back," in ver. 43, is
illustrated by 2 Sam. i. 22, " the sword of Saul returned not"
empty." The sword returns back ashamed when it does not
pierce. The rock or the stone (comp. at Psalm xviii. 2) of his
sword, is his sword, which, according to the promise, ver. 22
and 23, and through means of the rock of salvation, ver. 27,
should have been unchangeably firm and sure. The com
mon translation, the ec^e of his sword, is to be rejected as
arbitrary. The -y^j means always a stone, even in Jos. v. 2,
3. — In the first clause of ver. 44, the suffix is to be supple
mented out of what precedes, comp. the J-P2J7 in ^s- lxxxviii.
7 ; thou hast caused him to cease from his purity, thou hast
robbed him of his splendour, comp. Ez. xxxiv. 10. The ex
planation, thou hast robbed from his splendour a part oi it,
gives a flat, and hence in the connection an unsuitable mean
ing. — " Thou hast shortened the days of his youth," in ver. 45,
is equivalent to, thou hast made him, thine anointed, old before
the time, whereas, according to ver. 19, he should have been
eternally young. The youth is alluded to as the season of
strength, comp. Job xxxiii. 25. Old age, as the season of
feebleness, here referred to in connection with the anointed, is,
in other passages, spoken of in connection with the Church in
the same view, comp. at Ps. lxxi. 9, 18, Hos. vii. 9, "Old age
whitens his hair, and he knows it not." In Christ the family
of David returned to the strength of youth, which had appar
ently vanished. " Its flesh became again as that of a little
child." Several expositors altogether erroneously refer to this
or that Jewish king before the captivity, who reigned only a
short while. The Psalmist has to do throughout, not with a
single individual, but with the whole race.
Ver. 46-51. — Ver. 46. How long, 0 Lord, wilt thou hide
thyself for ever, shall thine anger burn tike fire ? Ver. 47. Re
member how short my life is : wherefore hast thou created all
the children of men in vain? Ver. 48. Where is the man who
lives and does not see death ? who delivers his soul from the
hand of sheol ? Selah. Ver. 49. Where are thy early tender
mercies, 0 Lord, which thou didst swear to David in thy faith
fulness ? Ver. 50. Remember, Lord, the reproach of thy ser~
VOL. III. I

ll£ THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
vant, that I bear in my bosom alt the many nations. Ver. 51.
That thine enemies reproach, 0 Lord, that they reproach the
footsteps of thine anointed.— On "how long— always," in ver.
46 comp. at Ps. xiii. 1, Ixxix. 5.1— In ver. 47 and 48, the
prayer that God would not further withhold his favour from
his anointed, and from the Church in him, is grounded on the
shortness of human life, as is the case very often with similar
prayers in the book of Job, for example, vii. 6, " remember
that my life is a breath, mine eye shall not return to see good,"
xiv. 1, s., comp. at Ps. xxxix., Ixxviii. 39. It would be hard
if God were to fill up entirely with sufferings, in the case of his
own people, the short span of time which man has to live.2
The first clause of ver. 47 is to be explained: remember, I,
what life, i. e., what I have to live, how short my existence is;
comp. the fundamental passage, Ps. xxxix. 5, "behold as an
handbreadth thou makest my days, and my life is as non-ex
istence before thee." Some hasty critics would read instead of
^2^, "ljnN, 0 Lord. But the Psalmist is not so prodigal of his
addresses to God, and the v^ cannot be dispensed with, more
especially as the -j^n. properly existence, or continuance,
does not exactly mean human life. Even in the funda
mental passage the language used does not apply to human
life generally, but to the life of the Psalmist, who speaks here
in the name of every individual member of the Church. In
the second clause, j-|ft ^y stands in its usual sense, why; w$}
adverbially, in vain, as Ps. cxxvii. 1, 2. We are to suppose
added : as would be the case, wert thou to give over man in
perpetuity to misery. The expression, therefore, "why hast
thou," &c, is in reality as much as, "yet will not have heen
1 Arnd: "Is it not an odd thing that when we see a fire break out we are
terrified and run, and every man looks after what is his own, yet no man will be
terrified at the fire of the wrath of God ? Whereas every man should rather help
to quench the Wrath of God by prayer and true repentance, and after this consider
that he has a gracious God, and one who is not angry with him. And if this were
so it would be well with ns all, and the common fire of the wrath of God would be
extinguished." , a Arnd: " Thou wilt be long angry, and our life is so short. And truly, be»
loved Christians, there is a high, immeasureable, noble way and disposition in tie
most high God ; tbere is sucl\ great long-suffering and compassion with him, that
when a man holds iip before him his nothingness and his deep misery, he does not ¦
punish us as we have well deserved, but thinks, what should I do with poor dust
s'n'd asties, why should I be angry With dust."

PSALM LXXXIX. VER. 52. 115
made in vain." Even here the rich background of salvation
after death is concealed before the eye of the Psalmist. It
must first be made perfectly manifest in Christ. — The former
tender mercies are those which God manifested to David in
the early part of his history, and which, were pledges of the
future, all the more on this account that God had sworn his
favour ir. perpetuity to David. In the second clause, the
former (tender mercies) are not the object directly contem
plated; it is only the idea of the general favour of God that is:
there placed before the mind.1 — That the many nations in the
second clause of ver. 50 are referred to in connection with the
reproach which they cast upon the people of God , is clear from
the first clause ; but to supply grammatically the reproach from
the preceding clause, " all (the reproach) of the many nations,."
is hard and flat: — such a resumption of the st. constr. in a
subsequent clause is altogether without example;. Job xxvi. 10;
to which Ewald refers,, has nothing to the point. The Church
of the Lord has, as it were, many nations in its bosom (Ps.,
Ixxix. 1)> in the reproach which she suffers from them. — Ver.
51 is still dependent upon. " remember " in ver. 50. The
1ty^> is that, comp.. Ewald, § 597. It is emphatically shown
that the enemies of the king, as he is the anointed of God,
are the enemies of God. The footsteps of thine anointed
(Ps. lxxvii. 20) — him wherever he goes and wherever he
stands. Ver. 52 does not at all belong to the Psalm, hut contains-
the doxology which concludes the third book. Hitherto the
arrangement of the Psalms has presented no difficulty. The
first book contains the Davidic-Jehovah Psalms; the second
the Elohim Psalms of the singers, of David, the sons of Korah,
Ps. xlii.-xlix., Asaph, Ps. 1., then his own Elohim Psalms ; the
the third book, the Jehovah Psalms of his singers, Asaph, Ps.
lxxiii. -ixxxiii., the sons of Korah, Ps. Ixxxiv. Ixxxix. The
Elohim Psalms are designedly enclosed on both sides by the
Jehovah Psalms.
1 Calvin : " Gad had attested the faithfulness of his word1 by clear, proofs, and,
ind therefore believers present before him both the promise and, its numerous,
efifects."

116 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.

PSALM XC.

The Psalm consists of two main divisions, one of meditation,
which is complete in ten, and one of prayer in seven. The ten
of the first part is divided by five, the seven of the second by a
two and a five. The formal arrangement is simple, is exactly
carried through, and is easily seen.
The point from which the Psalmist sets out is furnished by
the view which he takes of the transitory and perishable nature
of human existence, and the pain with which he contemplates
the nullity of life on earth. The Psalmist, or rather the Church
in whose name he speaks, meditating upon the distress before
God and in his light, is first driven thereby to cling inwardly
and firmly to God, who, as the Eternal and therefore the
Almighty, is the sole ground of hope for transitory and there
fore feeble creatures; inside the narrow boundaries with which
our being is enclosed, God alone .can protect, help and gladden:
0 Lord, thou art a dwelling-place to us, for thou art eternal,
but we are transitory, ver. 1-5.
But the transitory nature of man's existence furnishes to
meditation another important view: it teaches us the depths of
our sinM corruption, and the greatness of the wrath ef God
against us: death, to which our short existence is a prey, is the
wages of sin, ver. 6-10.
The prayer of the second part rising upon the basis of the
meditation .of the first, is first connected with the thought to
which prominence had been given in the second strophe (be
cause the prayer to be based upon the first strophe is depen
dent upon the fulfilment ef the one to be referred to the second):
May God grant that we may know his wrath, reflected to us as
in a mirror jn the transitory nature of our being, in its entire
magnitude, and our own sins in all their depths, and that thus
we may have a wise heart, which is afraid of sin, and lays hold
upon the commandments of God, ver. 11, 12.
After this the second prayer rises, ver. 13 — 1 7 (it being sup
posed that the first lias heen fulfilled), on the basis of ver. 1—5.
" Be thou our dwelling-place," here, grows out of " thou art our
dwelling-place," there. May God remove the misery in the
miserable, the severe sufferings with which he has oppressed j

PSALM XC. 117
the short existence of his people, and show himself again gra
cious toward them.
The Psalm is described in the title as a prayer. This descrip
tion shows, as Amyraldus saw, that the kernel of the Psalm is
the second part, and that the design of the first is to prepare
the way for the second, and lay down a basis on which it may
rest. For nT'Dn denotes only prayer in the proper sense, sup
plicatory prayer; and Delitsch maintains, without any ground,
at Heb. iii. 1, that it denotes " prayer in its widest, most
comprehensive sense, all kinds of addresses to God," I Tim. ii. ] .
It occurs only in the titles of such Psalms as xvii., Ixxxvi., cii.,
cxlii., in which prayer even in point of form constitutes the
most prominent part ; and even in the prayer of Habakkuk the
prophet, the "accept the prayer of our distress" in ver. 2, forms
the middle point round which everything else is grouped. As
suredly the title points to a high privilege enjoyed by the peo
ple of divine revelation. The heathen, in view of the transi
tory nature of earthly existence, can only hang down their hands
and utter cheerless lamentations ; but the congregation of the
Lord lifts up its hands in prayer to the merciful Father on
high. Luther: "Although now Moses in the discharge of his
duty kills, inasmuch as he shows us sin in connection with its
punishment; yet as he calls this Psalm a prayer, he gives us to
understand the medicine against death. And in this he excels
in two ways all heathen writings. He amplifies death, or re
presents it as great, and yet so terrifies that he shows at the
same time the hope of comfort, in order that those who are ter
rified may not be brought to despair  He takes
particular care so to act as that he may teach men to fear God,
in order that when they are terrified before the wrath of God
and before death, they may humble themselves before God, and
may thus be partakers of his grace. For it is impossible that a
man be moved to fear God unless the wrath of God be revealed
to him, which cannot be except through the revelation of sin."
All the fountains of consolation, whicli Revelation furnishes in
view of the transitory nature of human life, are assuredly not
opened up in our Psalm. It points only to the grace with
which God refreshes his own people within the narrow boun
dary of this life; and the view beyond, full of salvation and
grace, remains cut off. This fact is so troublesome to most of

] 1 8 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
the old expositors, to whom among the moderns we may add
Meyer and Stier, that they have made every effort to remove it.
But it remains in spite of all these attempts,— attempts which
¦cannot be made without destroying the clear train of thought,
and, therefore, the practical power of the Psalm. And where
is the good reason for endeavouring violently to set this fact
aside? The PsaSlm teaches us many great truths in a forcible
and impressive manner both of death and of the grace of God.
Death it represents as the proof, exhibited in stern realities, of
the fact that God is our only Saviour, — a fact well fitted to lead
us to cling closely to him, — and as the wages of sin and the
herald summoning us to repentance. It speaks of the grace of
:God towards those who give ear to the calls of this herald.
Why then force upon it another truth of which it says nothing,
which it does not deny, and for which it certainly everywhere
prepares the ground out of whicli it may grow? For the know
ledge of God1 as eternal omnipotence and love is the foundation
of the hope of eternal life; it pledges his power and his will to
impart it to his own people. Compare vol. ii. page 52.
The title designates the Psalm as & prayer of Moses ihe man
of God. The last designation is no empty title, it points to the
dignity of the person as affording a security for the importance
of his word. Luther: " As one -who has such a duty assigned
to him by God, so that we should believe in him and in his in
structions no less than in God himself." The designation con
sidered in itself may very well have originated with Moses.
Luther: "As when Paul calls himself ihe servant of the Lord,
Bom. i. 1, it is not pride but a necessary recommendation of
his office." David designates himself in the titles of Ps. xviii.
and xxxvi. as the servant of the Lord (compare the remarks
made there), and in 2 Sam. xxiii. 1, he calls himself " the man
who was highly exalted, the anointed of the God of Jacob."
Notwithstanding as this designation does not occur in the
books of Moses, so far as they were written by him, but only in
the addition made by another hand, viz., the title of the bless
ing pronounced on the tribes in Deut. xxxiii. 1 (compare the
1 Luther: "But when thou seest that the piophets and other holy men call
upon God w*hp is still beyond everything that man can see, wilt thou not see that
they, by sueh (Calling upon God, acknowledge that there is another life after thia
one — a life either of grace or of wrath!"

PSALM XC. 119
designation of Moses in the mouth of a cotemporary, Josh. xiv.
6) ; and as the same is the case with the corresponding designa
tion, " the servant of the Lord" in Deut. xxxiv. 5 (compare
the Beitr. P. iii., p. 158), it is probable (although the grounds
are by means decisive), that the title was added by another
person. The paragraph, ver. 13-15, serves to determine more exactly
the time when the Psalm was composed. According to it, the
people had already sighed for a long time under the pressure
of severe suffering, and now pray that God at last would change
this suffering into joy, and would again make himself known
in his glory. This leads us towards the end of the 38 years'
punishment in the wilderness. The fulfilment of the prayer
lies in the glorious events of the 40th year, and of the time of
Joshua. There are important internal reasons which may be urged in
favour of the composition of the Psalm by Moses, as announced
in the title. The poem bears throughout the character of high
antiquity; there is no other Psalm which so decidedly conveys
the impression of being the original expression of the feelings
to which it gives utterance.1 There is, moreover, no other
Psalm which stands so much by itself, in regard to its funda
mental tone and peculiarities, for which parallel passages fur
nish so little kindred matter in characteristic peculiarities.
On the other hand there occurs a series of striking allusions
to the Pentateuch, especially to the poetical passages, and,
above all others, to Deut. xxxii. (compare the exposition), allu
sions which are of another kind than those which occur in
other passages in the Psalms, and which do not bear like them
the character of borrowing. Luther, in the following quota
tion, intimates that even here the deep seriousness of the law
giver may be seen: "Just as Moses aets in teaching the law, so
1 Amyraldus : " But as this ode is most ancient, so it bears strong marks of
the genius and character of antiquity. It is grave, full of majesty anc} authority,
somewhat concise, adorned with various comparisons, splendid with figures, but
these rare and little used, and for the understanding of which there is needed an
extraordinary attention <jf mind." Ewald: "The poem has something uncom
monly striking, solemn, sinking into the depth of the Godhead. In contents aud
language it is throughout original and powerful; and as it is undoubtedly very
old, it would have been universally considered as correctly derived from Hoses,
had we known exactly the reasons which guided the collector."

120 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
does he in this prayer. For he preaches death, sin, and con
demnation, in order that he may alarm the proud who are se
cure in their sins, and that he may set before their eye their sin
and evil, concealing, hiding nothing." The strong prominence
given to the doctrine of death as the wages of sin is especially
characteristic, a doctrine which is not of frequent occurrence in
Scripture, and especially not so in the Psalms, and which is pro
claimed as distinctly and impressively as it is here, only in the
Pentateuch, Gen. ii. and iii., and in those ordinances of the
ceremonial law which threaten death.
The reasons which have been adduced against the composition
of the Psalm by Moses are of very little weight. The objection
that ver. 1 0, where the length of human life is limited to seventy,
or, at the most, eighty years, stands opposed to Deut. xxxiv. 7,
according to which Moses reached the age of 120, is disposed of
by the remark, that Moses, throughout the whole Psalm, does not
speak in his own name, but in that of the people. It is obvious
from Deut. xiv. 22, 23, that among the Israelites, at that time the
exceptions to the general rule, as the duration of human life,
were much fewer than at ordinary times. Koester's assertion that
ver. 15 supposes a long period of suffering, and scarcely applies
to the Israelites in the wilderness, who rather beheld the glorious
deeds of Jehovah, is disposed of as soon as we direct our attention
to "that terrible oath which God had flashed down upon them in
Num. xiv." Eight- and- thirty years spent amidst the gradual de
struction of men lying under the curse, were well fitted to call
forth the prayer, " Make us glad according to the days in which
thou hast afflicted us, the years during which we have seen evil ;"
they aresufficient to explain " the melancholy view of life" which
here meets us, andthe dread earnestness " with which he instructs
us of our melancholy necessities : " no glass was more suitable
than this for giving a view of the common condition of human
life. Finally, the assertion that the Psalm could not have been
composed by Moses, because it resembles the other Psalms in
language and general poetical structure, is an a priori assertion,
which may be met, with at least as much force, by another,
that Moses, "the fountain but of which all the prophets have
drunk divine wisdom," gave at first the tone no less for pro
phecy, Deut. xxxii. and xxxiii., than for Psalm-poetry.
How little able modern criticism is to erect a new edifice, in

PSALM XO VER. 1-5. 121
room of one which it lias arbitrarily destroyed, is evident even
here, from the utter want of unanimity among those who doubt
the composition of the Psalm by Moses, in determining its age.
According to Ewald, the Psalm is very old, and certainly older
than the age of David; according to Hitzig, it is much later;
he places it in the year 150 of the Seleucidae! Kcester and
Maurer will have it placed between these two dates, a little
after the return from the captivity ; on which Maurer very
appropriately, and with great simplicity, remarksj "Yet this is
very doubtful."
The first part, that of meditation, ver. 1-5: the transitory
nature of human life points us to God as our only refuge. Ver.
1 . 0 Lord, thou art a dwelling-place to us for ever and ever.
Ver. 2. For before the mountains were brought forth, and thou
didst create the earth and ihe land, and from eternity to eter
nity, thou art, 0 God. Ver. 3. Thou tumest man so that he
is beat to pieces and sayest : Turn, ye children of men. Ver. 4.
For a thousand years are before thee as yesterday when it is past,
and as a watch in the night. Ver. 5. Thou carriest them away
as with a flood, they are as a sleep, in the morning it vanishes
like grass. — Ver. 1 contains the theme : we have no other
helper and saviour except thee, 0 Lord ; ver. 2-5 its basis.
The 'njj'Q has only one sense, that of habitation, which it main
tains even when it is used of the caves and dens of the wilder
ness ; and those translators are far wrong who set aside this ex
pression, which is so peculiar, and must, therefore, have been
selected with express design, and supply its place by refuge : —
in the whole of Scripture the word is applied to God, only here,
in Ps. xci. 9, and in Deut. xxxiii. 27, " God is a dwelling-place
of old, and underneath are the everlasting arms," — the feminine
form is used there TTjI^JDj the masculine here, as at Deut. xxvi.
15. Even in Paul Gerhardt, God is named, " My house in whom
I safely dwell." Isaiah iv. 6 shows where the point of compa
rison lies: " And there shall be a tabernacle for a shade before
the heat, and for a place of refuge, and a covert from the storm
and from rain." It. was probably the houseless wandering of
the Israelites in the wilderness which made them sensible of the
value of a habitation, that suggested the use of the figure. In
stead of " thou art," many translators give " thou wast," and
refer the'whole verse to the grace of God which had been enjoyed

122 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
by tlie people in early times, and especially by the patriarchs.
But this translation is not required either by the preterite,
" which often denotes general truths, which are rendered mani
fest by experience, and are in this way defined," Ew. § 262, or
by the -y^ y\y which is used as frequently of the future as it
is of the past; comp., for example, Ps. xlix. 11. And against
it we may urge, first, that by this translation the connection
with what follows is destroyed: thou art our dwelling-place, for
thou art eternal, and, therefore, almighty ; but we are transi
tory, and, therefore, weak and helpless ; and second, that it is
only in " thou art our dwelling-place," that we can find a right
basis for "be thou our dwelling-place" in ver. J 3-1 7. God is
also a dwelling-place in Deut. xxxiii. 27. Finally, at the time
of Moses, the history of the people had been too short as yet to
admit of the expression, from " generation to generation" be
ing suitable as applied to the past. — Ver. 2 is in reality con
nected with ver. 1 by the for. The eternity of God serves in
so far as a basis to the proposition " that he is the only saviour;"
as to be eternal and to be God are inseparably bound together.
Just as in the following verses the conclusion as to human weak
ness is silently drawn from the shortness of human life, so here
the omnipotence of God is deduced from his eternity. Thus
Luther in his day: " If we look at it in a right way, it includes
all the properties of the Godhead. For inasmuch as he is eter
nal, it follows that he is immortal, omnipotent, blessed, and
wise." The mountains are named first, because of all other
created things they give, by tlieir immoveable fastness, the deep
est impression of what is primeval; comp. "the eternal hills," in
Gen. xlix. 26; "the mountains of old and the eternal hills," of
Deut. xxxiii. 15, Num. xxiii. 7, Hab. iii. 6. w.-^, the earth, is
in opposition to heaven, biri> ine fruit bearing land, (comp. at
Ps. xxiv. 1, Ixxxix. 11), — a purely poetical word, the correspond
ing term in the Pentateuch being TTQ}y — is the opposite of " the
sea." In regard to ^nm* after setting aside the arbitrary
change ^Tinn. and the altogether ungrounded assumption of
Ewald, that " to move ie a circle" stands poetically instead of
" to be in the state of being born," or " being originated," we
have only two remaining explanations, which require to be con
sidered, the one that it is the third person singular, " and the

PSALM XO. VER. 1-5. 123
earth and the land were bringing forth" (comp. Gen. i. 11, 12),
and the other, that it is the second masculine, the address
being directed to God, " and thou didst bring forth." In favour
of this last we urge that it is only according to it that we
see any reason for the separation between y^ and ^n — the
earth was created by God on the second, and the land, on the
third day; on the other hand, the earth is fruit-bearing only as
71H — that in this case, to be brought forth, and to bring forth,
are placed most naturally together, as cause and effect (comp.
Deut. xxxii. 18 : "the rock that bore thee thou hast despised,
and thou hast forgotten God who brought thee forth :" God in this
passage is, in like manner, termed f^inC) with reference, in the
first instance, to Israel) ; finally, that, according to this explana
tion, it is very appropriately implied, that the being of God is,
not an existence merely, prior to all created things, but is the
existence of the Creator, prior to that of his creature, and all the
more so, that his eternity is here alluded to on account of his
omnipotence, which is really associated with it. Comp. Schleier-
macher Glaubensl. i. § 67: " The eternity of God is to be under
stood only as the omnipotent eternity, as that in God, which, con-
ditionates time itself, as well as all that is temporal." The ^
is not to be taken with Calvin, Ewald, and others, as a predi
cate: thou art God; but like i^ISj in ver. 1, as an address:
thou art, 0 God. As in the following verses man's feebleness
and helplessness are deduced from the brevity of his life, so, from
the eternity of God, his exclusive Godhead is here deduced, just
as in Isa. xliv. 6, " I am the first, and I am the last, and (there
fore) besides me there is no God." If we take ^ as the pre
dicate, the whole train of thought is destroyed : thou art our only
refuge, for thou art eternal, and, therefore, omnipotent ; but we
are short-lived, and, therefore, feeble, wholly unable to bring
about our own deliverance. — In ver. 3, in opposition to the eter
nity of God, which renders him fit to be the habitation of his
people, we have brought forward the transitory life of men, which
drives them, feeble creatures, to this habitation as their only refuge .
The n^-j, according to most expositors, is a substantive, a poeti
cal term for the " dust," properly what is beat to pieces. But as
¦j^-j only occurs as an adj. in the sense of crushed, beat to pieces,
and as, according to the other construction, one would expect, in
stead of "7y, rather ^, we must rather consider that the " even to

124 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
a thing broken to pieces," is equivalent to " even to such a condi
tion." Junius has already given : eo usque, ut sit contritus. The
expression is exactly analogous: " even to perishing," for "till
he comes to the condition of our perishing," in Num. xxiv. 20 ;
comp. Balaam, p. 190. The " return" of the second clause has
its exacj; meaning assigned to it out of the expression of the first,
" thou turnest him back so that he is beaten to pieces," and by
the passage in Gen. iii. 19, undeniably alluded to here, " till
thou return to the dust from which thou wast taken, for dust
thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return," exactly as in Ps. civ.
29, " they return to their dust," Job x. 9, " thou wilt bring me
to the dust," xxxiv. 1 5, Ps. ciii. 14. Luther explains otherwise,
and is followed by Tholuck : " It proceeds on this, that like as
men daily die because of sin, so others are daily born always in
the same condition as those who have died." But besides the
positive grounds which have been adduced on behalf of the
translation given above, we may urge the ^yty against this
view : no return can be attributed to the new generation which
comes in the room of the old. Many expositors, and among the
last of these Meyer and Stier, explain the words of the return of
the spirit of God. But in this case the whole connection of the
first part would be broken, and the prayer of the second part,
grounded upon the meditation here, would be unintelligible.
According to this, the language here can apply only to the short
and perishable nature of man's being. For it is upon it that the
prayer is grounded, that God would not embitter, by extra
ordinary sufferings, the span of time allotted to man. The ob
jection to our translation, that it is tautological (comp., for ex
ample, Ps. cii. 26), and expresses what is perfectly well known,
needs no refutation. It is evidently not this that has led to its
rejection, but something wholly different, as Stier has openly ac
knowledged : " Should not Moses, the man of God, have known
what is after death ? Or if he knew it, is there any other pas
sage in this Psalm in which it is expressed ?" — Luther has given
more correctly the sense of ver. 4 than most modern expositors:
" Moses exhorts us to rise above time, and to look upon our life
with the eyes of God, so shall we assuredly say, that all the life
of man is scarcely one hour long, even though it last the longest."
The " for" shows that the verse serves to ground the assertion
indirectly contained in ver. 3, as to the perishable and brief life

PSALM XC. VER. 1—5. 125
of man. To man his life appears long ; comp. " teach us to num
ber our days," of ver. 12. He who has the number of seventy
years before him, supposes that an eternity has been measured
out to him. The Psalmist destroys, with a powerful stroke, such
an allusion : " For how short is human life when it is seen with
thine eyes, who seest all things as they are, and measurest the
extent of our life by a correct standard ! To thee a thousand
years are what one day is to man, a night watch. If we lived
then, instead of our poor seventy, which, at the best, is all that
is measured out to us, a thousand years, what would these be be
fore thee ?" This divine estimate of the length of human life is
made by all who have looked with a steady and clear eye upon
eternity ; they cannot sufficiently wonder at the stupidity of
those before whom such a short human life stretches out into the
infinite ; the years dwindle down, in their estimation, to days
and hours ; comp. the noble poem of J. Neander, " How swiftly
passes human life," the most beautiful of all the Christian imi
tations of our Psalm. — According to the common view, the short
ness of human life is shown by comparing it with the eternity
of God; whereas, according to the exposition given above, the
eternity of God is noticed only indirectly, inasmuch as, be
cause he is the Eternal, that time which is long to man appears
short to him : a thousand years are in thine eyes what yesterday
or a night-watch is in ours. (Bengel : as to a very rich man a
thousand sovereigns are as one penny ; so, to the eternal God, a
thousand years are as one day.) It is decisive against the direct
reference to God, that the years are by no means described as
the years of God, but it is rather said, as a thousand years are
before him. Then, on this construction, the " for " also occasions
a difficulty, such, for example, as manifestly meets us in Koester's
paraphrase : this cannot be otherwise, as thou art alone (?) eter
nal. The construction, as we give it, is exactly the same as an
admonition to measure time, not by the human but by the divine
standard as in 2 Peter iii. 8: "be not ignorant that one day is
with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one
day." The Lord looks upon time with altogether different eyes
from tliose who live in time ; what seems long to you is short
to him ; a divine day is like a thousand human years, and
a thousand human years are like one divine day. — The 13
*\yjy\ is " when it passes by," — the future expressing what is

j 26 THE B00K 0F psalms-
iust ending, Ew. § 264. The night-watch whicli fleets past to
those who are asleep like a moment, is added, as a second step
in the climax, to the day which is spread out at greater length
over labour. It is clear that, in ancient times, the night was
divided into three watches ; in Judges vii. 19, mention is made
of the middle watch. Ex. xiv. 24, where the morning watch
is spoken of, renders it evident that this division existed in the
time of Moses.— In the fifth verse the Psalmist proceeds in the
description of the transitory nature of human life. The ft-ft, to
flow as a stream (in Ps. lxxvii. 17, hence Q-|t, a storm of rain),
is here to carry away with a stream, to carry off with the tear
ing rapidity with which a storm of rain, in conjunction with the
flood which it has occasioned, carries away everything ; for, ac
cording to the sense of the noun and the verb, the flood must
be noticed here, not as in itself, but as the product of a storm of
rain ; comp. the -pp ry\;, " a rain-torrent of the wall," which car
ries away walls, in Is. xxv. 4. Luther : " It is a fine full figure,
by which is illustrated how the whole human family is driven
away, as when a sweeping torrent of rain carries everything be
fore it, one race or generation after another is hurried away like
a roaring flood." Jo. Arnd. : " When thou seest a torrent sweep
past, thus say, behold there my life flows past, and the water
which has gone past never returns." Perhaps the Psalmist al
ludes to the Deluge, in which he sees a figure of the common lot
of men. — On " they are asleep," Luther : " We know that sleep
is such a thing that it ceases ere we can perceive it or mark it ;
for, before we are aware that we have slept, sleep is gone and
ended. Wherefore truly our life is nothing else than a sleep and
a dream, for before we are rightly conscious of being alive, we
cease to live." Comp. Ps. lxxiii. 20, " like a dream on awak
ing," Ps. xxxvii. 6, " only as an image walks man." The sleep
and the morning stand opposed to each other. The expression,
" as grass," is incidentally thrust in as the medium of connecting
the first and the second part of the Psalm. It is taken up again
at the beginning of the last clause in ver. 6, and dwelt upon at
greater length. The subject in h^n"**1 *s n°t the grass (De Wette
and others : in the morning like grass which perishes), but the
figurative sleep, man. Otherwise, the clause, " as the grass,"
would cease to be the incidental expression which alone it can be
here, and would form a part of ver. 6. The. translation is much

PSALM XC. VER. 6 — 10. 127
more to be rejected : in the morning it is like the plant which
springs up. This destroys the obvious opposition between the
sleep and the morning (by which the interpretation of the sleep,
as the sleep of death, is set aside), and has, besides, against it,
the fact that fpn 'n Kal, has never the sense of to spring up.
In the only other passage besides the one before us, which Ges.
has adduced in favour of this sense, it has been set aside by
Delitsch, Hab. i. 11.
The second section of the meditative part is ver. 6-1 0 : death
is the wages of sin. Ver. 6. In the morning he blooms and —
perishes, in the evening he is cut down and withers. Ver. 7.
For we disappear by thine anger, and by thy wrath we are ter
rified. Ver. 8. For thou settest our iniquities before thee, our
secret sins in the light of thy countenance. Ver. 9. For all our
days are spent in thy wrath, we complete our years like a thought.
Ver. 10. Our lifetime, it lasts seventy years, and if any one by
strength, eighty years, and their strength is suffering and wicked
ness ; for it is soon worn out and we flee away. — On ver. 6, Jo.
Arnd. : " When thou seest a garden in blossom, it is as if God
took a flower in his hand and said, behold this is what thou art,
and thy whole life." The subject in vi^i, h^j-j and )tyy\ is also
here, as in thf-p ^n ver- 5> man, the figurative flower, comp. Job
xiv. 2, "like a flower he withers and is cut down ;*" Ps. ciii. 15.
" as for man his days are as grass, like a flower of the field so
he flourisheth ; for the wind passeth over it and it is gone, and
its place knows it no more." The blossom of man is so short
that it does not deserve to have a whole member of a verse de
voted to it. Hence the expression, " and it perishes," forms, as
it were, a part of the first, and is more fully expanded in the se
cond. The translation, " and springs up," is all the less admissible
that the springing up must precede the blossoming. The ^^i
is the Pil. from *y\Q. As God is throughout addressed, he can
not, be the subject; we must consider the verb as used imperson
ally; comp. 2 Kings xxii. 38, xxi. 36, Ez. xli. 7. In reality,
however, God undoubtedly is the agent who cuts down. To be
cut off, which alone the form of the verb can denote, is more suit-
ahle than to fade which several would violently thrust in in its
stead, because it points, as does also the " to be terrified" of the
following verse, to the violent nature of the destruction. In the
parallel passages which have been appealed to, Ps. xxxvii. 2 and

128 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
Job xiv. 2, the language in like manner refers to cutting down,
and not to fading.— In ver 7, the Psalmist ascends from the mel
ancholy fact which he had described in the 6th verse to its yet
more melancholy cause: that man's life is so short is the con
sequence of the wrath of God, which he has drawn down upon
himself by his sins ; comp. Gen. ii. 17, Rom. v. 12. According
to the passage before us, the terrible judgments by which those
who proudly rebelled against the Lord in the time of Moses, were
annihilated (comp., for example, Num. xvi.), are only a reflec
tion and an image of the common lot of humanity; there hap
pened then, visibly and impressively, what is always going on
secretly and unobservedly. The wrath of God eats away our
life until, after a little while, it has completely consumed it. It is
a remarkable peculiarity of revelation, that in this way it throws
the blame of death upon men; for verse 8th shows that the wrath
of God presupposes and has for its foundation the guilt of men.
If we do not see in death the wages of sin, our melancholy exist
ence must necessarily awaken perplexing thoughts of God, and
stifle all noble and child-like love towards him. The j-jTO is to
disappear, to be annihilated. We are terrified, namely, before
that dreadful death which destroys us ; compare Ps. civ. 29, and
the noun n^Hl °f sudden death, Ps. Ixxviii. 33, Is. lxv. 23. —
The expression, " thou placest our sins before thee," in ver. 8,
stands in opposition to an overlooking, either arising from want
of power to observe (compare Jer. xvi. 17, Heb. iv. 13), or from
want of hatred of sin, proceeding from that easy good nature
which Rationalism ascribes to God. Instead of j-yty the Keri
has the correct reading. In the second clause, the reading
13u*?y our secret, our secret sin, is better supported than the
plural 131Q7J7> compare Job xx. 11, a reading which the parallel
passage alone has introduced. The term " our secret sin," in
timates that the domain of sin is much more extensive than
that of human knowledge, either that of others or our own, and
therefore points to the depth of human depravity. Even for
the believer, sin has many dark parts, so that even he, in cases
where he is not conscious of any guilt, cannot be sure that he
is free from guilt, but must wait the judgment of God, " which
shall bring to light the hidden works of darkness, and render
manifest the counsel of the heart;" compare Ps. xix. 12, 1 Cor.
iv. 4, 5. Luther : " We should by all means especially mark this

PSALM XC. VEIL 6—10. 129
saying, that no man can know or see all his sins, especially if
you regard the greatness of original sin. And it is no wonder.
For who can sufficiently describe the single sin of unchastity
which yet is known to every one ? How much less can any one
sufficiently know other difficult and subtle spiritual sins, such
as impatience in adversity, blasphemy, and murmuring against
God, &c. ? 0 what a deep abyss is unbelief alone! On this
account Moses well calls sin a secret thing, whose greatness no
mind can comprehend. For as the wrath of God is, and as
death is, so also is sin, an inconceivable infinite." The "¦fi^'ft,
according to most expositors, signifies here light. But Gen. i.
makes a distinction between "¦flX) light, and "-flNft, a luminary,
and the ascertained sense is here wholly suitable: the luminary of
the countenance, because thedivine countenance illuminates what
was concealed, so that it lies clear and open. — The j-jjg in ver. 9
is to turn round, in order to turn away, compare Jer. vi. 4. All
our days disappear, so that it is soon over with our whole life.
"Through thine anger" belongs in reality also to the second
clause. In this the ^3 is not " to spend," but " to bring to an
end." The *pi^*pj cannot signify a conversation, a tale : for the
word always denotes something inward (comp. Gousset in Ge-
sen.), and is never used of a conversation with others. As lit
tle can it denote a pure thought, for the noun in the two other
passages where it occurs, Ez. ii. 10, Job xxxvii. 2, stands for
something loud, and the verb properly denotes, not the pun.
thought, but what is intermediate between thought and dis
course. The Psalmist compares human existence as regards
its transitory nature, to a soliloquy which generally bears the
character of something transitory and broken. The' mind does
not advance beyond single half-uttered words and sentences,
and soon retires again into the region of pure thought.. To
such a transitory murmur and ejaculation is that human life
compared which stupid dreamers look upon as an eternity. —
As " the days of the years," in ver. 10, is a phrase of constant
occurrence, particularly in the Pentateuch, for " a life-time "
(comp. Gen. xxv. 7, xlvii. 8, 9), and as Qij^i also occurs in ver.
9 and 12, for "the whole extent of human life," the idea of
Calvin is to be rejected, that " the days of the years " is an
emphatic expression, " because though time is divided into
small portions, the number itself deceives us so that we expect
VOL. III. K

130 THE BOOK OF PSALMS-
to live a very long time." The .remark, however, of Michaelis
is correct: " The nominative absolute is not without emphasis,
because it calls forth ; expectation;" and also that of Koester:
" The expression retarding the current of thought is intended to
render prominent the contrast between the apparently numer
ous days of life, and their short sum at the.end." The expression,
"are in them," is, "they contain the sum of seventy years in
them." "And if with strength," Is better explained by "if
there is any one furnished with strength, — with a particularly
strong constitution," than by " if they, the days are furnished
with strength." As ¦pnina is also "strength," "power," we
must reject such explanations as "if it comes high/' (Luther's,)
and " if very strong." Luther: "Men almost reach this time
of life, therefore he sets it down as a common terminus and
usual boundary. For what is beyond this is not worth being
called a life, because then everything that belongs to life
ceases; men use neither meat nor drink with pleasure, are
scarcely fit for any trade or work, and are kept alive to their
own torment." And their pride is only suffering and wicked
ness. The ypft occurs only here: the noun, however, yni
occurs in the sense of pride in Job ix. 13, xxvi. 12, and the
adjective yX} proud in Ps. xl. 4. The pride of the days, that
T T
of which they are proud or may be proud, is either the strong
period of life — Calvin; " The sense is, that before men sink into
old age, and while they are still in the very blossom of youth,
they are involved in those many troubles, cares, pains, and
anxieties to which mortal life is exposed," — or, the best, tlie
most favourable condition of life, Luther, " when it is delight
ful." It has been shown in the treatise on Balaam, that >n^
always means wickedness, p. 1.1 2, ss, ; Delitzsch, on Hab. i. 3,
iii. 7, has opposed this without sufficient ground. Here the
wickedness denotes what must, be suffered from the wickedness
of others, as in the case of Abel from Cain. The confession of
Jacob before Pharoah in Gen. xlvii. 19, and also that of
Lamech, Gen. v. 29, agree with what is here said as to the
condition of human life. Luther: " The whole of life, therefore, ¦
is trouble and labour, with the single exception, that these
evils are alleviated by faith and hope in the Divine compassion
in the case of those who have been born again, and are new

PSALM XC. VER. 1], 12. 131
creatures." For we are driven rapidly away, and we flee hence.
This affirmation is by no means suitable as the basis of what
immediately precedes. We must hence separate it by a semicolon,
and connect the "for" with the main subject of the verse. " And
their pride," &c, can be considered only as an offshoot thought,
the subject of the Psalm being not the misery but the transi
tory nature of human life. The ^ is usually translated, it
goes away, it passes away. But as y^ in the only other
passage where it occurs with certainty (Ps. Ixxi. 6 is doubtful),
Num. xi. 31, (a remarkable connection with the language of
the Pentateuch) has the sense of "to bring," "to drive;" and
as there is no suitable subject in the preceding clause to f^ in
the sense of to pass away — the y-r-\ cannot be the subject, as
here manifestly the language applies to the brevity of human
life — it is more suitable to take the verb impersonally, and
translate " we are driven away," comp. " we are cut off " in
ver. 6. In reality, however, it is God that drives away, just as
there it is God that cuts off. The ty^n is an adverb, suddenly.
To the sudden driving away, the fleeing corresponds suitably, as
its consequence.
In the first strophe of the second main division, ver. 11, 12,
there are appended to the doctrine of death as the wages of
sin, the grievous complaint that so few know this relation in all
its depths, and the prayer to God that he would impart this
knowledge, and thus lead the heart to repentance. Ver. 11.
Who knows the might of thine anger, and thy fury in proportion
to thy fear? Ver. 12. To number our days, this do thou teach
us, in order that we may obtain a wise heart. — On ver. 11,
Luther: "From this point he shows why and for whose sake
he had given this narrative ; for the sake, namely, of unfeeling
sinners, in order that they may be brought to a sense of their
misery. For this is the greatest misery that we men live in
such great manifold innumerable distresses, have such a short
life, and are in perpetual danger, yea, certain prospect of eternal
death, and yet do not feel all this, nor know it sufficiently.
Who can sufficiently express such stupidity!" The expression,
" who knows the power of thy wrath," equivalent to " thy
wrath as it is made known in the brevity of our existence, the
power of death in all its strength," is in the first instance an
expression of painful lamentation over the inconceivable blind-

132 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
ness of men; it however contains within it the heart-felt wish
that it may be otherwise, and the prayer that God would alter
it, which in ver. 12 rises out of the lamentation. The jmj-j
there refers manifestly to the yryi here. Luther : " This com
plaint also contains a prayer in it. For Moses wishes that
such pestilential security may be torn out of his heart, and out
of the hearts of all men, and that all hearts may be animated
by faith, so that men may believe that such a thing is true, and
may be alarmed at such great wrath of God." " As thy fear "
is to be understood as equivalent to " in proportion as is
demanded by that fear of thee, that piety which is becoming in
thy people." Several explain after the example of Venema :
according to thy dreadfulness, according to the infinite measure
of which in God, are his wrath against sin, and his punishment
of sin. But " the fear of God " is a phrase of constant occur
rence in the sense of " fear before God " (compare Deut. ii. 25,
Ps. v. 7), and, on the other hand, there is only one passage which
can be referred to in the sense of dreadfulness — viz., Ez. i. 18, a
writer who supplies so many anomalous expressions, and even
in this one passage, the above sense depends upon a false expo
sition, compare Gesen. Thes. — For what object the Psalmist, in
ver. 1 2, wishes his days to be numbered, appeals from the refer
ence of the sHin to the yfyi °f the preceding verse, according
to which, to number the days and to know the wrath of God
must be strictly connected together. May God, the sense is,
lead us to lay rightly to heart the brevity of our life, thus cause
us to know the greatness of his wrath, the depth of our cor
ruption, and in this way lead us to repentance. Luther:
"Such a thing would never have come into my mind as to pray
for this, if I had not seen that Moses prayed here for it with
all earnestness and valour. For I thought that the hearts of
all men were as full of fear and terror as mine is. But if we
carefully examine we shall find there are scarcely ten in ten
thousand moved by these things as they ought to be ; all the
others live as if there were no God, and no death. This is the
greatest misery, and the one to be most deeply deplored, that
men even in death dream of life. There are certainly to be
found some men of experience who feel this misery very severely
without any such prayer, but the greater part do not feel it ; ;
for these generally live in such a way that they value their

PSALM XC. VER. 13 — 17. 133
moment of life as if it were an eternal existence. The prayer
which Moses here pens is necessary for these." The n on which
so much ingenuity has been expended, serves to mark the im
portance of this knowledge to be imparted only by God. Arnd:
" We are here told that such thoughts come not from flesh and
blood, but from God." " Thus teach us," is equivalent to
" this teach us." The ^*221 is not to be translated, according
to Ewald, § 661, by "and to bring," but § 618, "that we may
bring." For as the prayer here is closely connected with the
meditation in ver. 6-1 0, it can refer directly only to the know
ledge of the relation represented there ; and the desire for a
wise heart can only come into notice as the effect of this
knowledge. The ^i^n never signifies " to carry away," " to
obtain," but always " to make to come," " to bring." Tho
most natural construction, is to supply, with Abenesra, ^^Ipl
or ^1. into our inward parts or into us. The translation,
"that we may bring forward as the best offering," would be
admissible only if N^n were a word commonly applied to
sacrifices, which it is not; only in this case ^^ would be want
ing. Siisskind and Stier are, without any good reason, inclined
to find in this passage an intimation of immortality: "For in
what should that wisdom consist which arises from a knowledge
of the brevity of our life, if not in the effort after a more ex
tended duration ? " The wisdom which is got from a consider
ation of the brevity of our life, and of the wrath of God mani
fested in that brevity, consists in fearing God and eschewing
evil, Job xxviii. 28, in keeping the words of his covenant and
doing accordingly, Deut. xxix. 9, and thus preparing for him
the way to fulfil the prayer in ver. 13-17, that he would, at
least within the boundary of our brief life-time, manifest his
favour, and withdraw his punishing hand.
In ver. 13-17, the second prayer: after the knowledge of the
brevity of our existence, and of the greatness of his wrath, and
upon the ground of this, and of the repentance called forth by it,
may God impart to his Church favour and deliverance within the
limits of this narrow existence, instead of the punishment and
misery which she is now suffering. — Ver. 13. Turn back, 0 Lord,
how long! and let it repent thee of thy servants. Ver. 14.
Satisfy us in the morning with thy mercy, and grant that we
may rejoice and be glad all our days. Ver. 15. Make us glad

]g4 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
like to the days in which thou didst afflict us, the years when we
saw evil. Ver. 16. Show to thy servants thy doing, and thy glory
to their children. Ver. 17. And may the beauty of the Lord our
God be upon us, and the work of our hand confirm' upon us, yea,
the work of our hand confirm /—The " turn back," in ver. 13,
is to be supplemented out of " let it repent thee" of the second
clause, " of the wrath which now lies upon thy servants" (comp.
Ex. xxxii. 12, " Turn back from the fierceness of thy wrath,
and let it repent thee of the evil concerning thy people," Jer,
iv. 28); and also out of the relation to what goes before, where
the Church had prayed that he would make her turn back
from the wickedness of her heart. The Qp|2 aa-s> in Niph. and
Hithp. only, a double sense, to comfort one's self, Gen. xxvii.
42, xxxvii. 35, and to repent, Nuim xxiii. 19, Deut. xxxii.
36, " And it repented him of his servants," Droit' VHiy byi
 0n which Ps. cxxxv. 14 depends — and Ex. xxxii. J2, 14.
" And it repented the Lord of the evil which he had said he
would do to his people,": — to this Jo. ii. 13 refers, the preceding
passage is taken from the Pentateuch: — Jud. ii. 18, Jer. xy. 6.
Those senses flow easily from the fundamental sense; the quiet
ing of the excited affection : not so, however, a third one, whicli
has been arbitrarily adopted, and applied here in more ways
than one, " to have compassion on." Of the two ascertained
senses, the one to repent is the only one that is suitable here;
and it is also confirmed by the two remarkably accordant par
allel passages from the Pentateuch, Ex. xxxii. 13, and Deut;
xxxii. 36, — in the former passage, the Niph. is a very marked
point of connection, and the same may be said of " for thy
servant" in the second, to which the " of evil for thy people"
in the first serves as a commentary. In reference to the sense,
Calvin correctly remarks : " According to the usual phrase
ology of Scripture, God is said to, repent, when, after dissipating
sadness and giving again occasion for joy, he appears, as if
he had changed ;" comp. on the repentance of God, the Beitr.
P. iii, p. 453 ss. — In reference to "in the morning," in ver.
14, comp. at Ps. lix. 16. — In reference to the stat. constr. ]y\rp
and J-n^ in ver. 15, comp. Ew. §210. The pftty\ very re
markably occurs only here and in Deut. xxxii. 7; mother pas
sages it is always Qi^. There it' occurs in like manner as here,
in connection with jy^Qf, and manifestly this connection has

PSALM XCI. 135
occasioned the peculiar termination. Jo. Arnd : " For we have
seen it in those who have lived before us. How didst thou glad
den Noah after the flood, Lot after the destruction of Sodom,
Jacob after his distress in the famine, Joseph after his imprison
ment, and the children of Israel after the captivity ! These are
all glasses in which we find this word written : after trouble
God again makes glad." — The doing, of, God is, according to the
connection and the parallel, only a salutary doing. The Psal
mist prays, in the first instance, only that God would make
himself known very visibly in his deeds. The assertion, " The
poet is longing after some particular mighty' deed of God," has
no foundation in the words ; comp., for example, Ps. xcii. 4,
" For thou makest me glad, 0 Lord, by thy deed ; I rejoice
over the works of thy hand." If it were so, we must conceive
him to be thinking upon the possession of Canaan ; comp. xliv.
]. — In reference to the beauty of the Lord, in ver. 17, comp. at
Ps. xxvii. 4 ; may it be upon us is equivalent to, may it be made
known in our experience. By " the work of the hands," ac
cording to the parallel passages of the Pentateuch, we cannot
suppose any particular undertaking, but only the collective doings
to be meant ; comp. Deut. xiv. 29, " That the Lord thy God
may bless thee in all the work of thine hands which thou doest;"
xvi. 13, xxiv. 19, xxviii. 12, xxx. 9. " To confirm" is " to bring
about," " to accomplish." The i^y, — because the promoting
comes from1 above.

PSALM XCI.
The Psalm contains, in prefiguration of the truth, " if God
be for me, everything else may be against me," the expression
of joyful confidence in the protection and help of God iii all
troubles and dangers. " The whole object is to bring to a right
trust in God," Berl. B.
The formal arrangement is easy and obvious. First, an In
troduction, ver. 1 and 2, which proposes the theme, and com
municates the contents of the whole Psalm. Next, there are
two strophes, each of seven verses, containing the development,
externally separated by the circumstance that, iat: the conclusion
of the first part (ver. 9), the Psalmist repeats what he had said

136 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
at the conclusion of the Introduction, and thus finishes off this
part as a whole. The seven are both times divided by a four
and a three, a division which strikes as particularly well marked
in the second strophe, where the three last verses contain an
address of God, in which he assures the righteous man of his
salvation, and with which the whole suitably ends. But there
is also manifestly a break in the first strophe at ver. 7. The
.seven, as the signature of the whole, appears not only in the
number of the verses, but also in the number of the names of
God. Jehovah occurs seven times.
The character of the Psalm is entirely general ; for it applies
to the whole Church, at all events, no less than it does to its
individual believing members, and, as shall hereafter be shown,
to the former in tlie first instance. But there is also wanting, it
may be observed, every mark by which the date can be certainly
determined : — the matter assumes another appearance, if we
look at the Whole group, to which it forms the Introduction.
Several expositors have incorrectly assumed the occasion to
have been a destructive disease. How God affords protection at
such an emergency, is indeed brought prominently forward in
ver. 6, and perhaps with the design that the church should use
this Psalm, among other occasions, also in a season of pesti
lence, as it has done at all times : among all the Psalms, no one
is more suitable for this purpose. But this reference, so far
from being the exclusive, is not even once the preponderating
one, which it would have been had the Psalm been called forth
by such an occasion. According to a correct exposition, it oc
curs only in the verse above referred to. And even here it is
oppression arising from enemies that occupies the foreground,
as is usually the case in the Psalm, among the dangers against
which the protection of God is sufficient.
The alternation ot thou and / in the Psalm has led many ex
positors to divide it among alternating choruses. But that this
is not the case is clear from the fact that in this way we are
obliged to tear asunder what is manifestly connected together ;
thus, in the Introduction, where the first portion in the first verse
must belong to the first chorus, and the second in the second
verse to the second chorus ; next in ver. 9, where the change
occurs in one and the same verse, and where the first portion
allotted to a particular chorus is remarkably distinguished for its

PSALM XCI. VER. 1, 2. 137
being far too short and bald. The fact, however, upon which
this hypothesis leans may be far more easily explained by sup
posing that the Psalmist speaks at one time from his own per
son to the soul of the righteous one who is in danger, and re
vives its courage, while at another time he expresses confidence
from the soul of the righteous man ; and thus in that pleasant
alternation which forms the characteristic peculiarity of the
Psalm, he employs at one time the thou in the character of
teacher, and at another time the / in the character of scholar.
If we take a right view of the / throughout the Psalm, keep
ing our attention not so much upon the person of the Psalmist,
as upon tliose who were intended to appropriate the Psalm to
themselves, the difference between the thou and the / will be
felt as less marked, and will occasion scarcely any difficulty.
Under the thou an I is everywhere concealed ; for the Psalmist
teaches what the person for whose use the Psalm was designed
ought to acknowledge : and, in like manner, under the I there
is a thou ; for the person using the Psalm adopts language put
into his mouth by the Psalmist, who is only a thou in dis
guise. The call of instruction in Scripture (this is the mean
ing of the alternation), ought always to be responded to by
the acknowledgement of the hearer.

Ver. 1, 2. — Ver. 1. He who sits in the covert of the Most High,
spends the night under the shade of the Almighty : Ver. 2. I say
to the Lord : my confidence: and my fortress; my God, in thee I
trust. — The Psalmist : whom God has taken under his care, is
perfectly safe under his protection. Instead of I say, one might
have expected he says, which, indeed, the Septuagint and many
others have taken the liberty of substituting, incorrectly how
ever, if the translation was intended to be an exact one, for -^N
can only be the first person future. The Psalmist, however,
springs from the tone of the teacher to that of the scholar.
Those who find themselves in difficulties here, and at the same
time are not willing to make any change upon the ^Q]^, separate
the two verses, and make the first an independent one : the
man who sits under the protection of the Most High spends the
night under the shade of the Almighty. But it is impossible
to set aside the synonymous parallelism in this verse. To
spend the night is in no respect stronger than to dwell ; and the

138 THL BOOK OF PSALMS.
" continually," "well," and " safely," are arbitrary additions, On
" in the covert," comp. Ps. xxvii. 6, xxxi. 20, 1 Sam. xix. 2.
Arnd : " The defence of God means a place of concealment, a
secret little place where a man hides and covers himself in
public general troubles. And the Holy Ghost intends thus to
comfort us, if a man can conceal a friend in a secret' hidden
place in the time of trouble, much more can God." The names
of God, "the Most High," "the Almighty," represent ¦ the
basis of that unbounded confidence in the protection of God
expressed in ver. 2. What can do any real injury to the
man who stands under the protection of Omnipotence, as it
exists in a personal God? On shade = protection,. comp. at
Ps, xxxvi. 7; Ivii. 1. On i*3n!D> comp. Ps. lxxi. 7, and on
•\rm2b Ps- xviii- 2-
Ver. 3-9. — Ver. 3. For he delivers thee- from the snare of the
fowler, from ihe pestilence of wickedness. Ver. 4. With -his
wings he covers thee, and under his wings thou mayest trust.
Ver. 5. Thou needest not be afraid of the terror of night, nor
of the arrow thatfleeth by day. Ver. 6. Of the pestilence which
walketh in darkness, of the disease which wasteth at mid-day:r—
"Ver. 7. Thousands fall at thy side, and tens of thousands ai thy
right hand, yet it shall not strike thee. Ver. 8. Only with thine
eye shalt thou see it, and behold the recompense of the wicked.
Ver. 9. For thou, Lord, art my confidence ; thou makest the
Most High thy habitation. — The snare of the fowler, as a term
designating the cunning and power of enemies, is employed also
in Ps. cxxiv. 7. Security, in the highest sense, is in these
words promised to the believer against the plots of Satan> as
the most dangerous and destructive enemy, comp. 2 Tim. ii. 26.
The ron denotes wickedness here as in Ps. Ivii. 1 ; Iii. 2, 7; xciv.
20. The plural strengthens the expression, and denotes the
whole mass of wickedness. The pestilence of wickedness is the
pestilential ruin which it threatens. Even in Hos; xiii. 1,4, the
pestilence is a figurative expression for destruction ; and in Is.
xxviii. 2,. the storm of the disease is a ruinous storm like a dis
ease.; According to the common translation, -q-j is pestilence
in the proper sense; and fty^, in the sense of misery, occupies
the place of an adjective; . thus Luther : " from the destructive
pestilence." But according to our translation, jyf\n corresponds
to ^"jpi; not only in the first half of this verse, but also in ver.

psalm xci. 3—9. 139
4 and 5, the language is still of the oppression of enemies,
and the pestilence is spoken of for the first time in verse 6 ; by
this translation, therefore, tho arrangement of the Psalm is
destroyed.— In ver. 4, the nDim is to be translated " thou
mayest trust," "thou findest security," comp. "thou mayest
not be afraid," of ver. 5. A parallel, and probably the funda
mental passage, is Ps. xxxvi. 7, comp. also Ps. lxi. 4, and Ruth
ii. 12. In reference to " his truth," comp. at Ps. Ivii. 3. — It is
obvious from the parallelism, that the terror of the night is, in the
first instance and especially, to be understood of stratagems of
enemies : in the verse before us, what men prepare by day and
by night, and in the following verse what sickness does. This
is still further obvious on comparing the passage, Prov. iii. 23-
26;- a passage which so strikingly agrees with our Psalm,
especially in that very peculiar expression, " thy foot shall not
stumble," that the Psalmist must have had it in his eye. It is
there said, " When thou liest down thou shalt not be afraid ;
yea, thou shalt lie down and thy sleep shall be sweet : thou
mayest not be afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of
the wicked when it cometh." Comp. also the Song of Sol. iii. 8,
where every one of the warriors around Solomon's bed has his
sword at his side, " because of fear in the night," possible hos
tile stratagem, for it is this only that can be met by the sword,
Job xxi. 9, xv. 21. It is not the Psalmist, but merely a part
of his expositors, that leads us here into " an unsafe spiritual
region." The Old Testament knows nothing of spectres. The
arrow is the arrow of the enemy (comp. Ps. lviii. 7); and there
is just as little reason for thinking of the sun- stroke, or of any
thing of a like nature here, as there was in the first clause for
thinking of spectres. As oppression from enemies always
stands so much in the foreground throughout the Old Testa
ment, there is the less reason for construing figuratively what
literally refers to it. Berieb. B.: " Even though it look dark in
the heart When the enemy is coming upon us." — In ver. 6, the
darkness is named first, because in the darkness of night all
evils assume an aggravated character, especially wide-spread
disease, whose dangerous character makes it allied to the dark
ness of night, with which it is represented by the imagination
as closely connected. — In ver. 7, the subject of tyai is not
specially disease, but evil, or destruction in general. The words

140 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
are as much connected with ver. 2-5 as with ver. 6. The ex
pression leads rather to warlike relations than to the spreading
of a contagion, comp. Ps. xxvii. 3. In reference to the thought
comp. Ps. xxxii. 6. — In ver. 8, many expositors take p^ as a
particle of assurance, only = surely, comp. at Ps. xxxii. 5.
Then the thousand and the ten thousand, in ver. 7, are to be
regarded as the enemies of the Psalmist (or of the Church in
whose name he speaks), whose destruction implies his deliver
ance. Ps. xcii. 11 is in favour of this view, where what the eye
sees, is the destruction of the enemies. We may also ex
plain otherwise : " only thou shalt see it with thine eyes," in
opposition to it coming upon him in ver. 7. — In reference to thy
habitation in ver. 9, comp. at Ps. xc. 1.
Ver. 10-16. — Ver. 10. There shall no evil befall thee, and no
plague shall come near thy dwelling. Ver. 1 1. For he gives his
angels charge over thee, that they guard thee in all thy ways.
Ver. 12. They shall bear thee up in their hands that thou dash
not thy foot upon a stone. Ver. 13. Thou shalt trample upon
the lions and the adders, tread on the young lions and the
dragons. — Ver. 14. Because he cleaves to me, I will deliver
him; I will set him on high, because he knows my name. Ver.
15. He calls upon me, I will answer him: I am with him in
trouble, I will deliver him and honour him. Ver. 16. J will
satisfy him with long life, and will cause him to see my salva
tion. — In the second clause of ver. 1 0 allusion is, to all appearance,
made to Ex. xii. 23, the exemption of Israel at the infliction of
judgment upon the Egyptians. — In ver. 11, the ro2 with ^ is
" to give charge in reference to anything," as Num. viii. 20.
The angels appeared in similar circumstances in ancient times,
Gen. xxviii. 12, " Behold a ladder stood upon the earth, and its
head reached to heaven, and the angels of God ascended and
descended upon it," where we find a figurative representation of
what was to happen to the whole chosen family, and its indi
vidual members at all times. There is neither here, nor any
where else in Scripture, mention made ot guardian angels. The
commissions of God are entrusted to the whole angelic host; and
there is the less room for thinking here of guardian angels at
tached to individuals, as the Psalmist, throughout the whole
Psalm, has his eye especially upon the whole community,
although what is said, is, at the same time, so expressed, as to

PSALM XCII. 141
be suitable also to individual members. — In ver 12, the stone
is spoken of in prosecution of the figure of the way. We can
neither here, nor in the fundamental passage, Prov. iii. 23,
translate " thy foot strikes not," but only " thou strike not thy
foot." For the s^ is always transitive. The language in both
of the two verses does not apply to dangers which one seeks,
-hut only to such dangers as meet the righteous man unsought,
in his course through life. The artifice of the tempter in Matt.
iv. 6, consisted in keeping this out of view. — The lions and the
serpents, in ver. 13, represent the two kinds of dangers to which
the righteous man is exposed, viz., open violence and secret
cunning. The Berieb. B. "As the Israelites, when they travelled
through the wilderness, Deut. viii. 15, Samson, Judges xiv. 5,
6, David, 1 Sam. xvii. 34, 35, and Daniel, Dan. vi. 23, gained
victories over lions ; such power of victory was specially pro
mised to the disciples of Christ, Luke x. 19." — In the first
clause of ver. 1 6, expositors are too ready with the obvious re
mark, that the promise of long life is specially an Old Testament
one. This promise, as is manifest from the fundamental pas
sages of the Pentateuch, even Ex. xx. 12, and Deut. v. 16,
where Israel is addressed, refers, in the first instance, to the
whole church, and in so far we cannot limit the promise to Old
Testament times. But even in regard to individuals (Berieb.
B.: such as Abraham, Gen. xxv. 8, Job, xlii. 17, David, 1
Chron. xxiii. 1), would we not be ashamed at the sight of a
venerable old man in Christ, if we did not recognise, in a long
life spent in the favour of God, a blessing of God ? The differ
ence between the Old and the New Testament, in this respect,
is this, that, in the former, the other form in which God im
parts blessings to his people, namely, by taking them early to
himself, was less known, although, in ancient time's, the history
of Enoch, as a significant type, gave intimation concerning it
On the second clause, comp. Ps. 1. 23.

PSALM XCII.
The Psalmist, or rather the Church, in whose name he speaks,
expresses readiness to praise God, ver. 1-4, and then praises,
proceeding to this duty, first, in general, the greatness of God in

142 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
the annihilation of the wicked, ver. 5-7. He next paints this
more fully, ver. 9-15, and also as intimately connected with it,
the salvation of the righteous.
The Psalm divides into two strophes, each of seven verses,
the first of which is divided by 4, 3, and the second by 3, 4
The first contains the introduction and the thesis ; the second
the development. In the middle, in ver. 9, we have an in
tercalary verse, which makes itself known as such by its bre
vity, and which, like a high fortress, rules the second part, and
brings together, in a few weighty words, its contents. The
seven appears as the signature of the whole even in the names
of God.
The theme is the same as in Ps. xxxvii., xlix., lxxiii., God's
retributive righteousness, which brings destruction to the wicked
and salvation to the righteous. But the way and manner of
treatment are different. The Psalmist does not come forward
here teaching and exhorting, as he does in Ps. xxxvii. and xlix.,
nor in view of the Church contending and conquering, as in Ps.
lxxiii. ; with holy skill he leads, as it were, the saints into the
midst of the praise of God, and teaches them, by it, to gain the
victory in their conflicts. The Psalm is fundamentally, as is
manifest particularly from its conclusion, ver. 16, of a consoling
and soothing character ; the consolation, however, is imparted
in the fdrm of the praise of God, to which the Psalmist exhorts
the Church.
According to the title, " a Psalm, a song of praise for the
Sabbath-day," the Psalm was intended for use in the public
worship of God on the Sabbath, on which day, according to
Lev. ;xxiii. 3, there was held " a holy convocation ;" as
Ps. lxxxi. was intended to be used at the Passover. Ac
cording to its contents, it is manifestly well adapted for such
a use. On the Sabbath-day men ought " to rest from their
own works," in order to consider the works of God leisurely
and together ; comp. ver. 5, " how great are thy works, 0
Lord !" Among these works, however, one of the greatest,
not less great than the creation of the heavens and the earth,
is his preservation of his Church in the midst of the evil world.
It is in accordance also with the title that the Psalm bear3 alto
gether a general character, and contains no notice of special
relations. Finally, also, there is the fact, that the Psalm re-

PSALM XCIt. VER. 1 — 7. 143
fers, in the first instance, to the whole Church, while, at the
samo time, everything is designedly so arranged, as to render it
suitable also to individuals. That it is the Church, in the first
instance, that speaks, is evident from the fourth verse, according'
to which the speaker proposes to praise God with a multi
plicity of instruments, from the " our God," in ver. 14, and
from the reference, in ver. 10, to the fundamental passages
which apply to Israel, and in ver. 12-14, to the symbol of the
Temple. 'The Psalm, by its formal arrangement, is manifestly nearly
related to Ps. xci. — in both there are 16 verses, in both two
strophes each of seven verses, divided by 3 and 4, and in both
Jehovah occurs seven times. There is a resemblance also in
other respects — the subject-matter and the tone, which is that
of soft tenderness, never rising above a certain height — the con
nection between the application at once to the whole Church
and to individuals, — and finally, the agreement between ver.
11 of the one Psalm, and ver. 8 of the other.
That the Psalm before us was composed later than Ps. lxxiii.,
is obvious from ver. 6, when compared with Ps. lxxiii. 22. More
exact information as to the date of composition will be gathered
from Ps. xciii., which, with it, makes up one pair.

Ver. 1-7. — Ver. 1. It is good to praise the Lord, and to sing
to thy name, 0 thou Most High. Ver. 2. To make known in the
morning thy mercy, and thy faithfulness in the nights. Ver. 3.
Upon the ten strings and upon the harp, with musing upon the
guitar. Ver. 4. For thou makest me glad, 0 Lord, by thy doings,
over the works of thy hands I rejoice. Ver. 5. How great are thy
works, 0 Lord, very deep are thy thoughts. Ver. 6. A stupid man
knows not this, a fool understands it not Ver. 7. When the
wicked spring up like grass, and all evil-doers flourish, it is the
case that they shall be recompensed for ever and eternally. — The
" (already) in the morning," (comp. lxxxviii. 13, Ivii. 8, v. 3),
and the " (still) in the nights" (comp. at Ps. xvi. 7), indicate
the great zeal in praising God, for his mercy and truth, corres
ponding to the glory of the manifestations of these perfections.
This general reference is undoubted. But, perhaps, the mention
of morning and evening refers specially to the morning and
evening sacrifice, and indicates that the Psalm was intended to

144 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
be sung at the bringing forward of these on the Sabbath-day
This is all the more probable, as tlie third verse also refers mani
festly to the public festival. The mercy and faithfulness of God
are those properties which guarantee help to his people, and
which are manifested in their deliverance. The circumstance
that these are mentioned at the very beginning of the Psalm,
shews that, even from the beginning, we have to do, not with
a general praise of God, but with praise in some well-defined
connection ; and also sets aside the false constructions of ver.
5. In ver. 3, mention is first made generally of instruments of
ten. strings (ten instead of the bodily incorporated ten) ; for it is
the number ten that is required here ; comp. at Ps. xxxiii. 2, whose
introduction is nearly allied to ours, and was probably modelled
after it. Next we have especially the (ten-stringed) harp, and the
(ten-stringed) guitar. On " musing upon the guitar," comp. at
Ps. ix. 1 6. For the sake of the symmetry, the not very obvious
term i^y is used. It denotes the musing upon the guitar as the
substratum of the praise, the means by which it is brought about.
— The mention of the mercy and the grace in the 2d verse shows
that at " the doing of God," in ver. 4 (comp. at Ps. xc. 1 6), and
" the works of his hands," we are not at all to think of the
creation of the heavens and earth, but singly and alone of his
salvation-bringing doings on behalf of his people, the wonders
of their deliverance. — The Psalmist begins in ver. 5 the praise
of God, which had been announced, and the motives to which
had been mentioned in ver. 1-3. What kind ot works and thoughts
the Psalmist means, is particularly intimated in ver. 7, which
should be distinguished from ver. 5 and 6 as by inverted commas.
It is the works and counsels of God for the deliverance of his
people, a deliverance which is secured by the destruction of the
wicked, their enemies ; comp. Ps. xl. 5, " Thy thoughts towards
us, nothing is to be compared to thee ; I will declare and speak
of them, they are not to be numbered." The depth of the
thoughts of God, in parallel with the greatness of his works, is
not at all tlieir darkness — this is only one consequence point
ing to the basis, which is mentioned as such in ver. 6 — but their
glory and inexhaustible riches, comp. Job xi. 8, Is. Iv. 9, Rom.
xi. 33. — This depth is seen especially in this, that the apparent
end of the thoughts of God is so often seen to be the real begin
ning of their realization. When everything appears to be gone,

PSALM XCII. VEE. 8. 145
and wickedness completely to triumph, the salvation of the
righteous and the destruction of the wicked suddenly break forth.
— On ver. 6 comp. Ps. lxxiii. 22. Were God's thoughts less deep
and glorious, did he repay the wicked at every particular trans
gression immediately with his punishment, and did he bestow
salvation immediately upon the righteous according to the canon
which Job's friends with their limited views lay down, the
government of the' world would become plain even to the dark
eye of ungodliness. But its depth makes it a secret, the under
standing of which very often in times of conflict is withheld
even from the pious, as is manifest from the example of Job and
the author of the seventy-third Psalm, and in which there is
always much that may be learned. He who has got a deep
insight into this secret, and has seen that the conduct of God
towards his people is always and only grace, even though often
under the deepest covering ; and that his conduct towards the
wicked is always only wrath, even when they flourish and blossom,
he alone can cry out, " 0 the depth of the riches," &c, and to
him these works of God appear greater and more glorious still
than the works of creation. — On ver. 7 comp. Ps. xxxvii. 38.
The annihilation of the wicked comes into notice _ here as the
basis of the deliverance of ihe righteous, which is the proper
theme of tlie Psalm. Arnd : " Nothing, except it be of God, can
stand, whether it be skill, or riches, or honour, or power. It
rises and flourishes to appearance, but in the end it is only a
thistle bush and a noxious weed, good for nothing but the
fire." Ver. 8. And thou art height in Eternity, 0 Lord. This verse
forms the summit-point of the Psalm. God is the concrete and
the personal height,=" he is holy," in Ps. xxii. 3, never depth,
as is imagined always by ungodliness, and in times of conflict
also by the godly ; the appearance of depth is rather the high
est height ; God is strongest when he appears to our short
sighted eye as weak. The man who can only hold fast this one
truth, that God is eternally height, will never despond under the
cross, and will laugh at the triumph of the wicked. Not to be
able any longer to form this thought is the essence of despair.
If God be still height to us, we may well be joyful and in com
fort however low we lie. In ver. 9-1 5 there follow the facts in
which God shews himself as the eternal height.
VOL. III. L

] 46 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
Ver. 9-15 —Ver. 9. For behold thine enemies, 0 Lord, for be<
hold thine enemies perish, all evil-doers are scattered. Ver. 10.
And thou exaltest, like that of the buffalo, my horn, I sprinkle
with fresh oil. Ver. 11. And mine eye looks upon mine enemies,
of those who lift themselves up against me, evil doers mine ears
hear. Ver. 12. The righteous springs up like the palm-tree, like
the cedar on Lebanon he grows. Ver. 13. They are planted in the
house of the Lord, in ihe courts of our God they flourish. Ver.
1 4. They advance even in old age, they are full of sap and flourish-.
ing. Ver. 1 5. To shew that the Lord is righteous, my rock, in
him there is no unrighteousness. — The " for" in ver. 9 connects
the whole strophe with ver. 8. The " behold" points to the
facts lying clearly before us. The enemies of the Lord are at
the same time the enemies of the righteous man ; and it is as
such that they are mentioned here. 0 Lord, thou personal
Height. They separate themselves,— they are driven asunder,
in the state of separation still more incapable of hurting, comp.
Job iv. 11. — In ver. 10 we cannot translate "but," but only
" and thou exaltest." The lifting up of the righteous stands
in immediate connection with the ruin of the wicked, and is its
consequence. " Thou exaltest" looks back to ver. 8. God as
the Height makes his people high. " As the buffalo" stands
concisely for " as the horns of the buffalo on high," or, " so
that they are like the horns of the buffalo." The fundamental
passages are Num. xxiii. 22, xxiv. 8, where it is said of Israel,
" his strength is as of a unicorn," and Deut. xxxiii. 17, " the
horns of the buffalo are his horns, with them he shall* push
the people together to the ends of the earth." Parallel pas
sages are Ps. Ixxv. 4, 10, Ixxxix. 17. Thou exaltest my horn,
— enablest me to rise up with spirit, with a sense of strength,
and in an attitude of attack. In the second clause a number of
arbitrary interpretations are set aside by the remark that 772
10*071 *s the constant expression for " to pour out oil." The
verb is transitive, as it always is. The object, the head (comp.
Ps. xxiii. 5, " thou anointest my head with oil"), might very
naturally be omitted, as it was only the head that was anointed,
comp. at Ps. xxiii. 5, xiv. 7. The " growing green " stands figu
ratively for " fresh," as in ver. 14; it is applied to the man whose
condition is represented by the oil of joy. In the fresh oil,
the verdant olive-tree is as it were still seen, Ps. Iii. 8. — The

PSALM XOII. VER. 9 — 15. 147
doubled ;} in ver. 11 cannot be considered as pointing out the
object. For it is only n^-^, and not ^yn, that occurs with
^ in the sense of " to look upon anything with pleasure," and
WW never stands with ^ of the object : it would not even be
suitable in this sense, for the Psalmist docs not hear his ene
mies with pleasure, he hears of them. We shall thus have to
take ^ both times in the sense of " on." It is only said in general
that there is a looking and a hearing on, or in regard to, the
enemies — what is seen or heard, there is no occasion for parti
cularly describing. The " evil-doers " stand in apposition equi
valent to who or because they are evil-doers, and therefore sub
ject to the wrath of God. — Ver. 12-14 gives an interpretation of
the symbols of the sanctuary. The holy candlestick, the symbol
of the Church of God, the people of the covenant (comp. Beitr.
iii. p. 645), had the form of a tree with flowers and fruit (comp.
Bahr. Symb. i. p. 446 ss.), for the purpose of denoting the joy
ful prosperity of the Church of God. Figures of flowers were
found on the two curtains of the sanctuary and of the court of
the tabernacle, Bahr. p. 376.. Flowers and blossoms were spe
cially the insignia of the priesthood to denote its joyful pros
perity, Bahr. p. 365. The temple of Solomon was adorned in
the interior with palms and opening blossoms (comp. Keil on the
temple of Solomon, p. 143), as the symbol of the increase, the
blossoming, and the prosperity of the kingdom of God. The re
ference to these symbols is all the more suitable, as the Psalm
before us also refers in the first instance to the whole of the
Church. What is said of it, however, applies also to every one
of its individual members. — The subject in ver. 13 is " the right
eous" as resembling palms and cedars, or rather as the spiritual
palms and cedars. Hitzig's assertion, that we must rather, ac
cording to the adjectives in ver. 14, understand that olive-trees
are meant, is inconsistent with the reference to the symbols of
the sanctuary. Even palms and cedars are always green.
Schubert says of the former (Travels, ii. p. 138), : " The palm-
tree retains even in heat and drought its roof of foliage." —
The obvious synonymous parallel in ver. 13 shews that we
cannot translate with Luther : " Those who are planted in
the house of our Lord shall flourish in the courts of our
God." By the house of the Lord we can only understand
the external sanctuary; in it, however, the servants of God dwell

148 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
spiritually with him, and are cared for by him with paternal
love; comp. Ps. Ixxxiv. 3: on the "courts," at the same passage.
There lies at the bottom an abbreviated comparison: these spi
ritual trees flourish in the house of God as the natural trees
when they are planted in a rich soil, Is. v. 1, or by rivers of
water, Ps. i. 3. — Ver. 15 rests upon Deut. xxxii. 4, "the rock,
his work is perfect, for all his ways are judgment, a God of
truth and without iniquity, just and right is he." Believers
must always at least agree in this ancient praise of the upright
ness and faithfulness of God, even although many things often
happen to lead them wrong. On the " uprightness " comp. at
Ps. xxv. 8. God shows himself upright, inasmuch as he mani
fests himself rich in help to his people. The expression, " my
rock," which refers to the divine unchangeableness, and vera
city, and faithfulness (comp. at Ps. xviii. 2), equivalent in the
fundamental passage to faithfulness (comp. thy faithfulness
here in ver. 2), stands in the second clause in the same relation
as "Jehovah" does in the first, to which it stands in several
ways in strict reference, comp. at Ps. xviii. 2. " In whom there
is no unrighteousness," corresponds to "upright." *The •) in
tffy\, stands with a certain emphasis, comp. on this use of the
copulative, Gesen. Thes. i. p. 396, c.c. Instead of the rare form
TirhiZ (eomp. Job v. 1-6), the Kri has the usual Ttrhy$-

PSALM XCIII.
The might of the world threatens to shake the earth, and,*
with it, the kingdom of God. But the Psalmist places, in
opposition to its blustering rage, the Lord, whom he beholds
coming "in his kingdom," clothed with majesty, girt with
strength, — in opposition to their new throne, the eternal throne
of the Lord, ver. 1, 2. The might of the world roars like the
tumultuous sea, but the Lord on high is more glorious than the
sea with its swelling waves, ver. 3, 4. The sum is in ver. 5 :
the Lord's promises are to be depended upon, he will always
protect his house.
The reference, which it is impossible to mistake, in whicli
"glorious in the height is the Lord," in ver. 4, stands to "thou
art height in eternity, 0 Lord," in Ps. xcii. 8, the kernel and

PSALM XCI1I. VER. 1, 2. 149
middle-point of that whole Psalm, has already led commenta
tors to notice a near connection with Ps. xcii. Next, there is
" the tautological nature of the language, the sense being spread
over two clauses, the first of which sinks down to the voca
tive of Jehovah " (Hitzig), in ver. 3, to be compared with Ps.
xcii. 9. We have still further the circumstance, that the number
five of the verses of our Psalm, the signature of the half makes
up, with the fifteen of Ps. xcii, the number 20,. and that the
five times repeated Jehovah (Jehovah is spoken of and ad
dressed in alternate verses), makes up, with the seven repeti
tions of Ps. xcii., the number 12. These facts show that our
Psalms form a pair of Psalms, an idea which is decidedly
favoured by the contents ; both Psalms minister consolation to
the Church, when exposed to danger by the might of the world.
In regard to the date of composition, our Psalm presupposes
a powerful pressure from the might of the world against the
kingdom of God, and, consequently, cannot be dated earlier
than the Assyrian catastrophe. And that we cannot descend
later than this era, is evident from the very apparent depen
dence of the Psalm upon Ps. xlvi. The temple appears in ver.
5 as threatened. The result here obtained applies equally, not
only to Ps. xcii , but also to Ps. xei.; comp. the introduction to
Ps. xcii. More exact particulars can be obtained, wherever they
are generally possible, only out of the following Psalms.
In reference to the contents, Calvin r " The might of God is
set forth as the ground of confidence, whereas, generally, fear
and trembling arise from it, so that we do not sufficiently clothe
God with his might, but rob him of his dominion."

Ver. 1, 2. — Ver. 1. The Lord reigneth, he clotheth himself
with majesty, he clothed himself, the Lord girdeih himself with
power, therefore the earth stands firm, it does not move. Ver.
2. Thy throne is firmly grounded of old, from eternity thou art.
— " The Lord reigneth," in ver. 1, alludes to the form used at
the proclamation of the commencement of the reign of earthly
sovereigns, comp. 2 Sam. xv. 10, 1 Kings i. 11, 13, 2 Kings ix.
13. This allusion makes it plain that the language does not
apply to the constant government ot God, but to a new glorious
manifestation of his dominion, as it were a new ascent of the
throne ; Michaelis correctly: rex factus est. We are led to the

150 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
same result, also, by the parallel passages, Ps. xcvi. 10, xcvii
1, xcix. 1, where the same form occurs; the language in all
these passages refers to the coming of the Lord in his kingdom.
In like manner, in Is. xxiv. 23, where the discourse is likewise
of the kingdom of glory : " The moon is ashamed, and the sun
is ashamed, for the Lord of hosts reigns on mount Sion, and at
Jerusalem, and before his ancients there is glory;" comp. Obad.
ver. 21, Zeeh. xiv. 9, and especially Rev. xi. 17, xix. 6. Be
sides this, the -Tj^Jnn> " lie girds himself," not " he is girded,"
can only be referred to a future manifestation of the glory of
God. In face, therefore, of the high-handed proclamation of
the might of the world, that it shall now, more than ever, lord
it over the earth and the kingdom of God, in face of the cry,
" the Assyrian or the Babylonian reigneth," the Psalmist raises
his cry "Jehovah reigneth;" he announces that the dominion
of the Lord, so far from being overthrown by such feeble onsets,
is now about, for the first time, to become manifest in its full
glory. His cry, " the Lord reigneth," found the beginning of
its verification at the destruction of Babylon and the deliver
ance of Israel ; as to its full import, however, it is Messianic, —
in Christ the Lord has truly come to reign, and he shall reign
still more gloriously in the future; comp. the above mentioned
passages in Rev. This cry, " the Lord reigneth," his servants
always raise still against the fierce onsets of the world against
the Church, with which it gains nothing more than that it
thereby calls forth a new glorious revelation of his dominion.
It is the holy war-cry of the Church in face of the world. The
remarks of Calvin upon this are well deserving of consideration:
" All acknowledge with the mouth what the prophet here
teaches, but how few place this shield, as is meet, in front of
the might of the world, so that they fear nothing, be it ever so
terrible." The preterites are explained by the circumstance,
that the Psalmist, as a seer, has the future before his eyes.
He sees, with joy, how the Lord enters upon his kingdom,
makes use of the rod of majesty, and girds on the sword of
strength, in face of the haughty world. The ty*Q^ is " to put
on," as in Is. li. 9. The majesty with which the Lord clothes
himself, forms the opposition, the antidote against the majesty
aiid pride of the world; comp. Ps. Ixxxix. 9^ xlvi. 4. The
second ^y^ cannot be referred to the preceding one : majesty

PSALM XCIII. VER. 3, 4. 151
he puts on, the Lord puts on. For, in this case, there would
be nothing but a flat repetition. And we cannot construe: the
Lord puts on power, he is girded (therewith), for the ¦jy is con
nected by the accusative with "Tf^rin- The easiest plan is to
suppose that the Psalmist begins the sentence, "he puts on
strength " (comp. the fy *£q*^ in Is. li. 9), and then suddenly
changes it, because the strength corresponding to the sword
appears still better as a girdle (comp. at Ps. xiv. 3, Ixxvi. 10);
he puts on — girds on strength. The h^, also, deduces from
what goes before, the consequence surely to be expected: Mich.
unde etiam. The globe (comp. on "^j-*, at Ps. xc. 2), togethei
with the kingdom of God upon it, is, by the plunderers of the
world, shaken to its deepest foundations; comp. Ps. xlvi. 2, 3,
6. But by the coming of the Lord in his kingdom it shall be
again established. He shall display, in preserving it, the same
omnipotence which he displayed in creating it; comp. Ps. civ.
5, "he has founded the earth, it moves not for ever." This
allusion to creation is peculiarly suitable in a hymn which was
intended to be used on the Sabbath-day. The beginning and
the end of the verse occur word for word again in Ps. xcvi. 10.
On the clause, " it shall not move," comp. Ps. xlvi. 5. — In ver.
2, the Psalmist places the newly erected throne of wickedness,
Ps. xciv. 20, over against the eternal throne of God, which
shall survive the former as long as it has preceded it. The v^
is "he establishes," "he grounds firm;" comp. 2 Sam. vii. 13,
16, 1 Kings ii. 45. The f^ft, is properly "from there," or
" then," next " from of old;" Prov. viii. 22, Is. xlviii. 3, 5, 7.
The throne of wickedness has no " then;" it is of yesterday,
like a mushroom sprung out of the earth. The eternity is not
the bare but the omnipotent eternity, comp. at Ps. xc. 2. He
who is in this way the first, is also the last, Is. xli. 4, xliv. 6,
Rev. i. 17; he remains when all the proud powers of the earth
fall in the dust.
Ver. 3, 4.- — Ver. 3. The floods lift up, 0 Lord, the floods lift up
their voice, the floods lift up their roaring noise. Ver. 4. Than the
voices of many waters, than the glorious waves of the sea, more
glorious in the height is the Lord. — There can be no doubt that
the sea comes into notice here as the symbol of worldly power.
There was no need, as Maurer desiderates, of its being expressly
marked out as such. For it is the standing emblem, comp. at

152 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
Ps. Ixxxix. 9, and also Ps. cvii. 23 ss. : and in our Psalm, the
design of which is to impart consolation in the conflicts occa
sioned by the threatening power of the world, it is everywhere
before the eye of the Psalmist. The fundamental passage here,
also, is Ps. xlvi. By the floods are meant the waters of the sea ;
comp. Jon. ii. 4, and, probably, also, Ps. xxiv. 2, where the floods
are parallel with the seas. That we are here chiefly to think of
these is obvious, from the circumstance, that the seals the usual
symbol of the tumultuous mass of nations, and also from the 4th
verse, where the Psalmist expressly explains, that by the " many
glorious waters, "= " floods " in ver. 3, are to be understood " the
waves of the sea." The 13-j, properly the " collision of the
waves," corresponds to the Qi-iltyft in ver. 4, the " breakers."
On " the Lord in majesty is more glorious than the voice," &c,
in ver. 4, comp, " more glorious art thou than mountains of
prey," in Ps. Ixxvi. 4. The voice of the floods is thus expressly
brought forward with reference to the voice of the Lord, the
thunder, as the outward proof of his glory, infinitely exalted
above that of the sea ; comp. Ps. xxix. As the thunder sounds
louder than the loudest noise of the sea, so the Lord is infinitely
more glorious than the sea, infinitely more glorious than the
power of the world symbolized by it,1 and that nation, whose
God is the Lord, would be foolish indeed, if it were to tremble
before the might of the world. It requires only to open its ear
to the thunder to be comforted,
Ver. 5. Thy testimonies are very surely to be depended upon,
holiness, 0 Lord, becomes thy house for ever. — On "the testi
mony" and " the testimonies" of the Lord, as expressive of the
Mosaic law, compare at the fundamental passage, Ps. xix. 7,
" the testimony of the Lord is sure," Ps. xxv. 10, lx. Title,
lxxx. Title, cxix. 24, Here, according to the connection, we can
only think of the promises of the law, comp. Ps. xciv. 12,
" blessed is the man whom thou instructest and teachest out of
thy law," by which assurance is given to his people of everlast
ing existence, and of deliverance from all troubles. It follows
from the glory of the Lord, as described in ver. 1-4, that these.
promises are unconditionally sure. The correct interpretation
which many commentators have failed to see, (Luther : thy word
1 The symbolical action of our Lord, Mark iv. 37 ss. depends on passages such
as the one now before us,

PSALM XCIII. VER. 5. 1 53
is right doctrine), lies at the foundation of the passages in the
Apocalypse, xix. 9, xxi. 5, xxii, 6. The Berieb. Bible : " David
in this gives as it were a reproof to the soul, that it does not suf
ficiently put faith in the testimonies which God has given it, as
to how he himself shall lead it, as if he said : How often has
he not assured us that those who commit themselves to him,
shall suffer no want ? These testimonies are well worth being
confided in, and yet we trust them not." The holiness which
becomes the house of such a God (comp. Ps. xxxiii. 1), must be
preserved for it by himself. It is becoming in God that he take
care that it be not desecrated by impious hand, comp. Ps. lxxiv.,
Ixxix. I.1 He can at times in punishment of the sins of his
people give it up to be laid waste by the ungodly world, but he
must always see to it that it rise like a Phoenix again from the
ashes, so that its holiness is again restored to it. And he has
seen to this. In room of the first house destroyed by the Chal
deans, there arose the second, and the second was not destroyed
till it had become a mere shell without a kernel, and a glorious
new erection of the house of God had come into life in the
Christian Church. The world did not destroy it ; but God him
self took down the poor provisional building, when the proper
one was completed : and this last one shall preserve its sanctity
at all times in spite of all the assaults of the destruction-loving
world. The fundamental passage is Ps. xxiii. 6 : " I dwell in
the house of the Lord for ever," qiqi ¦"px'?' properly " for
length of days." The import in both passages is essentially the
same. For the house on behalf of whose preservation the Psal
mist here expresses his confident hope is the house where the
Lord dwells with his people and they with him ; and it comes
into view only in connection with this property. The preserva
tion of the house for its own sake is not what is spoken of, but
only in so far as it is the seat of the Church ; it is therefore the
preservation of the Church that lies near the Psalmist's heart.
The common translation is : the maintenance of holiness be
comes thy house, it is becoming that it should be held holy by
us. By this mis-translation the point of the Psalm is destroyed.
There are to be urged against it : that the thought in the con
nection is wholly a strange one, — the design of the Psalm is
1 Amyrald. : "Thy house shall, by thy sacred august presence, remain for ever
undefiled, nor shall it be violated or polluted by the insolence of thine enemies."

J 54 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
evidently to impart confident reliance on the protection ot the
Lord in oppressions from the world— that in Ps. xciii., xcii., and
even in xci., the subject spoken of is what God does for his peo
ple, not what they should do for him ; besides this we have the
analogous conclusion in Ps. xcii., the parallelism, the funda
mental passage Ps. xxiii. 6, and also " for the length of days,"
and finally, the W\p, which does not signify maintenance of
holiness, but holiness.

PSALM XCIV
The Psalmist, or rather the Church, begins with the expres
sion ot confidence in the appearance of God for help ahd ven
geance, ver. 1. On the ground of this there next arises the
prayer that God would rise up against the proud enemies, to
which there is added the description of their unreasonable and
God-provoking ungodliness, ver. 2-7. Upon this there follows the
emphatic refutation of those among the people in whom the
ungodly assertion alluded to at the close, " that the Lord does
not see, the God of Israel does not observe," had found an en
trance, ver. 8-11. In opposition to these the Psalmist pro
nounces those men happy who continue in the firm faith of the
help of the Lord : he will interest himself at his own time on
behalf of his people, ver. 12-15. He declares that in every suf
fering the Lord is his consolation and his confidence, ver. 16-23
If we separate the first verse, as is obvious from itself that we
must do, as soon as we get at the correct interpretation of yiQin'
it becomes manifest that the Psalm in regard to number is an
alphabetical one. The main division consists of 12 verses. Up
to this point there is prayer, description of trouble, rejection of
despair ; and after that, hope. The 22, therefore, is divided by
a 10 and a 12.
That the Psalm does not refei- to the internal difference be
tween the wicked and the righteous, but to the relation to heathen
enemies, is evident from the 5th verse, according to which the
wicked distress the people of the Lord and oppress his inheri
tance ; from the 14th verse, according to whioh the Lord will
not forget his people, and will not forsake his inheritance ; from
the 10th verse according to which the punishment of the im-

PSALM XCIV. 155
pious heathen is what the ungodly part of the people deny, and
the pious hope for in faith; and finally from the mention of "the
throne of iniquity," in verse 20, apparently favoured by God, by
which we can understand only the heathen power.1
That the Psalm is intimately connected with the series of
Psalms of which it forms a part (Ps. xci.-c), is manifest from the
anadiplosis characteristic of these Psalms, ver. 1, 3-23 (compare
the introduction to Ps. xciii.), from the sympathy expressed with
„he expectation peculiar to them of a joyful revelation of God,
ver. ], from the soft tone never rising above a certain height,
and from their quiet tenderness, as well as the simple language
which flows on easily without any great difficulty.
There is hence a limit fixed, beyond which we cannot go in
determining the date of the composition, bythe 93d Psalm, which,
as was shown, cannot have been composed at all events later
than the Assyrian catastrophe. We are led to the same result
also, by the mention here made of the throne of iniquity, which
shews that the Asiatic power had at that time already arisen
and taken up a hostile position against the kingdom of God.
The plaintive tone, ver. 6, according to which Israel finds her
self in the situation of a widow and an orphan; ver. 14, accord
ing to which the Lord appears to have wholly forsaken his peo
ple ; ver. 1 7, according to which the people is near destruction,
leads us away from the time of the Assyrians in which prophets
and psalmists are, from the beginning, full of joyful and trium
phant hope, to that of the Chaldeans. But that we cannot ad
vance too far into this period is manifest from the circumstance,
that no mention whatever is made here of the destruction of the
city and temple, and of the leading away into captivity and
of the dispersion. Yea, if we observe that the description
of the severe oppression of the power of the world is altogether
general, and remember that Habakkuk, a considerable time
before the Chaldean invasion, under Josiah, saw it present in
spirit, and gave expression, in the language not only of pro
phecy but also of poetry, to those considerations which were
fitted to minister comfort and support on its approach, we shall
consider it as not improbable that even our Psalm formed part of
1 Hitzig's assertion that the question is not applicable to a heathen throne, "as
it Is obvious that Jehovah is not in Covenant with such," is set aside by the re
mark that the question here has exactly the force of the strongest denial.

156 THE BOOK OF PSALMS
that rich spiritual provision which the spirit of God prepared for
the Church before it entered upon that painful journey. It is
antecedently probable that the voice of the spiritual " watch
man of Zion," which made known so distinctly and so earnestly
this catastrophe long before its arrival, had called forth a
response from the midst of the Church, — that prophecy was not
unaccompanied by psalmody;, this is all the more probable, as
the third chapter of Habakkuk shows us the former in a state
of transition to the latter. The tone and character of the Psalm
appear much more intelligible, if we assign it to the eve of this
catastrophe, than if we assign it to the catastrophe itself. There
occur in it, and this may be said of the whole series to which it
belongs, no traces of excitement, no attempts at conflicting with
despair, as these meet us in those Psalms which were composed
in the midst of the terrible sufferings of the Chaldean catastrophe.
Finally, the special originating point of the Psalm does not
deprive it of any of its universal truth. — Luther remarks: " This
Psalm, as may be easily apprehended, is a prayer of all the pious
children of God, and of spiritual people, against all their perse
cutors, so that it may be used by all pious godly people from
the beginning till the end of the world.

Ver. 1. The God of vengeance, the Lord, ihe God of vengeance
shines. Luther : " He puts down God of vengeance twice as
tliose are wont to do who speak vehemently, and with great
earnestness ; these men say a thing repeatedly that they may
move God." Even the plural, properly "the God of ven
geances," strengthens the expression. It indicates that there
is in God a whole fulness of vengeance for his injured Church.
The fundamental passage is Deut. xxxii. 35 : " Vengeance is
mine and recompense." That God is the God of vengeance,
forms the sure foundation on which the confident hope of his
appearing rests: This is the eternally powerful root from which
springs the rod of help for the Church. Arnd : " Therefore
should the people of God rejoice and be glad, because they have
such a mighty, strong, and righteous God, who inquires after
their blood, and avenges it." . The yi&\n is usually taken as
an imperative — do thou, God of vengeance, shine forth. But it
must rather be taken as a preterite, after the example of the
Septuagint and the Vulgate. The imperative would be -jyiS'in--

PSALM XCIV. VEIL 2-7. 157
as in Ps. lxxx. 1; as in the fundamental passage, Deut. xxxiii.
2 (comp. at Ps. 1. 2); the form which stands here is the preterite,
it is all the more unlikely to have been erroneously taken here
for the imperative; the preterite is also the form which occurs
in Ps. 1. 2, " from Sion — God shines :" Ps. xciii., xcvii., xcix.,
also begin with the preterite, " the Lord reigneth," comp. Ps.
xcvi. 10. In these passages, " the Lord reigneth," and in the
Psalm before us, " the Lord shines," are presented to the noisy
onsets of the world. The firm, confident expectation of an im
mediate, great manifestation of the Lord, is tho distinguishing
feature of the whole series of Psalms. The Psalmist looks
down from the height of this expectation upon suffering; next,
he descends into the deep, in order that, with strength thus
received, he may again gradually mount up on high, laden with
his heavy burden ; or : ere he descends into the darkness, he
kindles at the candlestick of the divine word, this pit-lamp
which alone can enlighten it.
Ver. 2-7. — Ver. 2. Rise up thou, Judge of the earth, recom
pense a reward to the proud. Ver. 3. How long shall the
wicked, 0 Lord, how long shall the wicked triumph. Ver. 4.
They sputter, speak impudent things, they brag, all the evil-doers.
Ver. 5. Thy people, 0 Lord, they crush, and oppress thine
inheritance. Ver. 6. Widow and stranger they put to death, and
they murder the orphan. Ver. 7. And say: the Lord sees not,
and the God of Jacob observes not. — On the " lift thyself up,"
i.e., "show thyself mighty," at ver. 2, comp. at Ps. vii. 6.
Luther: " Because he only is judge and avenger, the pious pray
that he would lift himself up, that is, that he would set himself
on high, on his seat as judge, and show his work, not allow himself
to be so oppressed as if he were nothing." On ^^3, comp. at
Ps. vii. 4, to present gifts = to recompense. The fundamental
passage is Ps.. xxviii. 4, "give them their gifts;" comp. also Ps
Ixxix. 12. In reference to the Qi^, Luther: "He means here
the proud, not only those who are haughty in heart, but also
those who have got the upper hand and the victory in persecu
tion, as if they had conquered and suppressed the godly." —
The expression, " they sputter," in ver. 4., depends on Ps. lix.
7, "behold they sputter with their mouth." The Psalmist de
lights to make use of the words which former holy men of God
had uttered in reference to troubles and dangers which God

158 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
had already averted. What the wicked did sputter out, isnot
expressly mentioned in the fundamental passage; it is sufficient
first to indicate the quantity, and after that, for the first time,
the quality. Hence, we do not need to supply pnj> here, in
which case even " they speak " would be flat. In reference to
"they speak impudence," comp. at the fundamental passage,,
Ps. Ixxv. 5. The Hithp. of -,*o« occurs only here, and, in all
probability, was formed by the Psalmist himself from the four
Hithp. in Ps. xviii. 25, 26. We must, however, all the more on
this account, keep by the alone ascertained sense of -^qx, la
speak. The Hithp. denotes zealous, vehement, impassioned
speaking, comp. Ew. § 124. The translation, "they rise up,"
is not only etymologically ungrounded, but is less suitable, even
in the parallelism, as the first clause refers only to speaking,
Ver. 5 treats for .the first time of deeds. On " the evil-doers,"
comp. Ps. xcii. 7, 9. — They oppress, ver. 5, as formerly Pharoah
in Egypt did, comp. Gen. xv. 13, Ex. i. 12. — The 6th verse is
not to be understood literally; it is obvious from the mention of
"the strangers" that there is an abbreviated comparison, — thy
people, who are as helpless as the widow, &c. The murdering '
also does not suit domestic relations, and the heathen enemies
did not make the personal miserabiles the chief objects of their
rage. The figurative expression here, as well as the individual
izing one in Ps. lxviii. 5, owes its origin to those passages in
the law in which the widow and the fatherless are mentioned
as objects of the tender care of God, and as such are specially
committed to the loving treatment of Israel, for example, Deut.
x. 18, " He defends the right of the fatherless and the widow,
and loves the stranger;" Ex. xxii. 20 ss. " Thou shalt neither
vex a stranger nor oppress him ... ye shall not afflict
any widow or fatherless child. If thou afflict them ! For if
they cry to me, I will hear their cry. And my anger waxes
hot, and I kill you with the sword, and your wives shall be
widows and your children orphans." There is great emphasis
in the reference to these passages. They contain a rich fulness
of comfort for the afflicted people- If orphans in the proper
sense are the objects of the loving care of God, he must also
take under the same care his own destitute people. If he
avenges the widows on their oppressors, he must also visit his
widowed church in its oppression. Does he punish the wicked

PSALM XCIV. VER. 8— 11. 159
among Israel who oppress the miserable? he must also punish
the wicked heathen who oppress his own people in their afflic
tion. — On ver. 7, comp. Ps. x. ] 1, 13, xiv. 1, lix. 7.
Ver. 8-11. — Ver. 8. Yet mark, ye fools among the people,
and, ye stupid, when will ye become wise ? Ver. 9. He who
planteth the ear shall he not hear? He who formeth the eye shall
he not see ? Ver. 1 0. He who summons the heathen shall he not
punish? he who teaches men knowledge. Ver. 11. The Lord
knows the thoughts of men that they are vain- — The Psalmist, in
ver. S, casts up the want of knowledge whicli the ignorance of
God will imply to those, ver. 7, to whom it belongs: but he does
not address himself to those who first started the objection, the
blind heathen, who could only become wise to their cost, but to
the foolish among the people, among Israel, comp. Judges v. 9,
among whom the assertion of the heathen found a response.
That we cannot translate " ye foolish people," understanding
the address to be directed to the heathen, is clear from the
circumstance — that the Psalmist has before his eyes those who
acknowledge God as Creator — it would be in vain to instruct
the heathen about providence from creation, — from the oppo
sition of the other intelligent part of the people, in ver. 12,
13 ; finally from the way in which the heathen are spoken of
in ver. 10. On Qi^y'i, comp. Ps. lxxiii. 22 ; on the whole
verse, Ps. xcii. 7: — Berieb: "Ye foolish" expresses wonder: how
sensible you are in that you disown your God, which, neverthe
less, above everything else, shows your ignorance. You have
not even the spark of wisdom to believe in an all-seeing God.
Reflect upon your stupidity and blindness ! learn to mark how
Satan mocks and deceives you ! "• — On ver. 9, Luther remarks:
" He would thus give away what he does not possess himself."
Arnd : " Learn to know God from the powers of your own body
and soul. He who has made an understanding heart, should
he not himself understand? he who has created a righteous
heart, should he not himself be righteous? he who has made
a compassionate heart, should he not himself have a father-
heart ?" We cannot translate he who has planted. The dis
course is about a work of God which is in daily progress.
Should he not hear and see everything, and, therefore, also the
scorn of the wicked, the sighs and sufferings of his own people. —
In the first clause of ver. 10, the power of God over the spirits

160 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. *
of the heathen, by which he lets his voice be heard in their inner
most depths, manifesting, as it does, that his being is elevated
above all limits, is employed to show the folly of the assertion
that he does not punish their deeds from ignorance of their
crimes. The *yyi occurs in the sense of to summon, to warn, a
sense which it bears more frequently than that of punishment.
It occurs in ver 12, exactly in the same way, comp. Ps. ii. 10,
and Prov. ix. 7, " he that reproveth a sinner begetteth to him
self shame." Gen. xx. is in reality parallel, where the heathen
Abimelech receives a similar warning from God, comp. especi
ally ver. 6, " I held thee back from sinning against me," but
particularly Rom. i. 20, ii. 14, 15. As the doctrine of an in
fluence exercised by God upon the conscience of the heathen,
from which the conclusion is here drawn that he beholds and
punishes their deeds, is of rare occurrence in the Old Testament
— a fact to be explained by the very depraved condition of the
heathen around the Israelites, among whom few traces of such
an influence could be seen; — another translation hasbeen thought
of : shall not he who formerly chastised the heathen punish them
also now ? But . the " formerly," or the " always," and the
" now " would need in this case to be more distinctly marked.
Even the " warning " suits much better in the parallel. For in
the second elause, from an undeniable, subtle, and inward oper
ation of God in reference to the heathen, a conclusion is drawn as
to the folly of denying an operation of a more tangible and exter
nal kind. Shall not he to whom the heathen owe all their power of
judging know and punish also their deeds. — In ver. 10, the propo
sition that God knows, and proportionally punishes- the thoughts
of men, and specially the plans of the wicked for the destruction
of the righteous, is proved from the general relation of men to
God : they are vanity, but he is Jehovah, Jahveh, the pure, ab
solute Existence ; comp. on the sense of Jahveh, Beitr : 2 P.
233 ss. Is. xl. 1 7 is parallel : " all the heathen are as nothing
before him." The common translation is : the Lord knows
the thoughts of the heathen that they (the thoughts) are vain,
avail nothing. But this translation destroys the connection.
The connection requires that something be said in opposition
to the affirmation that God does not see, does not know, and,
consequently, does not punish. The knowing comes into notice
only as the condition of the punishing. The masc. pronoun, ^yrjr]

PSALM XCIV. VER. 12 — 15. 161
is also against it. The masculine cannot be placed here, instead
of the feminine, as the common form, Ew. § 1 84, c, because a
masc. noun preceded, and ambiguity would thus be occasioned.
Also in the parallel passages, Ps. xxxix. 5, 11, " all men are
only vanity," lxii. 9, " only vanity are the children of men,"
b^n is used of men themselves.
Ver. 12-15. — Ver. 12. Blessedness to the man whom thou, 0
Lord, admonishest, and teachest him out of thy law. Ver. 13.
To give him rest against the days of adversity till the pit shall be
dug for the wicked. Ver. 14. For the Lord will not reject his
people; and his inheritance he will not forsake. Ver. 1 5. For
to righteousness the right shall return, and all the righteous shall
follow it. — Those who allow themselves to be admonished and
taught by the Lord, in ver. 12, stand in opposition to the fool
ish among the people, who go to school with the blind, ungodly
heathen. The object of the instruction appears from the con
nection, and especially from ver. 13-15. Luther: " That the
plans and doings of the- ungodly are vain and do not last, al
though they are very confident of success, and carry things with
such a high hand that they boast, sing, talk, gossip, and ap
plaud. Here sense and nature can do nothing, and know not
that sueh a way is nothing. For nature judges as it feels, and
thinks no further : it cannot see things which are future, and
are as yet not in existence, it hangs upon the present. Therefore,
he says God must here be a master, and teach this. And blessed
are those to whom he teaches it." The Zaty-appears here as the
means which God uses in this instruction, the fountain out of
which he draws it, and then satisfies with it by his Spirit the
thirsty soul. It comes into notice in connection with its doc
trine of recompense (comp. for example, the passages to which
the Psalmist himself had alluded in ver. 6), and its rich conso
latory promises for the people of the Lord, whose end is always
salvation, comp. for example, Deut. xxxii. Lev. xxvi. — The Lord
procures rest before or against the days of adversity, ver. 1 3, in
asmuch as by his instruction and consolation he brings it about
that these do not any more inwardly distress the righteous, and
lead him to murmur, to despair, or to fall away. Com. Ps. cxii.
8, " his heart is established, he is not afraid till he see his de
sire upon his enemies," Ps. xlix. 5, " wherefore should I fear in
the days of evil, when the iniquity of my treaders-down com-
VOL. III. M

1 62 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
passes me about ?" — In ver. 14 we have the basis of the decla
ration as to the blessedness of tliose who meet adversity in pa
tience and quiet : the Lord may perhaps forsake his people for
a time (comp. Ju. vi. 13, Is. ii. 6), as a righteous punishment for
forsaking him, Deut. xxxii. 1 5, but not for ever, — he again, at
his own time, takes under his care his people and inheritance
oppressed by the heathen, ver. 5. Arnd : " Lebanius, a sophist,
asked a Christian : what is your carpenter's son doing ? The
Christian replied : he is making a coffin for Julian the tyrant.
Immediately after this he was killed in battle and brought home
in a coffin."— The right, ver. 1 5, whicli at present is inverted,
Hab. i. 14, inasmuch as the wicked have the upper hand, the
wicked devours the man who is more righteous than he, Hab.'
i. 13, is brought back at the proper time to righteousness, is again
administered according to its rule. Arnd : " When a man sup
presses the right, it is as if the sun were extinguished with
water, and yet the sun is greatei than the sea." The suffix in
"PinN can only refer to the right brought back to righteous
ness. The righteous accompany it with the joy of tlieir heart
and with bappy shouts : comp. the song of triumph of the church
of the Lord over the fall of the King of Babylon in Is. xiv.
Ver. 16-23. — Ver. 16. Who rises up for me against the evil
doers ? Who stands up for me against the workers of iniquity ?
Ver. 17. Had not the Lord been my help, my soul had soon in
habited silence. Ver. 18. If I say " my foot slides," thy mercy,
0 Lord, holds me up. Ver. 19. In the multitude of my thoughts
within me, thy consolations delight my soul. Ver. 20. 7s the
throne of wickedness in covenant with thee, which maketh misery
as a law ? Ver. 21. They storm at the soul of the righteous, and
condemn innocent blood. Ver. 22. But the Lord is my tower,
and my God the rock of my confidence. Ver. 23. And he recom
penses to them their unrighteousness, and shall requite them be
cause of their wickedness, the Lord our God shall requite them.—
Ver. 17 gives the answer to the question in ver. 16: the Lord is
the only help of the Psalmist, of his church, — without. him the
church would be irremediably destroyed, comp. Ps. xxv. 16,
" Lord, have mercy upon me, for I am solitary." For me=tor
my help. " With the wicked," in conflict with them. On
22P]"1il to put one's self down in a place, to step forward, comp. at
Ps. ii. 2. — The TTry\l m ver- !7, like the nilDTl in the Davidic

PSALM XOIV. VER. 16—23. 163
Psalms, is silence, comp. at Ps. lxii. ]. Silence is what reigns
in the noiseless kingdom of the dead, comp. Ps. xxxi. 1 7. non
does not denote the place of silence either here or in Ps. lxii. 1.
Silence itself appears poetically as a habitation. We must trans
late: my soul would soon inhabit silence (comp. in reference to the
t3J?KD> Ps- lxxxi. 14, and to the praeterite, Ew. § 135), not: has
already inhabited, fortius the -^j?**^ cannot signify. — In reference
to the sliding of the foot in ver. 1 8, comp. at Ps. Ixvi. 9. Mercy
upholds the Psalmist inwardly, or trust in mercy sets him up,
for the outward help has not yet made its appearance, comp.
ver. 17, 19. — On ver. 19, Luther: "He speaks of the many
thoughts which one has in such a state of despair, how he could
or might come out of it. Then he thinks this way and that way,
and visits all holes and corners, but finds none. He therefore
now says : when I was in such torture, and was killing myself
with my own thoughts, when I sought comfort here and there
and found none, then didst thou come with thy consolation and
didst delight me."- — In ver. 20 the "¦p^t-p is not Pii. but Kal,
and the construction with the accusative is to be explained by
^ observing that " to be bound together," here stands instead of
" to have for an ally," comp. Ew. § 282. On rWl " wicked
ness," comp. at Ps. xci. 3. As a law, — properly " upon law,"
the by being not unfrequently a reference to the rule which
the particular case follows, comp. Ges. Thes. p. 1025. Ew. §
217. Is. x. 1 ought to be compared as a parallel passage to
the whole verse. The sceptre of the wicked, in Ps. cxxv. 3,
corresponds to the throne of iniquity : tor the sceptre of the
wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous. Many
translate : which meditates mischief against the law (Maurer :
quae id agit ut omnes leges nostras perfringat). But ^y^y,
suffering, is the standing expression for the misery which
comes upon men as the product of violence and wickedness ;
and that it is to be taken in this sense here, is evident from
ver. 21, which is to be considered as containing the developed
sense, and therefore as a commentary, and also from the whole
remaining contents of. the Psalms, the subject of which gene
rally is the suffering of the righteous. — On ver. 23, Luther:
" He who believes this, and is taught of God, can be patient,
can let the ungodly rage, and look forward to the end, and wait
the time."

164 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
PSALM XCV.
The Psalmist exhorts the Church of the Lord to praise with
full heart God who alone is God, the Lord of the whole earth,
ver. 1-5, devoutly to fall down before him, ver. 6, not to harden
the heart, which ought to be obedient to him, as their fathers
did once in the wilderness, and thereby shut themselves out
from the land of promise, ver. 7-11.
The whole is complete in ten, which is divided by the five.
In the middle there is an intercalary verse, which forms as it
were the beating heart of the Psalm, contains the result
gathered out of the first half, and forms the point of transition
to the second.
A false division has often been occasioned by laying too
great stress on the fact that the Lord is introduced speaking in
ver. 8-11. This is really a matter of no importance; and there
is hence no sufficient reason for violently applying this change
to regulate the formal division.
The emphatic allusion to the example of the fathers, who, by
their hardness of heart, shut themselves out from the land of,
promise, and especially the fact that the Psalm terminates
with this allusion, have long ago given rise to the idea that the
Psalm must have been composed in circumstances similar to
those of the Israelites in the wilderness, in view of a glorious
manifestation of the salvation of the Lord. This view is 'con
firmed by the fact that this expectation is peculiar to the chain
of Psalms, of which the Psalm before us forms one link, comp.
at Ps. xciv. 1. All doubt disappears on comparing Ps. xcvi.,
which is bound up with our Psalm so as to form one pair; comp.
the introduction to that Psalm. The reference, also, to the
Messianic salvation was clearly and profoundly acknowledged
by the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews : whose Xsyuv s»
Aafild, however, is not to be viewed as a testimony for the
special Davidic origin of the Psalm, but only as a designation
of the whole taken from the author of the greater part.
We have therefore here before us an Old Testament " Rejoice
ye pious." Behind the darkness of the approaching Chaldean
catastrophe the Prophets perceived the approach, and the
Psalmist, led on by them, excited the expectation of a clear
light; and hence took occasion to address earnest admonitions

PSALM XCV. VER. 1—5. 165
to the people to seek, by unreservedly giving themselves to the
Lord, participation in this light, which is accompanied side by
side with a consuming fire for the rebellious. As formerly in
the wilderness, so here also the people appear on the way to
their rest. For the great body who did not follow the admoni
tion of the Psalmist, and did not know the time of their visita
tion, the Psalm was really an awfully fulfilled prophecy.
The Psalm has its full significance for the Christian Church,
inasmuch as we stand in the same relation to the second coming
of the Lord, of whose time and hour we know nothing, Matt.
xxiv. 36, and which shall come on us as a thief in the night,
and as travail upon a woman with child, as the people of the
Old Testament did to the first. The Psalm, moreover, has a
peculiar significance for our times, in which there is so much to
call up the thought that we are on the eve of some great catas
trophe, and are about to meet the coming of the Lord with
steps of majesty, " To-day, if ye will hear his voice," sounds
with peculiarly impressive tones in our ears.

Ver. 1-5. — Ver. 1. Come, let us rejoice to the Lord, let us
shout with joy to the rock of our salvation. Ver. 2. Let us antici
pate his presence with songs of praise, let us shout to him with
songs. Ver. 3. For a great God is the Lord, and a great King
over aU gods. Ver. 4. In whose hands are the foundations of
the earth, and his are the heights of the- mountains. Ver. 5. His
is the sea, and he has made it, and his hands have prepared the
dry land. — That the exhortation to praise God, in ver. 1 and 2,
does not refer to a mere outward act of worship, but demands
the surrender of the heart, which is the fountain equally of true
love to God and of obedience to his commandments, is evident
from the negation of the second corresponding to the affirmation
of the first part of the Psalm : harden not your heart, &c. God
is called the Rock of salvation as being its unchangeable foun
dation and faithful author; comp. at Psalm xviii. 2 — Ps. lxii.
7, xcii. 16, xciv. 22. — In reference to the Q-jp, to anticipate,
in ver. 2 (Vulg. praeoccupemus faciem ejus), comp. Ps. xxi. 3,
Ixxix. 8, lxxxviii. 13, "in the morning my prayer shall antici
pate thee," and on the whole phrase q^q Ulp> a^so -^s- xv"- ^
Ixxxix. 14. Calvin: "He demands haste in order that he may
testify to believers that they should fulfil this their duty with

166 THE B00K or PSALMS.
pleasure and zeal. This exhortation presupposes that indolence
which is natural to us when God calls us to render thanks."
Ps. Ivii. 8, for example, is really parallel, where the Psalmist
promises that he will always awaken the morning with his
thanks and praise. The common translation, "let us come
before thy face," is a mistake, and cannot be defended etymo-
logically. — That ver. 3 does not lead to the supposition of the
real existence of the heathen deities, is evident from Ps. xcvi.
4, 5, where the corresponding expression, "for great is theLord
and very glorious, dreadful above all gods," is followed by, "for
all the gods of the nations are nothing, but the Lord has made
the heavens." The words are to be explained from the contrast
intended to be drawn to the way of the world, which grants to
Jehovah only the importance of a small God, and places him
far beneath its own gods. In like manner, in ver. 4, 5, they are
denied not only the place of supremacy, but even existence
itself. For the Lord has everything, they therefore have nothing;
and a God who has nothing, has no existence. Finally, what
is here said as to what God is, is said in reference to the ap
proaching glorious manifestation of this his being ; because, as
shall be the case speedily, through the unveiling of the glory
of the Lord, his wonder and his salvation, Ps. xcvi. 2, 3, shall
come to light, &c. — That the Psalmist in ver. 4 and 5 brings
forward only the dominion of the Lord over the earth is clear
from Ps. xcvi. 5, where, as a supplementary idea, heaven is
spoken of. In reference to the earth, the deepest depths and the
highest heights are first placed in opposition in ver. 4, and after
that in ver. 5, the sea and the dry land. -ipnft *s w'lat is
sought for, the concealed deep, in opposition to what meets the
eye ; comp. cu-jr* "***1pn> the searching of the flood, the innermost
bottom of the sea, in Job xxxviii. and Jer. xxxi. 37, " when
the heavens above were measured, and the foundations of the
earth were searched (or explored)." " On FiBjytfl* a noun formed
from the 3 fern. fut. in Hiph., properly " that which makes
weary," " exertion," comp. the author's treatise on Balaam in
Num. xxiii. 22. " The exertion of the mountains " in parallel
with " the searchings of the earth," is a poetical expression for
the highest summits of the mountains, which can be reached
only by an exertion. However deep man may penetrate into
the depths, or however high he may ascend into the heights, he

PSALM XCV. VER. 6—11, 167
is still within the dominion of God, and never comes beyond his
boundaries. Ver. 6. Come, let us worship and fall down, let us kneel before
ihe Lord our Creator. We have here before us the culminating
point of the Psalm, the festive moment of devotion " when the
bells ring in curia regis." This joy, where the heart is full of
it, seeks also its bodily expression.1 Still, even this is only
desired as the expression of what fills the heart. This is mani
fest from what follows, where, as the consequences of kneeling
and falling down, it appears that the worshipper listens to the
voice of God and does not harden his heart. Hence, in the
shell of the kneeling, there must be contained the kernel of un
reserved surrender, which manifests itself in willing obedience.
God is called the Creator of Israel, as the author of his being in
every respect, generally, human, and specially, Israelitish; comp.,
in reference to the latter, the fundamental passage, Deut. xxxii.
6, and the 7th verse of this Psalm. The 5th verse shows that
the former is not to be excluded.
Ver. 7-11. — Ver. 7. For he is our God, and we the people
of his pasture, and sheep of his hand. To-day, if ye will listen
to his voice! Ver. 8. Harden not your heart like Meribah, like
the day of Massah in the wilderness. Ver. 9. When your fathers
tempted me, proved me, and still saw my doing. Ver. 10.
Forty years was I disgusted with this people, and said : they
are people of erring heart, and they know not my ways. Ver.
11. So that I swore in my wrath: they shall not come to my rest. —
In reference to the people of his pasture, in ver. 7, comp. at Ps.
lxxx. 12, lxxiv. 1. Sheep of his hand are such as he guides
and protects with his hand, comp. Ps. xxiii. 3, 4, c. 3. The
" to-day," stands emphatically foremost, intimating that the
present is a time of great decision. As the q*j$ is always a con
ditional, and never an optative particle (comp. at Ps. lxxxi. 8), we
cannot translate " would that you heard," but must rather, as
also at the q^ in ver. 11, supply the clause, "thus shall he
bless you his people." The q^ occurs not unfrequently in this
1 Calvin : "This also is to be observed, that the Psalmist not only treats of
the gratitude of the heart, but also demands an outward profession of piety. For
it is expressed in these words that the faithful do not perform their duty, unless
they offer themselves up as » sacrifice to God openly, by kneeling and other
signs."

1 68 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
way, for example, Ps. lxxxi. 8, "Hear, 0 my people, and let me
testify to thee, 0 Israel, if thou will hearken unto me," where
we must supply, " it will go well with you." In Zech. vi. 15,
" and it happens, if ye listen to the voice of the Lord your God,"
there must be supplied, " ye shall share in all these good things,
and Messiah wip take away your sins as your high priest, and give
you prosperity as your King;" compare the Christol. on the pas
sage. But the fundamental passage, Ex. xxiii. 21, 22, is much
more worth comparing, where the clause wanting is added: "be
ware of him (the angel whom the Lord will send before you, and
who will lead you to Canaan), and listen to his voice ... for if
thou shalt listen to his voice, I will do all that I say, and I will
become an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto
thy adversaries." This earnest voice, which went forth on a
former occasion, goes forth now again at a new critical moment
to Israel, on the eve of a new leading through the wilderness
into Canaan, through suffering to salvation. Would that they
now laid it better to heart ! Against connecting the clause
with what follows (Luther.- to-day, if you will hear his voice,
you will not harden your hearts), we have besides that funda
mental passage and the parallel passage, Ps. lxxxi. 8, the ac
cents, the change of person and the yry& with y which can
never mean " to hear something," but " to listen to something."
The whole verse has in reality a hortatory character : listen to
day to his voice, that thus his blessing may be imparted to you,
in harmony with what follows, and in parallel with the "come,
let us rejoice" of the first part, and as the more full development
of the " come, let us worship," of the 6th verse, the influence
of which extends to the whole. In fact, not only our verse, but
the whole paragraph, ver. 7-11, is pointed out as such by the
"for;" for, inasmuch as he is our God, &c, listen to his voice,
that thus it may go well with you, harden not your heart,
&c, and thus render to him the worship which he desires,
which consists not only in a mere bending of the knee, which
even the irrational beasts can render, but in an unqualified
surrender of the heart. — In ver. 8, " as Meribah, as the day of
Massah," stands concisely for " as it happened at Meribah and
on the day of Massah." Allusion is made to Ex. xvii. 1, ss. ;
not, however, to Num. xx. 1, ss. For it is only in the former
passage that the place has the name Massah and Meribah, comp.

PSALM XCV. VEK. 7—11. 169
Beitr. 3., p. 379. Israel's offence at that place was neither
their first nor tlieir most remarkable offence. That it is se
lected from all the rest and made to stand as representative
of them, is to be explained alone from the quality of the
two names, which are monuments of their striving with the
Lord and of their tempting him. In reference to -ny^ in the
sense of where, ver. 9, comp. at Ixxxiv. 3. That the last words
of the verse are not, with many expositors, to be referred to the
¦punishment, of which mention is first made in ver. 11, but that
they are intended to heighten the guilt, to bring the criminality
more into view, is evident from the fundamental passage, Num.
xiv. 22, " for all the men who saw my glory and my signs whicli
I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and still tempted me these
ten times, and did not hearken to my voice." The qj, also,
points to the aggravating circumstances connected with the
proving. The more manifestly God makes himself known, so
much the more disgraceful is it, when we are in trouble, to put
him first to the proof : as if he must first prove himself above
his true Godhead. — The expression, " I was disgusted," in ver.
10, does not denote the punishment, but points to the greatness
of the sin. For whole forty years the Israelites acted in such a
manner,1 that their God could only look upon them with dis
pleasure and aversion. By the "y\~[, race, is meant here the
whole generation, in opposition to separate corrupt individuals,
comp. Deut. i. 35, " There shall not one of these men of this
evil generation see the good land," &c, ii. 14, "till the whole
generation of the men of war be dead." By the want of the ar
ticle, this contrast is rendered more prominent. The second
clause serves the same object as " still they saw my work," in
ver. 9. The conduct of Israel was thus inexcusable, inasmuch
as they had the ways of God, that is, his glorious conduct, be
fore their eyes, from which they might have learned better ; but
they perceived this only with their bodily eyes, and did not lay
it to heart. The fundamental passage serves for illustration,
Deut. xxix. 3, "And the Lord did not give you an heart to
know, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, till this day;" before
this the discourse had been of the great wonders and signs of
1 Calvin : The circumstance that God struggled so long with their wickedness
without effect aggravates its guilt. For it sometimes happens that petulance will
boil up for a little and immediately afterwards subside

HO THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
the Lord on behalf of his people, and of his gracious guidance,
corresponding to " his ways" here. — On the -ny N, so that, in
ver. 11, comp. Ew. § 327. The oath here spoken of went forth,
when, after the sending forth of the spies, the rebelliousness of
the Israelites rose to formal revolt. The q^ is taken from the
fundamental passage, Num. xiv. 23, " If they shall see the land
which I sware unto their fathers;" ver. 30, " If ye shall come
into the land for which I have lifted up my hand to make you
dwell in it;" Deut. i. 35, "If one of these men, this wicked
generatron, shall see the good land," &c. The niTlM; a place
of rest, and their r-esi5, comp. at Ps. xxiii. 2, must, according to
the fundamental passage, where the land corresponds to it, and
according to Deut. xii. 9, " For ye are not yet come to the
place of rest, and to the inheritance which the Lord thy God
gives thee," have the former sense. The close of the Psalm is
serious and gloomy. The Psalmist anticipates that the melan
choly example of the past will be repeated in the future yet
once more, that Israel will yet another time fail to know the
time of his visitation.

PSALM XCVI.
Let the whole earth praise the Lord, who has bestowed upon
it glorious salvation, ver. 1-3, for he is in his glory worthy of
this praise, ver. 4-6. May all the families of the heathen wor
ship and reverence the Lord, ver. 7-9. For he has entered
upon his dominion over all the earth, and all nations stand
under his righteous and salutary government, to the joy of the
whole world, ver. 10-12. At the conclusion, in ver. 13, there
is the sum of the whole Psalm : the Lord cometh to judge
the earth.
The thrice-repeated " give," in ver. 7 and 8, corresponding
to the thrice-repeated " sing " of the beginning, divides the
Psalm into two halves, each of six verses. These are divided
again into two strophes of three verses. The three is marked
out as the fundamental number by the three- fold " sing " and
"give." The formal arrangement announces that the Psalm, along
with the one that precedes it, forms one pair. The extra verse

PSALM XCVI. 171
here corresponds to one deficient in the preceding Psalm ; the
eleven and the thirteen together make up twenty-four, double
the significant twelve, so that the numbers of the individual
Psalms, designedly devoid of meaning, make up, when taken
together, a significant number. The contents also lead us to
the same result. The relation of Ps. xcv. to Ps. xcvi, the connec
tion of both is illustrated by Is. ii. 5, where, on the announcement
of the reception of the heathen into the kingdom of God, ver.
2-4, there follows an exhortation to Israel, not to exclude him
self by his sin from the glorious salvation of the future, in which
the whole earth shall participate. The only difference is, that
the arrangement here is inverted. The salvation, for which the
Psalmist exhorts the heathen to praise the Lord, is a future
one, and appears as present only in so far as the Psalmist trans
poses himself into the future — -the present is not real but ideal.
This is clear from the nature of the thing, as, during the whole
existence of the Old Testament dispensation, such a salvation
encompassing the whole earth never existed, and the dominion
of the Lord over the whole earth here represented as having
arrived, appears everywhere else as the object of desire and hope,
and more particularly from the 1 2th verse, where the prophet
leaves the point of view of the ideal, and passes on to that of the
real present : then shall rejoice. From this fully ascertained
fact, that the Psalmist transfers himself here into the future, in
reference to the salvation spoken of, and that with so much ear
nestness, that he throughout addresses the heathen living in it,
and exhorts the heathen who, in his own day, knew nothing of
the Lord, to thank him for a salvation for which at the time
there had not been made the least preparation, it follows that
he may very well have adopted the same procedure also in Ps.
xciv., in reference to the miseiy with which Israel was threat
ened, and which was to precede the development of that salva
tion. Further, if it cannot be denied that the Psalmist here
transfers himself into the future, with what truth can the genu
ineness of the second part of Isaiah be objected to, on the ground
that the prophet's point of view is not that of Isaiah, inasmuch
as it belongs to prophecy, to look upon the future as present
much more than it does to lyric poetry, which could be induced
to adopt such a style only in imitation of prophecy.
There can be no doubt (comp. the induction of proof at ver. 1)

172 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
that the Psalmist was stimulated by the second part of Isaiah to
compose this poem, that the Psalm is a testimony of that inward
movement of soul which was excited among the people by these
prophecies, at a time when they were advancing with rapid
strides to a period of severe suffering. It is the less possible
to overlook this connection between the poetry of the Psalms
and prophecy, as we observe in prophecy itself a transition to
Psalm-poetry. We may compare, for example, Is. xii. and
Hab. iii.
The exhortation " sing to the Lord a new song," could only
be responded to by the heathen after the salvation which forms
the subject of the poem had arisen. Behind the exhortation,
however, addressed to the heathen, to praise God, there lies
concealed another address to the Israelites. The church of the
Lord should be raised by this Psalm to joyful hope, should be
awakened to an active zeal to serve with uprightness the Lord
who had formed such a mighty purpose with her. She beheld
indeed the heathen preparing to destroy the kingdom of the
Lord in the small corner which still remained to her. But at the
same time she beheld at a greater distance with the eye of the
Spirit of the Lord, the Lord himself coming, in the full glory of
his being, to judge the whole earth, to judge the world in
righteousness, and the nations in faithfulness.
As the promise which forms the basis of our Psalm is as yet
unfulfilled in its whole extent, the whole fulness of the heathen
have not yet entered into the kingdom of God, the Psalm is
fraught with importance to us, not only in regard to its general
thought, but even as to its very language. It is a missionary-
hymn for all ages of the church; and it becomes more and
more appropriate to our times in proportion as the heathen
begin to respond to the call, " Sing to the Lord a new song,"
and in proportion as we find in the melancholy condition of the
church at home occasion to look with a hopeful eye towards the
heathen world.
On the relation of the Psalm to 1 Chron. xvi. 23 ss., comp. at
Ps. cvi.
Ver. 1-6. — Ver. 1. Sing to the Lord a new song; sing, all the
world. Ver. 2. Sing to the Lord; praise his name; make known
from day to day his salvation. Ver. 3. Recount among the
heathen his glory, among all the nations his wonders. Ver. 4.

PSALM XCVI. VER. 1-6. 1 73
For great is the Lord, and very glorious, dreadful above all gods.
Ver. 5. For all the gods of the nations are null, and the Lord has
made the heavens. Ver. 6. Majesty and glory are before him,
might and beauty in his sanctuary. — On the " new song," ver. 1,
comp. at Ps. xxxiii. 3. The first clause, however, is not at all
borrowed from this passage, but from Is. xlii. 10, " Sing unto
the Lord a new song, his praise from the end of the earth."
This is clear from the literal agreement; from the circumstance
that the following words of Isaiah are re-echoed in the second
clause here; that the exhortation is here, as in Isaiah, addressed
to the heathen, which is not the case in Ps. xxxiii.; that the
whole contents of the Psalm, as also those of Ps. xcviii., which
begins with the same words, are nearly allied to the second part
of Isaiah; that in our Psalm, as also in Isaiah, the irrational
creation is, immediately after the rational, exhorted to praise
God; and that the sea and its fulness, in ver. 11, is literally
borrowed from Is. xlii. 10. The verbal reference to Isaiah is
designedly placed at the beginning, for the purpose of pointing
out the prophetical fountain from which the lyric stream has
flowed. The new song occurs in a more developed form in Rev.
v. 9, 1 0. On the last clause of ver. 2, comp. Is. Iii. 7, " How
beautiful upon the mountain are the feet of the messenger of
joy,  who maketh known salvation, who saith to Zion,
thy king reigneth" (the Lord reigneth here in ver. 10), and also
ver. 10, " all the ends of the earth see the salvation of our God."
The -1'sy^, in its reference to the future Messianic salvation, is
peculiar to the second part of Isaiah: T\yj, also, is one of the
favourite expressions of that writer. " From day to day" points
to the greatness and the permanent character of the salvation;
Calvin: " May this salvation not be frail or transitory." The
exhortation, " make known," in ver. 3, which is addressed to
the heathen themselves, for no others had been spoken of, and
the fundamental passages, are clear against the translation,
"they make known" (impers.), Is. lx. 6, "All they of Seba shall
come and make known the praise of the Lord," and especially
Ixvi. 18, 19, "The time comes for assembling all heathen
and tongues, and they come and see my glory, and I point them
out and send from them runners to the heathen to Tarsus,"
&c. There also the heathen are the messengers of salvation
to the heathen; those who have themselves seen the glory of

1 74 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
the Lord go out to make it known to others. His glory, whicli
is now unveiled, so that all flesh sees it at once, Is. xl. 5.
" For," ver. 4, is " as his glory and his wonders show." The
first half is literally from Ps. xlviii. 1 . The second half alludes
to Ps. xlvii. 2.. Ps. xcv. 3, xcvii. 9, xcix. 2, are parallel. The
gods are those whom the heathen had hitherto served. Dread
ful, at the time when the Psalm was composed, was the pres
sure of these Elohim against Jehovah and his people, of the many
against the one; but the Psalmist looks upon this pressure with
joyful composure, he knows that the One will eventually gain
the victory. Calvin : " The true worshippers of God had, at that
time, a great and severe conflict with the mass of superstition
with which the whole world was filled. For the true God was
concealed in Judea, as it were, in a dark corner. ... As
each country had its own particular gods, these obtained also in
other places acknowledgment, only the true God was deprived
of his honour. ... It follows that, from the unanimity of the
multitude, nothing can be concluded in favour of the truth of a
religion.- Even innumerable men may therefore," &c. The
angels whom Stier would still understand by, the Elohim, are
excluded by ver. 5, and also by the reference nature of the
expression. The Qvy^N is, as is evident from Job xiii. 4,
Zech. xi. 17, not an adjective, but a substantive : nullities. This
expression, according to Hoffman (Prophecy and its fulfilment,
i. p. 120), who maintains the real existence of the heathen
deities, must have, not an absolute, but only a relative sense :
" if they would stand in opposition to God the Creator, or if
men associate them with him, they are Qi^i^." But, in op
position to this, we have the two fundamental passages of the
Pentateuch, Lev. xix. 4, " ye shall not turn you to the Elilim,
and ye shall not make to yourselves molten gods ;" xxvi. 1, "ye
shall make no Elilim and carved image, and a molten image ye
shall not set up," — passages, at the foundation of which there
lies the supposition, that the heathen gods have no other than
a material existence, and in which, consequently, the basis is
laid down on which may rest the assertion of their nullity. In
the passage, Is. xli. 24, which serves as an exposition of the
Elilim, " behold ye are of nothing," is preceded by '* ye do nei
ther good nor evil," as proving that the non-existence of the
idols is an absolute one. It is on the supposition that the idols

PSALM XCVI. VER. 7 — 12. ] *7-*>
have no existence except the images that the whole vigorous
controversy rests, which is carried on throughout the second part
of Isaiah against idol-worship. In the New Testament, the
non-existence of heathen gods is expressly taught, 1 Cor. viii.
4-6. 1 Cor. x. 19-21 does not prove anything in reference to
their real existence, which, in ver. 19, is distinctly denied, but
in reference to the demoniac back- ground,, which is concealed
behind the fore-ground of the null idolatry. Individual idols
are the product of human imagination and of human hands,
but the system, as a whole, stands under the direction and the
influence of the powers of darkness, of which, besides this par
ticular passage, according to the whole tenor of scripture doc
trine, there cannot be the shadow of a doubt ; comp. the Beitr.
on the Pentateuch, i. p. 248. The exclusive deity of the Lord
is here founded on tlie creation of the heaven, as in Ps. xcv. 4,
and on his power over the earth. — On -^;-j and -\-\ft, majesty
and glory, in ver. 6, comp. at Ps. xiv. 3. Before him, — as his
inseparable attendants, ctfmp. Job xli. 14. On JTnNSri; orna
ment, glory, at Ps. lxxi. 8. The J-n*-!*""**' which is substituted in
stead of it, in Chronicles, refers to the festival connected with
the use of the Psalm on that occasion, and to the musical esta
blishment of David, comp. ver. 4 ss. 37 ss. The question whe
ther the sanctuary of the Lord is the heavenly (comp., for ex
ample, Ps. xxix. 9, Ps. xi. 4, Is. vi.) or the earthly sanctuary, is
an improper one. The sanctuary of the Lord is wherever he is.
The " his place " of Chron. is a good exposition. Even the
earthly sanctuary is, by its Inhabitant, high and lifted up : comp.
at Ps. Ixxviii. 69.
Ver. 7-12. — Ver. 7. Give to the Lord, ye generations of ihe
people, give to the Lord glory an,d might. Ver. 8. Give to the Lord
the glory of his name, bring offerings and come into his courts.
Ver. 9. Worship the Lord in holy beauty, tremble before him, all
lands. Ver. 10. Say to the heathen : the Lord reigneth, therefore
the earth stands firm, it moves not, he judges the nations in righte
ousness. Ver. 1 1 . Let the heaven rejoice and the earth shout, let
ihe sea roar and its fulness. Ver. 12. Let the field rejoice, and
everything which is in it, then shall all the trees of the forest shout
for joy. — On ver. 7-9, comp. Ps. xxix. 1, 2, " give to the Lord, ye
sons of God, give to the Lord glory and power; give to the Lord
the glory of his name, worship the Lord in holy beauty." The

17t> THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
quotations from this Davidic Psalm is a literal one, with the differ-'
ence that two clauses are added, and that, in place of the sons of
God, the tribes of the heathen are addressed, with marked reference
to Gen. xii. 3, " and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed
in thee." The leaning upon Ps. xxix. has not proceeded from
an accidental reminiscence. It gives a strong basis for the
announcement of the future conversion of all the heathen. He
whom the angels above praise with their song, must also, in
future days, be praised by the harmonious song of the inhabitants
of this earth. What God already is in heaven, is, according to the
words, " as in heaven so also upon the earth," a prophecy of what
he shall in future days be on the earth. The difference between
heaven and earth can only be a temporary one. The manifestation
of the holy arm of the Lord must remove that difference in his
own time. The nniiO N\^3 ^s used of the bringing of gifts of alle
giance to earthly sovereigns, in 2 Sam. viii. 2, " and the Moab
ites became David's servants, and brought gifts;" comp. at Ps.
lxviii. 29; lxxii. 10; Ixxvi. 11. The courts, Ps. xcii. 14, c. 4. —
The trembling, ver. 9, is the natural feeling induced by a sight
of the glory of God, even in those who have nothing to fear;
comp. " may both joy and trembling be now found in me," in
the sacramental hymn, " Adorn thyself, 0 blessed soul." The
trembling, more than anything else, points to the glory of the
approaching revelation of God, and hence stands very appropri
ately at the end of the whole exhortation to praise and worship
God. — In ver. 10, there is the revelation of the Lord, which fills
the whole earth with praise and worship, and whicli the heathen
who first receive it, are with joyful lips to impart to other hea
thens.1 The verse rests upon Ps. xciii. 1, " The Lord reigneth,
he is clothed with majesty, he is clothed, the Lord girdeth him
self with power, therefore the earth standeth firm, it does not
move." The government of the Lord shall again make firm the
earth, which had been shaken to its innermost basis by the sins
of men (comp. Ps. Ixxv. 3, " the earth with all its inhabitants is
dissolved," as it were, loosened, in consequence of the conqueror
of the world), shall restore to it order, salvation, and peace;
1 Venema : As this exhortation (ver. 7—9) takes for granted that the God of
Israel had made himself known, even among the Gentiles, and is based on that
manifestation, the Psalmist immediately subjoins, by means of an exhortation to
proclaim God as king, that this would be done, or had been done.

PSALM XOVI. VER. 13. 177
nation shall no longer lift up the sword against nation, and
they shall not learn war any more," Is. ii. In Ps. xciii. the estab
lishing of the earth follows through the omnipotence of God; and
here through his righteous and righteousness-promoting judg
ment : so that the two passages thus mutually supplement each
other. It is only the righteous omnipotence and the omnipotent
righteousness that can produce such effects. On "the Lord
reigneth,"="hehas entered upon his kingdom," comp. besides
the passages already quoted at Ps. xciii., Is. xxiv. 23, also Is.
Ivii. 7, " who saith to Zion: thy God reigneth." The pre-existence
of such fundamental passages is presupposed by the frequent
repetition of the expression before us. These alone are sufficient
to set aside the reference, to any fact which had already taken
place in the time of the Psalmist. The last clause attributes to
the Lord what is elsewhere generally said of the Messiah, comp.
for example Is. xi., Ps. lxxii. The, Lord shall even by the " God-
warrior," Is. ix. 5, judge the nations in righteousness. — The
¦^¦j-^ shows that the futures in ver. 11, and in the first half of
ver. 1 2, are to be taken as optatives. The exhortation, how
ever, has for its basis the expectation that what is desired shall
happen; and the transition to the expression of this in the
second half of ver. 12 is a soft and easy one. The fundamental
passages are Is. xliv. 23, lv. 12. There is no necessity for sup
posing a reference to a participation by the creation itself, as
in Rom. viii. 21. The, living creatures in this case would have
been named first. The earth standing in the middle is in con
trast on the one hand to the heaven, and on the other to the
sea. The field and the forest stand over against each other, on
the dry land, as in Ps. xcviiL 8, floods and mountains, — The
expression, "then shall rejoice," in ver. 12, shows that the ex
hortation "let the heaven rejoice," fee, was spoken from an
ideal present, — a point of view which the Psalmist here leaves ;
comp. the j^ in 1^. xxxv. 5, 6, Ps. cxxvi. 2.1
Ver. 1.3. Before the Lord, for he comes, for he comes to judge
the earth, he shall judge the world in righteousness, and the na
tions in faithfulness. — The repeated " for he comes," which so
significantly expresses the joyful expectation of a glorious good,
for which the heart of the Psalmist in his bosom so ardently long-
1 Already Muis : This particle denotes future time, and looks far forward.
VOL. III. K

178 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
ed, is omitted in Chronicles, — an omission which is characteristic
of the version of the poem given there. It is also wanting at the
conclusion of Ps. xcviii. For such an expression of emotion does
not admit of repetition, and would appear artificial. The J23*ry,
as is manifest from the fundamental passage, Is. ii. 4, particu
larly from the construction with wy, and the parallel rTOliT) ^as
not the sense of " to reign," but that of " to judge." The judg
ing, however, is such as affords matter of joy to the righteous,
ver. 1, it is not a retributive but a gracious judging, by which
controversies are adjusted and prevented, and the law of love is
introduced into the lives of the people ; comp. the fundamental
¦ passage.1 The language does not apply to the "judgment of
the world" as the " punishment of idolatry." The faithfulness
of God stands in contrast to the faithlessness of man, their want
of trust-worthiness,. and their deceit, the reign of which on the
earth can be destroyed only by God acting out his own faith
fulness, and setting it up as a model.

PSALM XCVII.
The Lord appears for judgment in terrible majesty, ver. 1-3,
and this judgment is exercised by him: all nations behold his
glory, ver. 4-6. This serves to put to shame the worshippers of
false gods, but it affords to Zion heartfelt joy, for her God show's
himself therein as the God of the whole earth, as infinitely exalted
above the gods whom the world serves, ver. 7-9. In looking for
ward to such a future, may Sion, in tlie midst of trying trouble,
continue to hate what is evil, ver. 10-12.
The twelve verses of the Psalm fall into two halves, each of
which consists of two strophes of three verses. In the first we
have the appearing of God and his deeds, and in the second we
learn how these should be received by men on their approach,- ,
and how believers in looking at them should conduct them
selves. The text here consists of the words of Isaiah, "the Lord
Calvin : "Hence it follows that it is only by the light of the justice and the
truth of God that the depravity and hypocrisy natural to men are dissipated and
cleared away."

PSALM XCVII. 179
reigneth," placed at the head of the Psalm, and to whitdi the
Psalmist looks, when on the eve of a time of great oppression, as
to a clear light, which shines at the end of a long dark cavern,
and which he opposes to the cry of the world, which may be soon
expected, " the king of Babylon reigns," or " Bel and Nebo
reign." He brings forward, however, a new view of the reign
of the Lord. The language here does not apply to the conver
sion of the worshippers of idols to the living God, but singly
and alone to judgment on the idolatrous world, by which its
pride shall be completely humbled, and with which Sion's salva
tion is connected. The figure of the indignant judge meets us
in the whole of the first half. Nothing but shame is the portion
of the worshippers of idols in ver. 7. Sion, according to ver. 8,
only hears of it and is glad.
The beginning of the fulfilment of the hopes expressed here
took place at the destruction of Babylon, and the deliverance of
Israel connected with it; comp. Is. xlvi. These hopes, however,
in their main import, are Messianic. The appearance of Christ
was of the nature of a judgment even for those among the heathen
who became obedient to the gospel; the nullity of their whole
previous existence becam'e thereby apparent, and, in place of
their pride and high-minded contempt of Sion, there appeared
deep shame. While, however, behind the judgment, which is
alone brought prominently forward in our Psalm, the grace was
concealed, which comes clearly forward in other passages, and
especially in the preceding Psalm : the view which is here the
only predominant one, comes forward, in other passages, alone
in its power, for those who, like Julian for example, will know-
nothing of " the Lord reigneth." Even in our day the hopes
here expressed are- in the act of fulfilment. The exclama
tion, " the Lord reigneth," always sounds forth anew; the church
calls it out to the naked and to the clothed world, to the worship
pers of wooden and of imaginary gods,, till it shall have reached
to full and absolute truth, and all the kingdoms of the earth
have become the kingdom of the Lord and his Anointed.
The prophetic character of the Psalm has been acknowledged
in many ways- There has always been an inclination to gene
ralize its contents. Thus, according to Koster and Maurer, the
import of ver. 1-6 is merely : " Jehovah is king and judge of the
world." This view depends upon an incorrect sense of the

180 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
clause, " the Lord reigneth," and is set aside by the reference
to the appearances at the giving of the law, and to the funda^
mental passages in Ps. xviii. and in Micah. This reference
shows that the language here, applies to a future appearance of
the Lord to judgment. Finally, " Sion hears," &c, in ver. 8,
leads, very decidedly to events.
According to Ewald, Ps. xciii. and the one before us are "joy
ous-leaping overflowings of the clear, far-looking, lively dispose
tion" of the times immediately after the return from the capti
vity '1 songs of praise, upon- the now well-grounded and eternally-
abiding dominion of Jahve ;"he interprets historically ver. 4;ss.,
and refers these to the divine manifestation which had just
taken place. This . construction may be easily, disposed of;
it destroys the organization of the Psalm,, overlooks the real
ground of the transition from the . preter. to the fut. (compare
ver. 4), and receives its, fatal blow from the weapon which. Amy-
raldus wielded against the reference . made by '.several exposi
tors1 to the victories of David. Still, even : though the Psalm
be considered as purely prophetic, it cannot, belong to the times
shortly after the return from the captivity. The disposition of
the people. was not then so; "bright, arid full of life," • that the
Psalm could be considered as its product. The deliverance at
that time was far beneath . their expectation,, and the :prophets
had enough to do to combat the, despondency and the murmuring.
obstinacy which.got possession of men's mindsi. , But (what is de
cisive), our Psalm leans throughout, and to a greater extent than
the preceding and following Psalms, upon quotations from the
more- ancient sacred scriptures: it. may be said to. he distinc
tively a piece of Mosaic work; it points, by this intelligent string
of old sayings, to the comprehensive character of the approaching
revelation of the Lord, in which allthe traits of the earlier,hi3-
tory and prophecy were about to meet. . Now allthese numerous
references are taken from, writings earlier than .the. captivity ;
1 "These contained truly .great and brilliant materials for Celebrating divine
virtufes in splendid and magufficeiit words. Y.et if they are compared with the
magnificent things contained in this Psalm, the difference is such, as if a com
parison were instituted, would "be the case if such a 'triumph were decreed' to a
general' for havitfg stormed a little town, as was -celebrated by Julias Gseaar
upon conquering Gaul. There is, most assuredly, no proportion between "these
thingB.

PSALM XCVII. VER. 1—6. 181
and there is all the less probability in, this being accidental, as
the whole series of Psalms, of whicli the one before us forms a
part (Ps. xci.-c), leads to the same result.
The more exact consideration of the allusions and quotations
in this Psalm, and of the whole little collection to which it be
longs, is of importance in another point of view. It shows how
false is the idea which Ewald, in particular, has pushed to ex
tremities, of a general loss of sacred literature. We can follow,
in this Psalm, the references from verse to verse: no verse re
mains without its manifest fundamental passage. This can be
explained only by the fact, that the saered. writings have come
down to us entire.

Ver. 1-6. — Ver. 1. The Lord reigneth, let the earth rejoice,
let the multitude of the islands be glad. Ver. 2. Clouds and
darkness are round about him, righteousness and right are the
basis of his throne. Ver. 3. Fire goes before him and burns up
his enemies round about Ver. 4. His lightnings enlightened the
world': the earth saw and trembled. ** ; Ver* 5. The mountains melt
like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of the whole* earth.
Ver. 6. The heavens declare his righteousness, and all nations see
his glory.- — In reference to the abrupta regni a deo suscepti pro
clamation " the Lord reigneth," in ver; 1, <comp. at Ps. xoiii. 1,
xcvi. 10, and "may the earth rejoice," at Ps. xcvi. 11. The
exhortation to the earth to triumph, and to the islands to re
joice, leads, at first sight, to the, inference, that the reign of the
Lord shall bring salvation also to the heathen.1 But such
exhortations not unfrequently occur in cases where reference is
made only directly to salvation for Sion (comp. Deut. xxxii. 43,
at Ps. xviii. 49, Ps. xlvii.) ; and, in our Psalna, the heathen no
where appear as the objects of salvation, but as: the objects of
judgment on the part of God. The eixpression, "let tlie earth
rejoice," assuredly opens up, indirectly, even for the heathen, a
joyous prospect. For it takes for granted, that the God of
Israel is the God of the whole earth, who must have compassion
1 Calvin : By inviting men to joy he sufficiently declares, that wherever God
reigns, salvation and full felicity, at the same time, shine forth. In calling, how
ever, the whole world to a common joy, he means that the kingdom of God, which
at that time had been shut up within the narrow boundaries of Judea, would be
come much more wide, aa it would extend even to the Gentiles "

182. THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
upon all, whose deeds on behalf of any particular part are
always prophecies for the whole, who can only bless his people
in order that all the nations of the earth may be blessed in
them. The qii^ on the basis of Gen. x. 5, and especially of
Ps. lxxii. 10, is a favourite expression of Isaiah, particularly in
the second part (in the first part, xxiv. 15), who dwells with
peculiar delight upon the relation of the heathen world to the
approaching glorious revelations of the Lord. Chapter xliv. 10,
12, is particularly appropriate where the islands and their in
habitants are exhorted to sing to the Lord because of his. deeds
on behalf of Israel, while in other passages the islands them
selves appear as participators of the salvation. — The first clause
of ver. 2 is taken from Deut. v. 1 9, " these words spake the Lord
to the whole .congregation on the mount out of the midst of the
fire oi the cloud and of the darkness;" comp. Ex. xix. 16, 18, Ps.
xviii. 9, 11. The appearances at the giving of the law had a
symbolical character. They were intended to fill the heart with
holy awe in presence of the heavenly judge, revealing as they
did behind the foreground of words' of rebuke, a background of
deeds of retribution ; comp. Ps. 1. 3. The prophecy contained
in these appearances is now in the way of being fulfilled. The
Lord appears surrounded by dark clouds which make known his
wrath and hold out to view the breaking forth of a storm of
lightning and thunder. The appearances at the giving of the
law form in particular a commentary on the words of the Ten
Commandments: " Thou shalt have no other gods before me:
thou shalt not make any graven image .... thou shalt
not bow down to them nor serve them, for I the Lord thy God
am a jealous God." Ver. 7 of this Psalm is to be compared with
this. The wrath of God then threatened in words and in symbol
to the worshippers of false gods and images, is here made mani
fest. The second half of . the verse, "righteousness and right
are the basis of his throne," is from Ps. Ixxxix. 14. If the
dominion of God exists on the domain of right and righteousness,
the heathen may well tremble, because they have trampled
right and righteousness under foot in their relations to the
Israelites : a righteous judgment is for them a destroying judg
ment. — The first clause of ver 3. is from Ps. 1. 3, " fire burns be
fore him ;*" comp. what is observed on that passage upon fire as a
symbol of the divine wrath. In the second clause, the expres-

PSALM XCVII. VER. 7 — 12. 183
aion, " and burns up his enemies round about," is to be under
stood only virtually, " as soon as they present themselves before
him" (comp. Ps. xviii. 8, Delitzsch on Hab. iii. 5), for ver.
1-3 have to do only with the appearance of the Lord ; in itself
the effects which flow from it are first described in ver. 4-6. —
Ver. 4 is from Ps. Ixxvii. 18, "lightnings lightened the world,
the earth trembled and shook." The reference to the funda
mental passage has here and in ver. 5 occasioned the transition
from the future to the preterite, which stands as a prophet, pret.
This very transition shows that our passage is borrowed, and
that Ps. Ivii. 18 is the original passage. On pf]-*,^ comp. Ps.
Ivii. 16. — On ver. 5 comp. Micah i. 4, " and the mountains flowed
down under him and the valleys were cleft, as wax before the
fire." The preter. stands there also proph. The words which
there belong to the declaration of the judgment upon Israel are
here employed as part of the description of the judgment upon
the heathen world, of which that upon Israel was a matter-of-
fact prophecy ; comp. 1 Pet. iv. 1 7. The mountains are named
individualizingly as being the firmest and the highest parts of
the earth. Berieb: " Even the mountains of human height and
pride, the heights of human intellect and vanity, and also the
kingdoms of the world." The expression, " the Lord of the
whole earth," is from Micah iv. 13. — The first half of ver. 6 is
from Ps. 1. 6. The heavens make known the righteousness of
God there, in so far as his judging word making known his right
eousness, and here in so far as his judging deed proceeds from
them. Arnd : " The heavens made known his righteousness
when brimstone and fire were rained from heaven upon So
dom." The righteousness of God is here also the attribute
according to which he gives to every one his own, to his people
salvation, to his and their enemies destruction. The second
clause is from Is. xl. 5, " and the glory of the Lord shall be
revealed, and all flesh shall see it ;" comp. Ixvi. 1 8, xxxv. 2.
All nations behold ihe glory, — the glory of the Lord in the reve
lations of his being through the deeds of righteousness and
grace. Ver. 7-12. — Ver. 7. All who worship images shall be ashamed
and boast themselves of nullities ; worship him, aU ye gods. Ver.
8. Sion hears it and is glad, the daughters of Judah shout for
joy, because of thy judgments, 0 Lord. Ver. 9. For thou, Lord,

184 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
art the Most High over the whole earth, highly exalted over aU
gods— Ver. 10. Ye who love the Lord hate what is evil^ he pre
serveth the souls of his saints, he delivereth them from the hand
of the wicked. Ver. 11. Light is sown for the righteous, and for
the upright joy. Ver. 12. Rejoice, ye righteous, in the Lord, and
praise his holy memorial.-^On ver. 7, comp. Is. xlii. 17: "they
turn back (in consequence of the glorious future revelation of
the Lord), and are ashamed, that trust in the image, that say
to the molten work, thou art our God," xliv. 9. ¦y**nnt£>n is>
according to Ps. xcVi. 9, the imperat.; not the prefer. The
exhortation, according to the Psalmist, here also, as there, is
addressed to the heathen. The false gods are called upon to
worship through the medium of their servants. The gods are
also, in other passages, frequently viewed poetically, as gifted
momentarily with life and feeling (comp. the immediately pre
ceding d^i^' an(l ine observations made; at Ps. xcvi. 5), only
for the purpose of exhibiting the Lord as triumphing over
them; comp. Ex. xii. 12, Num. xxxiii. 4, " and upon their gods
has the Lord executed judgment;" Is. xix. 1, "behold theLord
rideth upon a swift cloud, and c6rneth to Egypt, and the gods
of the Egyptians are moved at his presence." The Septuagint
could not Understand this representation, and Substituted angels
instead of gods, to whom what was said could apply only by an
inference, as a majori ad minus; if the proud gods of the hea
then cannot measure themselves with the Lord, how much less
may the angels, Heb. i. 6. As decisive against the direct re
ference to the angels, may be mentioned the whole connection
and tendency of the Psalm, which is to animate the people of
God in prospect of the approaching victory of the false gods,
and also the usus loquendi, as Elohim never signifies angels. —
In ver. 8, we have the contrary effect, which the appearance of
the Lord to judgment produces on Sion. This verse depends
upon ver. 11 of the 48th Psalm, which celebrates the great de
liverance under Jehosaphat, which shall again live in the deliver
ance of the future ; " Mount Sion rejoices, the daughters of
Judah shout because of thy judgments," to which passage, also,
Isaiah alludes in chap. xl. 9. Hears it, namely, that the Lord
judges, as he did on a former occasion, under the king, whose
name was so gloriously verified. The daughters of Judah are
only in opposition to Sion, the remaining cities of Judah. On

PSALM XCVIII. ' 185
the words which allude to the name of Jehosaphat, " because of
thy judgments, 0 Lord," we are not to comp. Ps. xcvi. 1 3. The
discourse there is of an entirely different judgment. — On the
first half of ver. 9, comp. Ps. lxxxiii. 18, from which it is taken
word for word : our passage serves to confirm the interpretation
there given. On the second half, comp. Ps. xlvii, 9, " the
princes of the nations are gathered together to the nation of
the God of Abraham, for the shields of the earth are God's : he
is highly exalted." The conclusion is borrowed from both Psalms.
It is remarkable that the Psalmist, in vers. 8 and 9, alludes, in a
manner full of meaning, to the three Psalms which, according
to our view, refer to the deliverance under Jehosaphat, and
Which have been separated from each other by modern criticism.
Our view is thus strongly confirmed : — Tbe " evil " in the exhor
tation, founded on the prophecy in ver. 10, is neither idolatry,
nor, as Calvin supposes, specially revenge, but wickedness and
unrighteousness; comp. Ps. xxxiv. 13, Rom. xii. 9, 2 Tim. ii. 19.
The prosperity of wickedness easily seduces to wickedness, be
cause it shakes our faith in God and in his providence, and
therefore throws down the only floodgate which can restrain
the floods of wickedness. In oppositioh to this temptation, the
Psalmist points the servants of the Lord to the salvation of the
future. Before "he preserveth," there is, in reality, a " for" to
be understood. A sure standard by which to interpret ver. 1],
is furnished by the parallel passage, Ps. cxii. 4, " light arises,
j-lTtj for the upright in darkness." This shows that " to be
sown," is "to be scattered abroad," the point of comparison
being only the richness of the gift.1— The first half of ver. 12 is
from Ps. xxxii. ] 1, which, in that passage, also forms the con
clusion ; and the second half from Ps. xxx. 4.

PSALM XCVIII.
In the first strophe, ver. 1-3, after a short exhortation to
praise the Lord, the object of the praise is given, — the Lord
has redeemed his people in a wonderful manner. The second
strophe, ver. 4-6, shows how this praise is to be rendered : all
1 Ven. -. " Light is said to be scattered when the rising sun spreads hia rays
plentifully in every direction.''

186 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
means whicli, in every place, are within reach, ought to be em
ployed for this purpose. The third stanza says by whom the
praise should be given: by the whole earth.
The Psalm is the only one which is entitled yfcXQy a Psalm
without any addition. This struck several of the old transla
tors; the Septuagint, the Vulgate, and the Syriac added " by
David," the Chaldee, " a prophetical Psalm." This common
name of all the Psalms manifestly cannot be employed here in its
general, it must be used in a peculiarly modified sense. Such a
sense is to be obtained only in one way. Our Psalm stands to
the preceding one in the same relation that Hab. chap. iii. does to
chap. i. and ii., and as Is. xlii. 10-12 does to ver. ] 3-17, with this
difference, that the arrangement there is the reverse of that
here : the Psalm before us is the lyric accompaniment to the
more decidedly prophetical Psalm which precedes. As the Psalm
in the Psalm, therefore, it bears the name of mQtD' — a namo
the originality of which is attested by the doubled yyffi and the
mot in ver- 5 ar"^ ®'- it is manifestly with reference to the title
that such strong prominence is given to the "yyf. In favour of
this view we may urge first, the contents of the two Psalms ;
second, the analogy of the title of Ps. c, which is related to Ps.
xcix., exactly as ours is to Ps. xcvii. ; and third, the formal ar
rangement which exhibits our Psalm as making up one whole
with the preceding one. Both Psalms fall into strophes of three
verses. Of these strophes there are in all seven, of which, accord
ing to the usual division of the seven, four belong to the pro
phetical, three to the pre-eminently lyrical part.
The doctrinal contents of the Psalm, according to what has
been said, must be confined to those of the preceding Psalm : it
sets forth like it the appearance of the Lord.in his kingdom, in so
far as it shall bring salvation directly to the house of Israel, and
only towards the conclusion points, as an addition, to Ps. xcvi.,
to salvation for the whole earth as closely bound up with this.

Ver. 1-3. The object of the praise of the Lord. Ver. 1. Sing
to the Lord a new song, for he hath done wonders; his right hand
and his holy arm have helped him. Ver. 2. The Lord hath made
known his salvation, before the eyes of the heathen he unveiled Ms
righteousness. Ver, 3. He hath remembered his mercy and his faith
fulness to the house of Israel, all the ends of the earth have seen the

PSALM XCVIII. VER. 1—3. 187
salvation of our God.— The point of view in the whole Psalm is
an ideal one, the time of the already-appeared salvation, of the
already-begun kingdom of the Lord. The new song ought to be
sung for the first time after those wonders which form the object
of it have actually happened. The beginning, " Sing to the Lord
a new song," is from Ps. xcvi. The exhortation here also is
directed, not to Israel only, but to the whole earth, which is there
expressly named. This is manifest from the last strophe, which is
devoted to the more immediate object of the Psalmist, while the
" sing" here is only preliminary, as an introduction to the mention
of the object. What the wonders are that are treated of is evident
partly from the reference to the fundamental passages of Isaiah
already quoted, partly from the prophetic part, and partly from
ver. 3. The circumstance that the object there is so exactly
defined once more, shows that we have before us not an arbitra
rily rent whole — in this case the exact defining of the object
would have been left entirely to Ps. xcvii. — but a pair of Psalms,
the second member of which is intended to have as sure and in
dependent a standing of its own as the first. " His right hand
helped him," is from Isaiah lix. ] 6: " And he saw that there
was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor, then
his own right hand helped him, and his righteousness upheld
him ;" and Ixiii. 5: " And I looked and there was none to help,
and I wondered that there was no assistance, then mine own
arm helped me, and my wrath upheld me." This verbal re
ference, at the very beginning, shows that we have before us, as
in Ps. xcvii., the lyrical echo of the prophetic announcements
of the second part of Isaiah. Here, as in the fundamental pas
sage, the arm of the Lord, with which he helps himself in bring
ing salvation to Sion, stands opposed to the use of the ordinary
means of help in the church of God.1 The expression is very
consolatory, because it shows us that we need not despair, even
though these means of help be dried up, even though every
where there meet us nothing but weakness and feebleness,
though a glance at the cut-down trunk of Jesse is enough to
make us quite spiritless. Comp. Jud. vii. 2, where the Lord
says to Gideon : " The people that are with thee are too many
1 Calvin : " In both passages, the arm of God is opposed to ordinary means,
which, although they do not derogate from the power of God, in some measure,
like a veil, hide h:s face."

188 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt
themselves against me, and say, Mine own hand hath saved
me." " His holy arm" is from Is. Iii. LO : " And the Lord has
made bare his holy arm" (in the deliverance of Sion) comp. xl.
10, li. 9. - The "holy" is awful, infinitely removed above every
creature, comp. at Ps. xxii. 3. — Ver. 2 and 3 depend upon Isaiah
Hi. 10 : " The Lord has made bare his holy arm before the eyes
of all nations, and all the ends of the earth see the salvation of
our God." The references to this passage run through the three
verses which mark out the object of the song of praise, and the
whole strophe must manifestly be regarded as an expansion of
that fundamental prophetical passage. His righteousness : comp.
Ps. xcvii. 6. For the people of the Lord, salvation is the ex
pression of his righteousness, which gives to every one his own:
he has promised them salvation ; comp. his " faithfulness," in
ver. 3 and Rom. xv. 8, 9. — The first half of ver. 3 alludes to Is.
Ixiii. 7. Mercy and faithfulness : comp. Ps. xcii. 3. The salva
tion which all the; ends of the earth see, is, in the first instance,
the salvation of Sion. For the discourse is of this in Ps. xcvii.,
and also in the fundamental passage. The heathenj however,
shall be admitted into participation of this salvation.
Ver. 4-6. As in the preceding strophe we had why, so here
we have how we should praise the Lord.— Ver. 4. Shout unto
the Lord, all the earth, break out and rejoice and' sing. Ver. 5.
Sing to the Lord with the guitar j with the guitar and the' voice
of song. Ver. 6. With trumpets and ihe voice of ihe clarionet,
rejoice before the Lord the King. — The first half of ver. 4 is
literally from ver. 1 of Ps. Ixvi., a Psalm which belongs to the
time of Hezekiah, only that Q^nSbs? 1S there; comp. also
Ps. xlvii. 1: '''rejoice with hands, nations shout unto God
with jubilee- voice," and the observations made at that verse on
the exhortations addressed to the whole world to rejoice over
the salvation of Israel. " To break out in joy/J ¦fty^ f^rj is
peculiar to Isaiah, comp. xiv. 7, xliv. 23: " break out, ye moun
tains, in joy" (the material fundamental passage), xlix. 13, liv.
1 ; still more so, however, is the " break out and rejoice," comp.
Iii. 9 : " break out and rejoice together, ye ruins of Jerusalem,"
— the formal fundamental passage. On T-yftt comp. Ps. xlvii.
6.— The j-not *Vlp is from Is- K- 3.— On " before the Lord the
King," comp. Is. vi. 5. It looks back to the expression " the

PSALM XCIX.. 189
Lord reigneth," *-y^, in Ps. xcvii. 1, and is equivalent to " be
fore the Lord who has now set up his kingdom, and brought the
whole earth under his subjection."
In the last strophe, ver. 7-9, who should rejoice : in the pre
ceding one the intensity, here the extent of the joy. — -Ver. 7.
Let the sea roar and its fulness, the world, and them who dwell
upon it. Ver. 8. Let the streams clap their hands, and the moun
tains rejoice together, Ver. 9 Before the Lord, because he comes to
judge the earth, he shall judge the earth in righteousness, and the
nations in uprightness. — The first clause of ver. 7 is from Ps.
xcvi. 11. The roaring suits the fulness of the sea as well as
the sea itself: it is used, Job xxxix. 25, of the loud shout of
the human voice. In so far as it is applied to the sea it de
notes its solemn, roar. The second clause is literally from Ps.
xxiv. 1. — The clapping of the hands is an expression of joy,
comp.. for example Ps. xlvii. 1, and was employed as such es
pecially at the commencement of the reign of earthly kings,
comp. 2 Kings xi. 12 : " and they clapped the hands, and said,
long live the king." The fundamental passage is Is. Iv. 12,—
the only one, moreover, where, by a bold poetical figure, the
clapping of hands is ascribed to inanimate objects: "the
mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into sing
ing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their, hands." In
stead of the streams here, the trees are there; the mountains
which follow here are named there immediately before. — The
reason why the whole earth should rejoice is given in ver. 9 : he
comes to judge the whole earth, and to bring it by his, righteous
government from a state of sorrow into a state of salvation and
joy. Comp. at Ps. xcvi. 13.

PSALM XCIX,
The Psalm begins in ver. 1 with the joyful cry, " the Lord
reigneth," depicts in ver. 5-5 how He, appearing in his king
dom, delivers his people from the state of oppression in which
they had hitherto been, and exhorts them to praise devoutly
the Lord from whom such glorious things are to be expected.
He points in ver. 6-9 to the means which secure a participa
tion in the blessings of the future, the dangers which threaten

190 ' THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
this participation : heartfelt trust in the Lord, and obedience
to his commandments, are as the history of antiquity, the ex
ample of Moses, Aaron, and Samuel show, the way to salva
tion, from which sin excludes^ while it brings into the domain
of an avenging God; — and concludes with a renewed exhorta
tion devoutly to praise the Lord, who appears great and awful,
no less in effecting the salvation itself, than in appointing the
conditions connected with its enjoyment.
If we separate ver. 1 as containing the theme, the Psalm con
sists of two strophes, each of four verses, which are manifestly
distinguished from each other by " exalt the Lord our God,"
&c, in ver. 5 and ver. 9. That these strophes again fall into
half strophes, each containing a pair of verses, is evident from
the circumstance that the "he is holy," which occurs three
times after the example of the original passage in Is. vi., be
sides being, at the. end of the two strophes, stands also in the
middle of the first, and divides its two halves from each other.
The full insight into the formal arrangement of the Psalm is
got when the following Psalm, whicli forms with it one pair, is
added to it. We then obtain, according as two ruling verses
are added or not, 14 verses or 12 ; three strophes of four verses,
or seven half-strophes of two.
The Psalm is the inverse of " repent, for the kingdom of hea
ven is at hand," Is. xl. 3-5, " the kingdom of heaven is athand,
therefore repent," an old testament, " with zeal ye sons of men."
Among the series of Psalms, Ps. xci.-c, it is most closely con
nected with Ps. xcv. In common with that Psalm, it sets
especially before the eye of the church high demands proceed
ing from the approaching appearance of the Lord in his king
dom, and also, after the model of Ps. Ixxviii., teaches by history,
and, finally, ends with a solemn warning to those who do not
prepare their hearts and take heed to their ways.
•According to ver. 1 and 5 our Psalm was composed at a time
when the ark of the covenant was still in existence, and there
fore before the Chaldean invasion. This undoubted fact is of
importance in determining the age of the whole series, and
of course also of the second part of Isaiah.

Ver. 1 . The Lord reigneth, the nations tremble, he who sitteth
upon the cherubim, the earth shakes. — On " the Lord reigneth,"

PSALM XCIX. VER. 1. 191
comp. Ps. xciii. 1, xcvi. 10, xcvii. 1. The futures are not opta
tives, but are to be taken prophetically as at Ps. xciii. 1 , xcvi.
10. Otherwise, instead of to^n, we would have had the ab
breviated future. The character of the whole Psalm is prophetic.
The trembling of the people and the moving of the earth are
expressions of fear and reverence1 before the Lord appearing in
his kingdom ; comp. "tremble before him, all ye lands" in Ps.
xcvi. 9. By alluding to the future trembling of the people the
Psalmist designs to furnish a means of strength to the church
trembling at the present and the immediately future periods ;
*the nations who now proudly rise up against the Lord and his
kingdom, and before whom the heart of the people is moved like
the moving of the trees before the wind.2 The church of the
Lord may have trouble and sorrow for a time, but the promise
of Deut. ii. 25, will always in the end be fulfilled : " I will this
day begin to give thy terror and thy fear over the nations
which are under the whole heaven who hear of thy report and
tremble and quake before thee." When her king appears it is
the world's turn to tremble. Perhaps allusion is made to the
other sense of fji " to be angry," Ps. iv. 4. The Qi^y stands
poetically without an article. That the nations generally are
meant is evident from the parallel, " the earth," and the last
verse of Ps. xcviii., and also Ps. xcvi. 7-10. Before the second
clause, we must supply " the Lord reigneth ;" and " who sitteth
upon the cherubims," equivalent to the God of the whole earth,
Ps. xcvii. 5 (comp. at Ps. lxxx. 1), belongs in reality to both
clauses. The two clauses, therefore, are equivalent to " the
Lord who sits upon the cherubim reigneth, therefore the na
tions tremble, the earth moves." The translation, " he sits upon
the cherubim," essentially disfigures the sense, and could have
been favoured only by those who took a false view of " the Lord
1 Amyr. -. " That the fear which proceeds from simple reverence as well as that
which arises from apprehension of evil, produces bodily shaking. Thus this exhor
tation (2) may concern believing as well aa unbelieving nations."
2 Calvin: " "For, inasmuch aa the Jews were beset by enemies on all sides, it
was of great consequence that the power of God should be extolled among them,
that they might know that they would be always safe under his protection against
the hatred and fury of them all  that God will make
known such power in the deliverance of his elect people as will throw into
confusion all nations, and that they will feel it, however much they may rage to
their own ruin.''

1 92 ' THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
reigneth," and referred it to his constant dominion instead of to
his appearing in his kingdom. It is not the omnipotence of
God in general, but the fact that this omnipotent God reigneth,
that is the cause of the trembling of the people. The expres
sion "sitting upon the cherubim" is a phrase of constant oc
currence as an epithet applied to Jehovah, comp. 1 Sam. iv. 4,
2 Sam. vi. 2, 2 Kings xix. 15, and other passages. This use of
the expression " sitting, upon the cherubim" indicates that .the
symbol of the presence of the Lord among his people, was still
in existence. It occurs nowhere else except, in reference to the
ark of the covenant. . , , , , '
Ver. 2-5. — Ver. 2. The Lord is in Sion great, and he is ex
alted above all nations. Ver. 3. They shall praise thy name
great and terrible: holy is He. — Ver.. 4. And the strength of the
king who loveth right: thou hast founded, rectitude, right, and
righteousness in Jacob hasp thou executed.. Ver. 5. Exalt the
Lord our God, and pray at his footstool: holy is IZe.—On ver. 2
comp, Ps, xlviii. 1, The discourse is not of the greatness of the
Lord in general, but of that greatness which he acquires by the
glorious revelation of the future.1 The , subject in " they shall
praise" in ver. 3 is the nations — (not "map they. praise" — this
is opposed by the prophetic character of the Psalm, which
stands in contrast to the lyric nature, of Ps. c.) The nations
had been last spoken of, and if the subject had been changed
there would have been some intimation of it given. , In the
lyric part, the exhortation " to praise the Lord, &c," which
depends upon the previous announcement made in the passage
before us, is directed to the whole earth; and even in, other
passages the deeds of theLord on behalf , of Israel very fre*.
quently appear as the object of praise for all nations, as in Ps.
xcviii. 3, 4; comp. also Ps. Ixxxvi. 9, "all nations shall come
and worship before thee, 0 Lord, and give glory to thy name."
The expression, " shall praise thy name," is equivalent to " shall
praise thee glorious by thy deeds." The "great and terrible"
is from Deut. x. 17, "for the, Lord thy God is the God of gods,
the Lord of lords, the, great God and terrible,"' comp. xxviii. 58,
" that thou fear this name the glorious and the terrible." The
1 Ven.: "He>shows that ,he is the exalted aud most powerful King and aven
ger of his peqp'.e in Jerusalem, and superior to and set over all the nations of the
earth."

PSALM XCIX. VER. 2^5. I93
"holy is He" forms the basis of the pre-announcement con
tained in the preceding clause. The holiness of the Lord,
comp. Ps, xxii. 3, guarantees that all nations shall praise him
because of the glorious deeds by which they shall be led to do so.
That the " He" does not refer to the name hut to the Lord himself
is clear from ver. 5 and 9, and from the reference to the "holy,
holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts" of the fundamental passage.
It is for the sake of conformity tc- ver. 5 and 9, and the refer
ence to the fundamental passage, that the address here is given
up. But. for this, the expression would have been: for thou art
holy.— In ver. 4, "they shall praise thy holy name," is more
exactly developed. The name appear? as the product of the
deeds of omnipotent righteousness or of the* righteous omnipo
tence of God on behalf of his people. This verse as regards
construction is designedly made entirely dependent upon the
preceding one: "and (they shall praise) the strength of the
King who loves right," in order that it may not be supposed
that the occurrence of the "holy is He" gives rise to a new
strophe. Ewald, nevertheless, has leapt over this fence. The
j«. means nothing else than strength, not splendour or fame,
&c. (comp. at Ps. xxix. 1), and occurs even in this sense in
other passages of this series of Psalms, Ps. Xciii. 1, xci. 6, 7-
On " who loveth right," comp. Ps. xxxiii. 5, xxxvii. 28, " for
thei Lord loveth right and forsaketh not his saints, they shall
be preserved for ever, and the seed of the wicked shall be root
ed out." The remaining part of the verse is, in reality, con
nected with what precedes by a "for," or by a colon: it
represents the facts by which the Lord has shown himself as
the omnipotent righteousness, or in reality shall show himself;
the import being, for thou hast delivered thy congregation by a
righteous judgment from the unrighteous oppression of the
world, and hast risen up with mighty arm for the glorious de
liverance of the children of God. To found, or to establish
righteousness (comp. Ps. lxviii. 10), is to briiig righteous na
ture to a firm standing: this, happens when God judges right
eously ; comp. at Ps. Ixxv. 2, lviii. 1, xcvi. 10. The last words
allude to 2 Sam. viii. 15: "and David was king over all Israel,
and executed right and righteousness to his whole people."
What was there said of Israel's visible king shall be performed
in future times in all its truth by his invisible true King,— -
VOL. III. 0

1 94 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
comp. " and the strength of the King." — On " exalt," in ver. 5,
comp. Ps. xxx. 1, xxxiv. 3. The exhortation to worship occurs
also in Ps. xcv. 6, xcvi. 9, xcvii. 7. The footstool of the Lord
is everywhere the ark of the covenant, which he who sitteth up
on the cherubim touched as it were with his feet; comp. 1
Chron. xxviii. 2: " to build an house where the ark of the Lord
rested, and the footstool of our God," Ps. cxxxii. 7, Lam. ii. ],
" the place of my feet," Is. lx. 13. Even Is. Ixvi. 1 forms an
exception only in appearance, because it is only in opposition
to the usual way of speaking, and in marked reference to it,
that the earth is there called the footstool of the Lord: heaven,
not, as you suppose, the place above the cherubim, is my throne;
the earth, not the ark of the covenant, according to common
language, is my footstool. In the passage before us we cannot
leave the common sense, on account of the "sitting upon
the cherubim," in ver. 1, — comp. also "his holy mountain" in ver.
9. As ninnt^n 1S °f common occurrence with the b °f the
object to whom worship is due, and as it oecurs in this way in
Ps. xcvi. 9, xcvii. 7, we must translate here also " his footstool"
(ace), " his holy mountain," in ver. 9, and must reject the trans
lation " at it" as arbitrary. Worship is due to the ark of the
covenant in so far as the Lord sits enthroned upon it, and makes
himself known there. Is. xiv. 1 4 is similar where Sion is wor
shipped, and supplication is made to her, on account of the God
who is present in her.
Ver. 6-9. — Ver. 6. Moses and Aaron among his priests, and
Samuel among those who call upon his name: they call upon the
Lord, and he hears them. Ver. 7. In the cloudy pillar he speaks
to them, they kept his testimonies, and he gave them the law. —
Ver. 8. 0 Lord our God, thou didst hear them, thou wast a for
giving God to them, and — an avenging God because of their ini
quity. Ver. 9. Exalt the Lord our God, and worship his holy
mountain : for holy is the Lord our God. — In ver. 8 it is shown
by the example of the great representatives of the people in the
past, that the first condition of participating in the glorious
salyation of the future is . calling upon God proceeding from
living faith in him, and heartfelt trust in his mercy. That the;
particip. and the future here and in the first half of ver. 7 are
te be explained from the vivid picturing (contrary to Hitzig),
and that the scene , ia only poetically transferred from the

psaLM xcix. ver. 6-^-9. 195
'past to the present, (the present ought to be instructed by the
past), is evident from the second half of ver. 7 and 8. The obser
vations made at Ps. liv. 4 are applicable to the y Not only-
Moses, but also Samuel, is numbered among the priests, next after
Aaron. That we have here a mere merismos, that is, Moses,
Aaron, and Samuel, were among the priests and among those
who called upon his name, is evident from the Qi^^p repeated
from the preceding word, they called, which refers to Moses and
Aaron as well as to Samuel, although the calling literally is as
cribed only to Samuel. Aaron only was a priest in the usual
sense. At the foundation, however, of this there is another
figurative idiom, that, namely, according to which all are called
priests who possess what constitutes the essence of the ordinary
priestly office (although not the externals), inward connection
with God, free access to the throne of grace, and the gift and
power of intercessory prayer. This figurative idiom occurs even
in the law itself, comp. Ex. xix. 6, where it is said to all Israel:
" Ye shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy people."
The law hence acknowledges an ideal priesthood along with the
ordinary one. . That in certain circumstances those who pos
sessed this ideal priesthood were warranted in exercising all
the functions of the ordinary priesthood, is evident from the
example of Samuel, and in a certain measure also from the ex
ample of Moses, who acted as a priest during the seven days of
the consecration of the common priests, Lev. viii. 1, ss. Here,
however, it is only the calling upon God that is considered as
the essential characteristic of the priestly office. This is evident
from the circumstance that in the last clause the " they call"
comprehends both "the being a priest" and "the calling;"
hence the expression, " among those who call upon his name,"
can be nothing more than an explanation of " among his priests."
Ex. xvii., for example, shows that Moses exercised this priestly
function, when by his intercession for the people he decided the
contest against Amalek, Ex. xxxii. 31, 32, Ps. cvi. 23. Samuel
fulfilled this calling especially when the Israelites were oppressed
by the Philistines; comp. 1 Sam. vii. 9, " and Samuel cried unto
the Lord, and the Lord heard him." The idea that the last
words allude directly to this passage is all the more probable, as
we have already found an allusion in ver. 4, which it is impos
sible to mistake, to the books of Samuel. The lesson, therer

196 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
fore, here imparted to Israel is: if you wish to participate in
the salvation of the future, call upon the; Lord, after, the exam
ple of Moses, Aaron, and Samuel, for hearing invariably follows
calling; in " Lord cDme" there always lies a slutiibering, * " Here,
Son." — From the pillar of cloud God spoke not only to Moses,
Ex. xxxiii. 9, " and when Moses came into the tent, the pillar
of clorud descended and stood at the door of the tent, and the
Lord talked with Moses," and again, shortly before his death,
Deut- xixi. 15, but jals.o to Aaron, Num. xii. 5. On thc: occa
sion there related, it was indeed in anger, but. in anger.beyond
which grace was concealed. Samuel received divine revelations
in another form; but as the substance was common to him, with
Moses and Aaron, the form ; which was peculiar to these* is
transferred to him; or the speaking of God in the pillar' of
cloud may be considered as a figurative expression of divine
- revelation generally, taken from one of its original forms. ."He
gave, the law to them," is a repetition of "he spoke 'to them
Out of the pillar of cloud," just as "they call upon him," in
ver. 7, is a repetition of " among his priests and them that call
upon his name," serving the .purpose of placing faithfulness
towards revelations already obtained in intimate connection
with the obtaining of new revelations, and of representing the
-former as the indispensable condition of the latter;, as if it, had
been, "he revealed himself to them because they' had -acted
faithfully towards, what they already received." From- the ex
pression, " he gave the law to them," it follows' that the clause,
" he Bpokeito them in the pillar of cloud," is intended to refer
to the communication of laws, precepts, injunctions; comp. Ex.
xxv. 22, "and I come to meet with thee there, and t0 speak
With thee.  all that I shall give thee in commandment to
the children of Israel." In reference to his testimonies, comp.
at Ps. xciii. 5. "He gave the law to them," is from Ex. xv. 25,
where Moses, as a reward for his faithfulness to. the Lord, and
especially for having maintained his faith in temptation, re
ceives from him the injunction to make the bitter water sweet.
This fundamental passage shows that the usual translation,
" and the law which he gave them," is false. This translation,
besides, destroys the train of thought , in the verse,, as it has
above been developed, and robs the words of their import. The
passage already quoted, for example, shows how Moses obtained

PSALM XCIX. VER. 6—9. 197
the- law as a reward for his faithful following of tho command
ments of the Lord, and Num. xii. 5, how Aaron did so: had
not his observance of the, testimonies of the Lord distinguished
him from the company of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, he as
well as they would have been destroyed. Samuel obtained, for
example, divine instructions as to how he ought to conduct
himself in connection with the impetuous desire of the people,
for a king, 1 Sam. viii. 6, ss., and also towards Saul, 1 Sam. xv.
The whole verse proceeds upon the view that the communica
tion of new precepts and rules of life shall be bound up with
the future glorious revelation of the Lord. The people are here
told how they may obtain participation in this.. Participation
in the new covenant is the reward of faithfulness to the old.
If we observe the commandments of God, we shall receive the
commandments of God, and with them salvation. — The two first
clauses of ver. 8 merely resume what had been said, for the
purpose of connecting with it the last clause, which contains
the peculiar point: thou didst hear, them assuredly, thou hast
been to them a forgiving God, but at the same time — woe to, us
if we bring thy wrath upon us — an avenger of their iniquity.
That the thought , of our verse lay very near the Psalmist's
heart, iselear not only from the circunistance that the Psalm
ends with it, but also from this, that the address is impassion-
ately directed to, Jehovah. The second part of Isaiah contains
all the parties iii whom the. thought of our verse. is accom
plished ; the declaration, " there is no peace, saith the Lord, to
the .wicked," which separates, the three books of the second
part from each other, is developed at length. The " our God"
is emphatic, and intimates that the history is at the same time
a prophecy.. The suffix in orVW' which resumes Qjjyi in ver.
6, refers: to those previously named. On the other hand, the
suffixes in rynb an& in DmV'by refer to the people. For the
personal history of the three individuals named affords no re
markable examples of the forgiving mercy of God, and the
Psalmist, in the passage before us, can only refer to clear and
well-marked cases;1 the forgiveness appears here as the conse
quence of the hearing, this again as the result of the calling
1 Ven.: " God might be here said to have forgiven these men their sins, but
what emphasis would this have ? and for what end would it be said! For the
expression takes for granted, that these men provoked God in some singular way.

198 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
mentioned in the preceding clauses; but this calling refers not1
to the personal circumstances of the individuals named, but it
is their intercession on behalf of the people, which had for its
object to remove the divine wrath lying upon them; the vengeance,
is directed to serious offences, not against sins of infirmity; only the
former ean be understood by nbby, — the word, which is used of
the actions of men only in a bad sense, denotes always only sins
properly so called, never mere inadvertencies (comp. at Ps. xiv.
1); in Ps. liii. it is explained by ly\y, and here this sense is
demanded; by the manifest opposition to the " forgiving:" a
forgiving, God wast thou to them (for their infirmities), and an
avenging one for their iniquities. It is evident, therefore, that
the Q]-\l^i^ does not suit the three individuals who are
named. The sins of Moses and Aaron were altogether sins of
infirmity, tj*ie result of the sins of the people, and their punish
ment was intended to strike at them; comp. Deut. i. 37> iii. 26,
iv. 21, Beitr.: the history makes no mention, even of sins of
infirmity, in the case of Samuel. The transition to the people
is all the more easy, as the persons named had a representative
character, for they did not pray for themselves but for the
people, obtained hearing and forgiveness on their behalf, and
as they are here set up as an example for the people. The
whole verse is a paraphrase of Ex. xxxiv. 7, from which the
N'tM in particular is taken. " Visiting the iniquities of the
fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children,"
corresponds to the last clause. ^"^ is to be supplied at the
*352. In this case also, the <yy is better explained, with which;
the word Qp^ is not anywhere else joined. Allusion is made
especially to the punishment of the whole congregation, Num.
xiv. 20-23, as the greatest example of the wrath of God against
evil-doers, comp. Ps. xcv. 11. The exhortation, "exalt the
Lord our God," &c, has its basis not less in the reference to
the inexorable judgment of God, than in that to his forgiving
grace. In both of these, Israel's God appears as the awful and
the holy God, infinitely exalted both above the love and above
the wrath of human passion.
so that God, in the act of forgiving them, ought to be celebrated, — thid, however,
is foreign from their case."

PSALM C. VER. 1. 199

PSALM C.
The exhortation to the whole earth to shout with joy to the
Lord, ver. 1, is developed at length in a strophe of four verses,
which falls into two halves, of which each contains, first, the
exhortation, and second, the basis: serve the Lord, for he has
shown himself as the only God, by what he has done for his
people; ver. 2, 3, praise the Lord, for he is good, as the salvation
shows which he has bestowed upon his people.
Our Psalm is related to Ps. xcix. exactly as Ps. xcviii. is to
Ps. xcvii. It is the lyrical portion of the divided whole, the
Psalm in the Psalm. This is pointed out by the title, " a Psalm
for the praise of the Lord," on account of the glorious manifes
tations of his nature announced in Ps. xcix. The originality of
the title is guaranteed by the niini anc-- th*8* YTn in Yer- 4-
That the Psalm depends upon the preceding one is clear, not only
from the formal arrangement, but also from the entirely general
character of what is here laid down as a basis for the exhorta
tion "to serve the Lord," &c, by which many expositors, who
did not observe the connection of both Psalms, have been led to
an entirely false view of the Psalm, and a misapprehension of
its Messianic character, which becomes clearly established as
soon as it is observed that the address in the whole Psalm is
directed to the heathen, and that they are exhorted, not only to
shout with joy to the Lord, but also to be subject to him. The
Psalm forms not merely a conclusion te Ps. xcix.: it is assuredly
with design that it is put at the end of the whole series, the
ecumenic character of which becomes very obvious in it at the
close.1

Ver. 1. Shout for joy to the Lord, all the world. — Comp. Ps.
xcviii. 4. The W"|^n 73 stands there, and in the fundamental
1 The connection with Psalm xcix. was, upon the whole, correctly seen by Brentz:
" The hundredth Psalm very seasonably follows the ninety-ninth. For, in the one,
there is contained a commendation of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the majesty of
his kingdom; and, in the other, an exhortation, short, indeed, but joyful, to praise
and celebrate the name of Christ in the whole earth, and among all nations. For
he who conquers all by his majesty, and offers his beneficence to be enjoyed by all,
deserves to be worshipped and celebrated by all."

200 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
passage, Ps. Ixvi. 1, undoubtedly, of the whole earth. By the
" shout " is understood specially the shout of a king, comp. at
Ps. ii. 11; the "serve," therefore, of the following verse, is com
prehended under the ''shout." The exhprtatiea presupposes
the arrival of those mighty events in ; which occasion is given to
the nations of the earth; to shout for joy, to the Lord, and to
salute him joyfully, as th^ir king. , ,-..,.,..
Ver. 2~5. — Ver. 2. Serve the' Lord in joy, come before him in
a shout. Ver. 3. Know that the Lord is God, he has made us and
not we ourselves, his people and the i sheep of his pasture. — Ver. 4.
Come to his gates with praise, to his courts with .laudation, praise
him, laud his. name, i Ver. .5. For good is the Lord, eternal his
mercy, and his faithfulness from generation, to i geherdtion.-r— -The
first half of ver. 2, is from Ps. ii. 11, -w^ith this difference, that, in
stead of " in fear," there, where the Psalmist has to do with fierce
rebels, there is substituted heap "joy." This reference to the
second Psalmshows, that the address here, as in ver. I, is directed
to the heathen, and further, that by serving him here we are not
tq understand merely the warship of God: the serving there is
the opposite .of; rebellion;, .compl also the .clause: in Ps, lxxii. 11,
all the heathen shall serve him, that is, the Messiah, hy whose
appearance the cry, "the Lord reigneth," is realized."1 The
"serve him" has "the Loid reigneth" for its foundation.-. As
he has come in his kingdom, it is how time for the nations of
the, earth to serve him. — rThe first clause of ver. 3 takes up the
exhortation, again, for the purpose of adding its basis. This
clause is. taken from Ps. xlvi. 11, which passage, again, depends
upon the fundamental one, Deut. vii. 9. Know that I am God,
exclaims God in Ps. xlvi. to the proud heathen, on the ground
of the annihilation of Sennacherib's army before the gates of
Jerusalem. At the present day, when the Lord has done much
that is glorious on behalf of his church, when he has placed it,
by the deeds of his omnipotence and grace, in the centre of the
world, the exhortation of the Psalmist, whose faith anticipates
these deeds, is repeated with much greater right. From such
references as these, we see how the sacred writers were moved
with zeal to prepare for themselves ladders out of the glorious
deeds of God in times past, on which they ascended to joyful
1 Ven.: "To serve the Lord in joy implies, that submission is rendered to
him as King and Lord willingly and joyfully in all things."

PSALM 0. VER. 2  5. 201
hope in regard to the future. Did we, before whom there lies
open a far greater, a richer variety of such deeds, follow them
in this, we would not feel so often dispirited. Before the " he
has made us,".there must in reality be supplied a " for," comp.
ver. 5. Ps. xcix. contains the filling up instead of the general
expression: — we are indebted to him for the entire glory of our
present condition, which loudly testifies of his own exclusive
Godhead. The "not we" is added, because any share, on the
part of the church, in effecting the salvation bestowed upon her,
would weaken the testimony which this bears to the exclusive
Godhead of the Lord; comp. Ps. xcviii. 1, "his right hand and
his holy arm helped him," and the fundamental passages re
ferred to there. The last words are not to be explained: for
his people, i. e., he has made us to be his people,. &c, — in
this case the " and not we" would not be suitable, and the
fundamental passage also is against this, Ps. xcv. 6, which
shows that the JTttfj; stands in an independent position,— but
"his people and his pasture sheep" (comp. Ps. xcv. 7), as in
apposition to the suffix in "¦j^y, which gives the ground of
the making, we who are or because we are. It was only from
not observing this construction, and the meaning whicli it
originates, that the sense of the Ketib has been pronounced
wholly unsuitable (D. Wette), and the bad Keri reading -fa
for #b substituted, — a reading which the Chald. and Jerome
had, while the other old translators, with the Septuagint
at their head, translate the reading which stands in the text.
If we take a closer view, it becomes manifest, that " we are
his" is wholly unsuitable. For it is not from what Israel is
in general, but from what the Lord has already done for Israel,
that the heathen are expected to know that Jehovah is God.
Ez. xxix. 3, is exactly parallel < to the text-reading, where
Pharaoh says : my river is my own, • and I have made my
self.1 — On " to< his courts," in ver. 4. comp. Ps. xcii 14, xcvi.
8; on "bless his name," Ps. xcvi. 2; and on the whole con
tents of the verse, Is,, , lvi. 7, " my house shall be called an
house of prayer for, all nations," and chap, lx., where the pil
grimages of all the nations of the earth to the sanctuary of the
1 Havernick gives as a translation: " I have made it for myself." The suffix,
However, is wanting; and as Phcraoh is not referred to as an individual, himself
and his river, that is hia kingdom, are in reality identicaL

202 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
Lord are described. A comparison of this fundamental passage
shows that, behind the exhortation, there lies concealed a
joyful hope, and that the exhortation is nothing but the lyric
expression of the hope. The thought of the future participa
tion of all the nations of the earth in the kingdom of God
appears here as it does in the prophets in an Old Testament
form and dress : the nations of the earth praise the Lord in loud
harmonious chorus in the same sanctuary in which now only the
weak song of praise of a single little nation is heard. But that
this dress even under the Old Testament itself was known as
such, is evident from passages such as those of Is. Ixvi. 23,
" and it happens from month to month, and from Sabbath to
Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before me" — all the
inhabitants of the earth every Sabbath, — which, if literally in
terpreted, contains an absurdity. — At " for good is the Lord,"
in ver. 5, we are to suppose added, " as is shown by the great
salvation which he has imparted to his people, and in them at
the same time to the whole world." The Lord is good, not
evil, comp, Ps. xxv. 8, " good and upright is the Lord," xxxiv.
9; Ixxxvi. 5. The word never means kind; and this sense is
expressly excluded here by the circumstance that it is not only
the mercy of the Lord, but also his faithfulness towards those
who have received his promises, that appears here as the ex
pression of his goodness. For the two last propositions are
merely the development of the first. On " his mercy endureth
for ever," comp. Isa. liv. 8, JO.
There can be no doubt that Ps. xci.-c. belong to the same
time and same author, that they form a connected series, that
they are on the territory of the Psalm poetry, what the second
part of Isaiah is on the territory of prophecy, and that we have
before us in them a decalogue of Psalms intimately connected
together. The reference to the relation in which Israel stands
to the might of the world, is common to all these Psalms.1 The
objective view of suffering also is a common feature: the Psalm
ist stands everywhere above it, no crying from the depths, no
conflict with despair, — the explanation being that the Psalmist
has to do with future suffering, and is preparing for it a shield;
' Venema: "All these Psalms are occupied with the destruction of enemies
that have been sufficiently long endured, and with the deliverance of the people of.
God."

tsalm ci. 203
of consolation. These Psalms also are in common characterised
by a confident expectation of a glorious revelation of the Lord,
which the author, following up the prophetical writings, sees
with the eye of faith as already present. It is common to them
all to quote with marked intelligence from older passages, espe
cially from the Davidic Psalms, and from the second part of
Isaiah, in connection with an originality of thought and expres
sion which it is impossible to mistake. It is a common feature
also that these quotations are in all cases taken from writings
of a date prior to the captivity, in accordance with a series of
other marks of a pre-Chaldaic era which are scattered every
where throughout these Psalms. It is common to them all
that the tone never rises above a certain height, and never
sinks beneath it, just as in the second part of Isaiah, in com
mon with which our Psalm bears the character of mild subli
mity. There are common to them all a great many parallel
passages (compare the exposition), the use of the anadiplosis,
the predeliction for the mention of musical instruments, pro
ceeding from the joyful character of the Psalm.
It is impossible also not to notice design in the arrangement.
Two introductory Psalms of a general character stand at the
head: Ps. xci., an expression of joyful confidence in the help of
God in all troubles and dangers; Ps. xcii., the greatness of
God, which brings on the destruction of the wicked, and the
salvation of the just; Ps. xciii. is then opened with the watch
word, " the Lord reigneth," which henceforward is uttered on
all sides, and applied for comfort and exhortation. The whole
ends in the exhortation addressed to the whole earth to serve
the Lord and to praise him, and to give him glory for the abun
dant salvation which he imparts, — the full-toned chorus of all
nations and tongues who know that the Lord is God.
We have already pointed to the intimate connection between
this cycle of Psalms, and the second part of Isaiah. We have
hence a very strong proof in behalf of the genuineness of this
portion of Scripture. PSALM CI.
The Psalmist expresses the determination to sing praise to
the Lord, and to extol his mercy and righteousness, ver. 1. He

204 THE BOOK' OF PSALMS.
utters next, in a strophe of seven verses, which is divided by
the three and the four, his resolution as King of Israel, partly
in his own conduct to 'be blameless, ver. 2 — 4, partly in his
choice of his servants to be careful, and to take zealous care, by
rigid observance of righteousness, to root out the wicked from
the city of God, ver. 5—8. ¦''*:'
According to the ordinary view taken of the Psalm, which'
represents it as a whole complete within itself, there meets us a
twofold difficulty of a very important character. 1. The Psalin-
ist announces in ver. 1 a song of praise to the Lord, extolling
his mercy, and the justice obtained through him. But of this
there is not in ver. 2 — 8 one single trace. The Psalmist there
does not say one single word of what the Lord has done for
him, but only of what he himself is determined to do. That
this difficulty has been felt by: translators, is evident from the
fact that a manifest perversion of the sense of ver.. 1, which
serves to remove this difficulty, has, been so generally adopted^-
2., The words, " when, wilt thou come to me," interpolated, as it
were, in the middle of a representation of pious resolutions,
stand so abruptly, that those interpreters whose view does not
extend beyond our; Psalm, have felt themselves put to extreme
difficulty, without • having been able to come to rest, and to a
satisfactory result. The .distress of the* Psalmist hinted at, in
such a passing manner in these words, requires in what follows
a more full description, — the short and stolen prayer, a more
full development; neither of which is to be found within.the
compass of our Psalm... «,,*¦-¦ ,; j
The explanation of the difficulty is this, that we have before
us in Ps. ci— ciii., a trilogy of Psalms ; that the praise announced
here in ver; 1 of the mercy which, the Lord has shown the.Psalmr
ist, and of the justice which he has done for him, follows in Ps.
ciii., which begins with the words, "praise the Lord, 0 my soul,
and all that is within me, his holy name," (comp. especially ver.
6, 8, 11, 17); and that Ps. cii, "the prayer of the miserable
when he is afflicted and pours out his complaint before the
Lord," is the full expansion of the cry, " when wilt thou come
to me."
The plan and connection of the three-divided whole, in a few
words, is this: if my children only remain in the ways of the
Lord, Ps. ci. 2 — 8, they may confidently call upon him in all

' PSALM CI. 205
trouble, Ps. cii.; and the end of the song shall always be: praise
the Lord, 0 my soul, Ps. ciii.
The passage which contains the whole substance of our Psalm,
is especially indicated in Ps. ciii. 1 7, 18, " the mercy of the Lord
endureth from eternity to eternity upon those who fear him,
and his righteousness to child's child, to those who keep his'Cove-
nant, and remember his commandments to do them." The para
graph in Ps. xviii., ver. 20-27, corresponds to this, where David
shows that his salvation is the fruit of his righteousness. David,
who everywhere had a deep knowledge of the truth, that salva
tion rises only on, the basis of righteousness, does not speak
here in his own person, but extends his consciousness to that
of his seed, as in Ps. xviii. (comp. vol. i, p. 311, ss.), Ps. xxiy
and expresses in their : name pious resolutions, before giving
utterance to the prayer for salvation : it is only the man who
can with inward truth utter after him the words of our Psalm,
that is entitled to appropriate as his own "the prayer of the
miserable," &c, and that shall have occasion given him to say,
"praise the Lord, 0 my soul," Our Psalm is hence an indi
rect exhortation to the successors of David on ,the throne, and to
the church of God which was represented by them, and whose weal
and wo were dependant on them: behind " I will walk blamelessly
in a perfect way," there is concealed a " walk thou blamelessly."
The discovery of this close, hidden connection among Ps. ci-
ciii,, is at the same time a discovery of the nakedness of ra
tionalistic criticism; The Davidic origin of Psalm ci. has been
acknowledged by its most distinguished representatives, with
the single exception of Hitzig,. who, with his idea of Maccabean
Psalms, has already set off at such a rate that nothing, in the
world can stop him. D. Wette thus expresses himself: " There
is nothing whatever against the title which announces this
Psalm to have been composed by David : the' Psalm is rather
by its, massiveness altogether worthy of such an author." And
Ewald: "It is easy to discover in the poet a powerful reigning
prince, indeed David himself, for David's lofty thought is ex
pressed throughput." On the other hand, the two following
Psalms cannot he allowed to belong to David; they contain
manifest traces of the era of the captivity. If the connection
be seen, one or other of the two assertions, both of which are
maintained with equal confidence, must be false. The originality

206 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
of the title, however, according to which Psalm ci, and, there
fore the whole series, is attributed to David, can all the less be
called in question, as this Psalm cannot be considered as stand
ing without a title.
In regard to the time of composition, the idea that David
could have composed the Psalm only at the time of his ascend
ing the throne, or near the commencement of his reign, depends
upon the false reference to David himself of what belongs to
his successors, and upon a misconceptioi. in regard to the hor
tatory import of the Psalm. A twofold consideration meets us
here. 1.. Jerusalem is simply designated in ver. 8 as the city
of ihe Lord. This presupposes, that, at the time of the compo
sition of the Psalm, the ark of the covenant was already in
Jerusalem, and that Jerusalem had already become decidedly
the religious metropolis of the nation. At all events, therefore,
the Psalm must belong to a period later than that referred to
at 2 Sam. vi. 2. The Psalm has for its basis the promise made
to David by Nathan, 2 Sam. vii. It was by this promise that
David first got the assurance, that, unlike Samuel, he would
continue to reign in the persons of his descendants, and the ear
nest impulse to interest himself in their future welfare.
There are several undoubted allusions to our Psalm in the
book of Proverbs (comp. the exposition), a circumstance which
admits of explanation, by the fact that it must have made a
great impression on the mind of Solomon, for whom, in the first
instance, it was intended, and that in regard to its sententious
character, it is nearly allied to the Proverbs.

Ver. 1. By David, a Psalm. Mercy and judgment will I
sing, to thee, 0 Lord, will I sing praise. — Many expositors give:
I will, as well-pleasing to thee, 0 Lord, sing of the mercy and
righteousness, which I will manifest in my government. But
against this we have the parallel and derived passage, Ps.
Ixxxix. 1, which may be considered as the Old Testament com
mentary on our Psalm, " The mercies of the Lord will I sing
for ever," where the mercies of the Lord are the manifestations
of his love towards the family of David; and also the fact, that,
wherever in David's Psalms the resolution, or the exhortation,
to sing to the Lord, and to play to him, 'mrp'? "lET 1S ex"
pressed on the basis of Jud. v. 3, " I will sing to the Lord, I

PSALM CI. VER. 2 — 4. 207
will sing praise to the God of Israel," it always refers to the
thankful praise of the Lord for his deeds of goodness ; comp. Ps.
xiii. 6, xviii. 49, ix. 11, xxx. 4, 12, xxxiii. 2, lxviii. 4 (where,
in a peculiar manner, the expression in Jud. v. 3 stands forward
as the fundamental passage,) lxxi. 22, 23; still further, that in
the following part of the Psalm, there are no traces whatever
of the mercy which the king intends to show, for that ver. 6
contains no such is clear as day, the choice of trustworthy
persons as servants of the king appears there only as the ex
pression of the conscientiousness which is to distinguish his
reign; and, finally, the concluding clause of the preceding Psalm,
" Good is the Lord, eternal is his mercy, and from generation
to generation his faithfulness " (of which judgment is the pro
duct), which shows that, at least according to the view of the
collector, the mercy and the judgment here proceed from the
Lord. We can, therefore, only explain: I will praise the Lord
for the mercy and the judgment which he has promised to me.
If so, we cannot restrict our view to the Psalm before us, but
must look forward to Ps. ciii. For everywhere, where a similar
expression occurs, and, in particular, previous to this, in the
fundamental passage, and, in like manner, in Ps. Ixxxix., it
stands either as the introduction or the conclusion to a length
ened song of praise for the Lord's deeds of goodness.
In ver. 2-4, how the king intends to conduct himself in
private life, in order to become partaker of the mercy and
judgment. — Ver. 2. J will walk wisely in a blameless way. —
When will thou come to me? — i* will walk in the blamelessness
of my heart in the midst of my house. Ver. 3. I will place no
wicked action before my eyes, to do wickedness I hate, it shall
not cleave to me. Ver. 4. A perverted heart shall depart from
me, what is wicked I will not know. — On 713*^^, to act wisely,
prudently, in opposition to the stupid conduct of the wicked,
comp. at Ps. xiv. 2. ^i^n never signifies, to think upon
a thing. The means by which this wise conduct is reached
and maintained, are to be found in meditating upon the com
mandments of God, Ps. cxix. 99. David had himself practised
what he enjoins his posterity, and recommends as the sure
means of salvation. We read in 1 Sam. xviii. 14, 15, where
the words, in all probability, are taken from the lips of David,
And David walked wisely in all his ways, and the Lord was

208 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
with him. And Saul saw that he acted very wisely, and he was
afraid of him." It is, with, design that, at the very beginning,
the future stands with the n of effort. It regulates the follow
ing futures, and shows that they too are to be taken in the
sense of resolutions and purposes. The ?"i^n as a predicate of
the way, occurs in Ps. xviii. 30, 32; there is, therefore, no rea
son for translating "• in the way of a blameless man.- The word
is one for which David had a peculiar predilection (comp. Ps,
xviii. 23, 25, xv. 2), a fact to be accounted for by the deep im
pression which the words addressed by God to Abraham : seem
to have made upon his heart: Walk before me,, and, be thou
perfect (blameless). This expression he had here also before
his eyes : in the first clause, he takes from it the blamelessness,
in the second, " J will walk," and in the middle clause he refers
to the promise of the blessing, which is there "connected with
blamelessness of conduot.-; The affecting and yearning, questiort,
"When wilt thou come to me," blessing and helping me in my
trouble ? which follows immediately after the first words of the
description of the pious resolutions, in order to render pro-
njinent the object of these resolutions, and to exhibit them as
introductory to Ps. cii. depends upon Ex. xx. 21 ',, "In every
place where I erect a memorial for my name, I shall come to
thee, and bless thee," and is equivalent to : When wilt thouy
faithful to thy promises, come to me, and , bless me, thou who
hast erected in Sion, "the city of the Lord," ver. 8, a memorial of
thy name, and hast chosen it as the place of thy sanctuary. The
reference is all the more suitable, as David speaks here in name
of his family, and the family represents the people to whom, in
the fundamental passage, the promise had been given. Other
interpretations have arisen merely from failing to observe tho
reference to this fundamental passage, from which the. .indefiin-
ite coming is defined to be a coming fraught with blessing and help,
and filso from failing to observe the reference to Ps. cii., which
makes itself known as the expansion of the cry, " When; wilt
thou come to me?" by the clauses at the, very beginning,,
"Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come before thee,"
according to which the coming of the Lord here can only be
such a coming as goes hand in hand with the coming, of the
cry of the miserable to him. A host of different interpretations,.
like Luther's entirely arbitrary one, " with those who belong to

PSALM CI. VER. 5 — 8. 209
me," are set aside by the simple remark, that ifft^ is never any
thing else than an interrogative "when;" it is so also in Prov.
xxiii. 35; comp. Michaelis on the passage. The 8th verse ren
ders it impossible to think of the coming of the ark of the
covenant. On the " in the blamelessness of my heart," comp.
the three dependent passages, Ps. Ixxviii. 72, 1 Kings iii. 14,
where the Lord says to Solomon, " And thou, if thou shalt walk
before me as David thy father walked," " in the blamelessness
of his heart;" Prov. xx. 7, " The righteous walks in his blame
lessness, blessed are his sons after him." The expression,
"within my house," i.e., within my four walls, denotes
here, as in ver. 7, the opposite of " the city of the Lord,"
in ver. 8 ; — here his private life, there his public conduct.
The last olause rests upon the basis of the first. — On ^ yi"^Q I'll,
the wicked action in ver. 3, comp. at Ps. xli. 8. The
qij^q is not an adjective, but a subst.,1 comp. Prov. xxi. 3,
"to execute righteousness and judgment is more pleasant to
the Lord than sacrifices." The qij^1^ occurs in Hos. v. 2, un
doubtedly in the sense of departures 2 from God and from his
commandments, comp. the t2Ta3=n,jo'|i>) F*3- xh 4> an(i the latter
word, Num. v. 12, 19- " It shall not cleave to me," is from Deut.
xiii. 1 7, "And there shall cleave nought of the curse to thine hand,
that the Lord turn from the fierceness of his anger, and show
thee mercy." This fundamental passage has given occasion to
the expression. — On the first clause of ver. 4, comp. Ps. xviii.
26. Prov. xi. 20 is made up of this clause, and of ver. 2 : " An
abomination to the Lord are those of a perverted heart, but
such as are blameless in their way are his delight; comp. also
xvii. 20 : " He who is of a perverted heart finds no good." In
the second clause, we cannot translate the wicked man, but
only the wicked thing (Ps. xxxiv. 16, Iii. 3), will I not know.
For in the preceding context, the discourse had been only
about sin, not about sinners ; and in the other view, we pass
over to the territory of the second strophe.
Ver. 5-8. How the king will act in his government : he will
not endure slander and pride in his presence, will surround
himself with upright servants, will banish deceit and lying from
1 Mich.: The name after such an infinitive is usually taken not subjectively but
objectively. s Mich.: Superstitious victims, fighting against the divine institution.
VOL. III. P

21,0 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
his presence (the care for good servants in the middle, the re
moval of the bad ones on both sides), he will practise discipline
with strictness among the people of the Lord. Or: the picture
of a pious house, ver. 5—7, zeal in extirpating wickedness, ver.
8. — Ver. 5. He who slandereth his neighbour in secret I extir
pate, him who has proud eyes, and is haughty, I endure not.
Ver. 6. Mine eyes look after the faithful in the land, so that ihey
dwell by me, he who walks in a blameless way shall serve me.
Ver. 7. The man shall not dwell within my house who practises
deceit, he who speaks lies shall not continue beside me. Ver. 8.
Every morning I will extirpate all the wicked of the land, so that
I root out from the city of the Lord all evil-doers. — On the first
clause of ver. 5, comp. Ps. xv. 3. David had himself, in Saul's
time, experienced the ruinous consequences of slander prevail
ing in the court. The reading in the text is '^''¦"¦ft, the part
in Po. with the Paragogic Jod; the reading in the margin
iy$yfo, the part, in Pi instead of "^t^ft, like ^njnri' ^s- ^X11,
3. This peculiar expression was, in all probability, formed by
David himself as a denorn. from "n^V- ^ne ver^ occurs else
where only in Hiph. in Prov. xxx. 10, in an exactly similar and
apparently derived connection: " Thou shalt not slander a servant
to his master, lest he curse thee, and thou be found guilty."
David makes use of an equally peculiar expression, in reference
to slander, in Ps. xv. 3. The very determined expression, " I
will extirpate," suits very well in David's mouth. High eyes
and a proud heart are also joined together in Prov. xxi. 4.
The latter of these terms is expressive of high-minded self con
ceit, and not of desire (Ew.), as is manifest from Prov. xxviii.
25, where to the wide-hearted we find opposed the man who
trusts in the Lord, and love of strife appears as the outward ex
pression of wide-heartedness; comp. ch. xv. 18, where instead of
the wide-hearted man we have the man ot wrath. Pride ishere
very appropriately connected with slandering, because the lat
ter springs from the desire to depreciate others. On the ^y\# N7>
I cannot, I am not a match for him, he is intolerable to me,
comp. Is. i. 13. Berieb: "This does not apply to rulers; but
the church and every individual who would have part in Christ
must be thus minded, and say with David: if anything had
risen up in me against my neighbour, I will extirpate it, and I

PSALM CI. 5 — 8. 211-
will not suffer in ine anything proud or high-minded."— That
they dwell by me, ver. 6, as my servants and counsellors. The
expression, " he who walks in a blameless way," alludes de
signedly to ver. 2. The house of a king is then, for the first
time, well ordered, when he not only walks blamelessly
himself, but has servants who devote themselves to a similar
line of conduct. — In like manner, " within my house," in ver.
7, alludes to ver. 2, and forms along with it the proper opposite
to " the city of the Lord," in ver. 8 : virtuous conduct within
the house on the part of the king and his servantsj and in out
ward matters the strict administration of justice. On "he shall
not be established," comp. Prov. xii. 3, where sliding stands
opposed to being established. Should liars succeed in stealing
into the king's house,, they shall not, at least, obtain there a
lasting abode. — On ?i^p^, every morning, in ver. 84 comp. Ps.
lxxiii. 14. It points to the unwearied zeal of the king, renewed
every morning in rooting out the wicked. The words have, in
the first instance, the sense of an impressive exhortation to the
striet practice of righteousness, a warning against that effemi
nate cruelty which, by sparing the wicked, destroys the good,
and brings the whole commonwealth to ruin;' comp. the repeti
tion of this warning in Jer. xxi. 12: "0 house of David, thus
saith the Lord,, execute judgment in the morning." And as
the house of David reached its apex in Christ, the words have
also the force of a prophecy. The second clause points to the
basis on which the zeal displayed in recompensing the wicked
rests: a king who has been placed over the people of the Lord
has been laid under obligations of a peculiarly binding nature-.
The city of the Lord is Sion or Jerusalem; comp. Ps_ cii. 13,. xlvi.
4, xlviii. 1 , 8, Ixxxvii 3. This was from the time the sanctuary
was settled there, in a spiritual sense the abode of the whole of
Israel (comp. at Ps. xxviii. 4, Ixxxiv, 3), who also assembled
really there at the great festivals. Berieb.: " De thou this even
* Calvin: "By this expression the sloth of rulers is condemned, who, though they
see the wicked rushing on boldly to sin, put. off from, day to day, either through
fear or indulgence. Let kings and magistrates, therefore, remember, that they
are armed with the sword, in order that they may execute the judgments of God
vigorously, and in due seasou. . .... We hence learn how pleasing to God is
moderate severity, and, on tbe other hand, how obnoxious to him 13 that cruel
kindness which lets the wicked act without restraint, as there ia no greater in
ducement to sin than impunity."

212 THE' BOOK OF PSALMS.
now, and make this promise to God:— Everything that is ur;
godly I will root out of my heart, as out of thy sanctuary, whem
I wish to worship thee alone."

PSALM CII.
Help me> 0 Lord, in my deep misery, ver. 1-5, and in my
state of complete abandonment, ver. 6-1 0. — Near to perishing,
I flee to thee, 0 thou who sittest on thy eternal throne in thy
omnipotenoe and in thy mercy and faithfulness towards thy
people : thou shalt have mercy upon Sion, for this the supplica
tion of thy people ascends to thee, ver. 11-14, and shalt thus
spread abroad thy call over the whole earth, ver. 15-17. — Tlie
salvation which Sion receives in her misery shall yet be praised
by the most remote posterity, when the nations shall be as
sembled there to serve the Lord, ver. 18-22. Being near to
destruction I "flee to the Eternal, to him who is the eternal God,
the Saviour of his people, ver. 23—27. The servants of the Lord
are always victorious iii the end, ver. 28.
The whole is enclosed within an introductory verse, whicli
announces the design, "and* a concluding one, which sums up the
contents of the Psalm. These stand out of the arrangement.
Of the three strophes, the first and last eonsist each of ten
verses, and the middle strophe of seven. The ten is divided
both times by a 5, and the seven by a 4 and a 3.
The title runs : a prayer of the .afflicted when he is troubled,
and pours out his complaint before the Lord. On the pHEn
comp. at the title of Ps. xc. The remark there made, that
M vfln ls properly a supplicatory prayer, the entreaty of the
miserable for help, is confirmed by the passage before us, which
contains what is equivalent to a definition of n^Qn > *n ver- *¦*
it stands in parallel to the cry. On hj^y comp. at Ps. lxi 2.
On " when he pours out," comp. Ps. lxii. 8, " trust in him at all
times, ye people, pour out your heart before him" with its cares
and sorrows. On j-pti? comp. at Ps. Iv. 2, lxiv. 1. The origin
ality of the title appears from the correspondence with the con
cluding verse, from the reference of the beginning of the Psalm
to it, and also of the conclusion of the second strophe, ver. 17;
from the Davidic character which it bears in common with all

PSALM CII. 213
the rest of the Psalm (comp. the passages quoted from Davidic
Psalms); and, finally, from its poetic character, by which it is
manifested to be a constituent portion of the Psalm.
From this title it appears how inadmissible is the modern
idea, based upon a misunderstanding of the 13th and following
verses (see the exposition), according to which it is held to be
a prayer of the people for deliverance from the captivity. The
title is exclusive of every special historical occasion : according
to it the Psalm is set apart for the existing condition of the
miserable. As to the relation in which it stands to Ps. ci. and
ciii, comp. at Ps. ci. The result there obtained is confirnied
by the fact that the Psalm throughout is nearly connected with
the Davidic Psalms (comp. the exposition). — a fact all the more
striking as the Psalm throughout bears an independent and
original character, and contains nowhere any trace of quota
tions from post-Davidic Psalms, or from the later Scriptures ; —
by the circumstance that the absence of all acknowledgment of
sin as the cause of the suffering which is very prominently
brought forward as such, in other similar Psalms, admits of
explanation by the connection with Ps. ci., but especially by
the first verse, according to which this prayer is intended only
for the pious and righteous posterity of David ; and finally, by
the circumstance that the fundamental thought of the Psalm,
the clinging of helplessness when near destruction to eternal
omnipotence and love, occurs also in Ps. ciii. ver. 15-17.
The suppliant prays and hopes sometimes for himself and
sometimes for Sion. The obvious explanation of this is,, that
the king is the personified aggregate of the people, and especi
ally that the prosperity and sufferings of Israel were at all
times bound up with the fate of the family of David. Comp.
in reference to, this the very characteristic passage, Lam. iv.
20, " Our breath, the anointed of the Lord was taken in their
pits, of whom we said, Under his shadow we shall live among
the nations."
The reference to the family of David is intentionally less pro
minent here and also in Ps. ciii. than it is in Ps. ci. The title
itself shows that next to its main design in connection with Ps.
ci. it was generally designed for suffering righteousness.
The representation, which here lies at the bottom, of severe
sufferings awaiting the royal family and Sion, must be con-

214 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
sidered as entirely natural to David. Behind him lay the pain
ful events of the period of the Judges. He himself had on
many occasions drunk the cup of suffering to the dregs, and
every man's prospects for the future are cast after the mould of
his own personal experience.

Ver. 1-10. — Ver. ]. 0 Lord, hear my prayer and let my cry
come to thee. Ver. 2. Hide not thy face from me, in the day
when I am in trouble incline to me thine ear, in the day when I
call hear me speedily. Ver. 3. For my days vanish like smoke
and my bones -glow like a firebrand. Ver. 4. My heart is
smitten like grass and withered, for I forget to eat my bread.
Ver. 5. On account of the voice of my sighing my bone cleaves
to my flesh. Ver. 6. / am like the pelican in the wilderness, I
am as -an owl of ruins. ""i «r. 7. I keep watch and I am like a
solitary bird on the house top. Ver. 8. My enemies reproach
me continually, and those that are mad against me are sworn
against me. Ver. 9. For I eat ashes like bread, and mingle my
drink with tears. Ver. 1 0. Because of thy wrath and anger,
for thou hast lifted one up and cast me to the ground. — On " hear
my prayer," in ver. 1, comp. Ps. iv. 1, xvii. 1. On "let my
cry come to thee," eomp. Ps. ci. 2, and Ps. xviii. 6, " And my
cry comes before him into his ear." This prayer, bearing upon
the future, has for its foundation what, according to that pas
sage, David had already experienced. In the church of God,
and particularly in the kingdom of David, the optative always
rests on the preterite. In ver. 2, after " hide not thy face be
fore me " (word for word from Ps. xxvii. 9, comp. Ps. xiii. J )
there must be a point, because as " incline thine ear to me"
(comp. Ps. xvii. 6, xxxi. 2) corresponds " to answer me," " in
the day when I am troubled " (Ps. lix. 1 6, comp. xviii 6, Ixix.
17) corresponds to "in the day when I call" (Ps. lvi. 9). On
" hear me speedily," comp. Ps. xxxi. 2. David designedly puts
into the lips of his suffering family the same words which had
already been heard when uttered by him in his own trouble.
Behind the fore-ground of simple petitions there is everywhere
concealed a rich back -ground of invitations to hope and con
fidence. — On the first half of ver. 4, comp. Ps. xxxvii. 20, " For
the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord vanish
away as the joy of lambs, as smoke (properly " into smoke," as

PSALM CII. VER. 1 — 10. 215
here) they vanish away," Ps. lxviii. 2. There appears to be a
decided reference to this passage : the sufferer complains that
the lot which belongs only to the wicked appears to fall upon
him notwithstanding his righteousness, Ps. ci. Where this last
exists, God must necessarily remove the appearance. The point
of comparison with the smoke is the fleeing past, the disappear
ing. In reality, the language does not refer to the personal
existence of the life of the individual, but to the duration of the
dominion of the family of David. The -jp^ signifies neither
fire nor a hearth, but something that is burnt, a firebrand ; the
feminine rnp1Q> Lev. vi. 2, used of the whole heap of fuel,
corresponds to the plural, firebrands, in Is. xxxiii. 14. The
-1)12 is burnt, has been kindled, Ps. Ixix. 3. The bones, — as
the foundation of the corporeal frame, as the interior fortress of
the body, to which the rest stands related as external work;
comp. Ps. vi. 2, xxxi. 10, xlii. LO. The burning is not that of
fever but ot pain. There is an abbreviated comparison : deep
pain penetrates my marrow and bones, as if a burning fire were
kindled in them and were destroying me; comp. Jer. xx. 9. — The
heart comes into notice, in ver. 4, as the seat of vital power.
The sense is : my vital power is exhausted, for in my deep dis
tress I loathe all food. As grass, — which is struck, i. e., injured
by men or by the sun (Ps. cxxi 6), or in any other way, comp.
Jon. iv. 7, " And the worm smote the gourd, and it withered."
What the sap is for plants, which is withdrawn when they are
smitten, that nourishment is for the heart o"f men; comp. Ps.
civ. 15, " Bread strengthened man's heart ;" Gen. xviii. 5, —
without nourishment, it is as if it were struck, and were wither
ing away. The iy, corresponding to the ¦jq in ver. 5, is hence
altogether suitable as an affirming particle, and we cannot
translate with Luther : " so that I forget;" comp. 1 Sam. xxviii.
20, where it is said of Saul: " There was no strength in him, for
he had eaten no bread that whole day and that whole night."
On " I forget to eat my bread," i. e., all pleasure in eating has
left me, comp. Ps. cvii. 18, "Their soul abhorreth all manner
of food;" 1 Sam. xx. 34, where Jonathan eats nothing in conse
quence of distress about David; 1 Sam. i. 7, where it is said
of Hannah, " she wept and ate nothing," 1 Kings xxi. 4. — On
"because of the voice of my sighing," in ver. 5, comp. Ps.
xxxi. 10, "For my life is spent with grief and my years

216 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
with sighing, Ps. xxxii 3, " When my bones wasted away
through my howling continually." The clause " My bone
cleaves to niy flesh," is usually taken as descriptive of extreme
emaciation, with reference to Ps. xxii. 1 7. But this is mani
festly to accommodate not to expound. There, and in the depen
dent passage, Job xix. 20, " My bone cleaveth to my skin and to
my flesh," that state of weakness and relaxation of the bones is
manifestly described, which is brought on by severe pain and
long-continued distress, when they lose their force and vigorous
power of motion; comp. the opposite in Is. lviii. 11, Ixvi 14,
and the parallel passage : they cleave on, hang upon the flesh
as the feeble and exhausted tongue does in a beast of burden;
comp. also Ps. cxxxvii. 6, (where pyj occurs also with ^j) and
xxii. 15. — In the second half of the first strophe we have the
loneliness of the sufferer—enemies all round, and nowhere in the
whole world a helper' — as in the first his misery. — As the *^n^ff
in ver. 7 signifies to watch only in the sense of to keep watch,
we must assume that there is an abbreviated comparison : I
watch as constantly as one who stands upon the watch; comp,
Ps. lxxvii. 6. The watching, according to the connection and
the comparison, is introduced only by the discomfort arising from
the loneliness. Like a lonely bird, — a poor helpless little bird,
which has been deprived of its mate pr its young, and is left
alone in the wide world. — On " my enemies reproach me," ver.
8, comp. Ps. xlii. 10. The part in Poal ^THD' occurs in JSc.
ii. 2 in the sense of mad. Here " my mad ones," with, a word
to be supplied from the first clause, stands instead of " my mad
enemies." They swear by me, inasmuch as they say : may God
let it go with you or me as it does with that miserable man,
comp. Num. v. 21, 27, Jer. xxix. 22, Is. l?v. 15, Ps. xliv. 14. —
In ver. 8, 9, we have the ground of the reproach of the enemies
against the solitary one, his deep misery.1 The mourner sits on
the ground as descriptiye of his low state and his being struck
down, Is. iii. 26, or lays himself upon it, Ps, xliv. 25, where are
dust and ashes (Is, xlvii. 1, Iii. 2), which are swallowed by him
who lies or sits there : comp. Is. lxv. 25, " the serpent, dust is
its meat," and the phrase " to lick the dust of the fpet of any
1 Ven.: " As this most mournful condition appears contrary to the privileges of
those who are favoured of God, there thence arises occaaion for laughing at the
pious."

PSALM CH. VER. II  17. 217
one," for to throw one's self down before him. The idea is a
false one, that ashes, which come into notice only as they lie
with other impurities on the dirty ground, have any special re
lation to grief. This is opposed by the fact, that ashes in such
passages are partly joined with the dust, as Job xxx. 19, xlii.
6, partly interchanged with it, as Job ii. 8, 12. Instead of "I
mingle my drink with weeping," some give, " I weep instead of
eat," comp. at Ps. xlii. 3, lxxx. 5 ; here the tears fall into the
drink. — On "because of thy wrath and anger," in ver. 10, comp.
Ps. xxxviii. 1, 3. In the second clause the expression is taken
from a storm of wind, which first lifts up the object which it
seizes, and then dashes it to the ground; comp. Job xxvii 21,
" an east wind carrieth him away, and he goes and it storms him
away from his place."
Ver. 11-17. Ver. 1 1. My days are as a shadow that declin
eth, and I am withered like grass. Ver. 12. And thou, 0 Lord,
art enthroned for ever, and thy memorial from generation to ge
neration. Ver. 1 3. Thou shalt arise, have mercy on Sion, for it
is time that thou be gracious to her, for the point of time is come.
Ver. 14. For thy servants have pleasure in her stones, and she
mourns over her dust. Ver. 15. And the heathen shall fear the
name of the Lord, and all kings of ihe earth thy glory. Ver. 1 6.
For the Lord builds Sion, he appears in his glory. Ver. 17. He
turns to the prayer of the destitute, and despises not their prayer.
— That ver. 11 is not to be read along with the preceding verses,
but, like ver. 23, forms the introduction of the new strophe, is
clear from this, that the discourse is not here as it is in the se
cond half of the first strophe of the loneliness, but only of the
misery of the miserable one, from the literal reference to ver. 4 —
a reference so literal that it is suitable only for a repetition which
resumes the subject, and finally from the i^ to which the
" thou," in the beginning of ver. 1 2, corresponds. The Psalmist
here ties together in one bundle his whole misery, as described
in the first strophe, and all his helplessness, and throws it with
one mighty fling upon the Eternal. As a bent wall, in Ps. lxii.
3, is a wall which has already begun to sink, a bent shadow
here is one which is already going to its destruction. The figu
rative expression is taken from a wall, Ps. cix. 23, cxliv. 4. The
discourse, according to the preceding context, does not relate
" generally to the sudden destruction of the transitory life of

218 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
man," but to the destruction which specially threatens the fa
mily of David and the church of God in him; comp. especially
ver. 3, and also ver. 23, 24. The " thou" in ver. 12 stands in
strong opposition to the " I" in ver. 11. The sitting is no empty
remaining, but a sitting as king, a sitting on a throne, comp.
at Ps. xxix. 10, " the Lord sitteth as king for ever," and Ps. ix.
7, "and the Lord is enthroned for ever." Though the symp
toms of the destruction of the family of David (the culminating
point of whicli family was Christ), and of the church be ever so
threatening, the eternal dominion of the Lord forms the sure
guarantee for its maintenance. Whoever wishes to destroy it,
must first put down God from his throne, which throughout
eternity shall never be done. The consolation does not rest on
the mere eternal dominion of God — in certain circumstances
this may be as sure a pledge of the destruction of the sufferer,
— but on this truth that this eternally reigning God is the God
of the miserable Psalmist, and has made himself known as such
by word and by deed — a truth which is here taken for granted.
On the memorial of God, his historically manifested attributes,
compare at Ps. xxx. 4. Allusion is here made to the historical
manifestations of the exceeding love of God towards his people
and towards David, in whom the whole people were compre
hended for eternity under one head. God can never disown
his own manifested character. Lam. v. 19 depends on our verse :
" And thou, 0 Lord, sittest for ever, thy throne is from gene
ration to generation!" — On " thou shalt rise," in ver 13, comp.
Ps. iii. 7, xii. 5, lxviii. 1. On " thou shalt have mercy on Sion,"
Ps. ciii. 13. By the point of time (comp. at Ps. Ixxv. 2), those
who refer the Psalm to the period of the captivity, suppose the
seventy years of Jeremiah to be meant ; but had these been
meant, the expression would have been much more definite ; the
the title, moreover, is against this view, as also is the character
of the Psalm, according to which it is intended for no special
historical occasion, but for the present state, whatever that may
be, of the miserable. The point of time for having compassion
upon Sion is rather that which is present when her sufferings
have reached their height, and she herself stands at the brink
of the abyss. This is evident from the prayer being based upon
the greatness of God in ver. 1-10, from the following verse begin
ning with the connecting particle " for," in whicli the Psalmist

PSALM CII. VER. 11— -17. &19
expressly grounds his assertion, that the point of time has come.
The j-j^, in ver. 1 3, with the accus., is to find pleasure in any
thing, Ps. lxii 4, Job xiv. 6, Ps. Ixxxv. 1 . That the stones and
the dust of Sion are not to be considered here as materials for
its new erection (Luther, for thy servant would be glad that it
were rebuilt, and would see with pleasure its stones and lime
prepared), is manifest from the " mourned over." We are hence,
by stones and dust, to understand the ruins and the rubbish,
comp. Neh. iii. 34, iv. 4. There lies at the foundation a com
parison of the church of God in its low condition to a building
in ruins, and probably there is a special allusion to Lev. xiv. 45,
where it is said of the leprous house, the type of the unclean
church, " And he destroys the house, its stones, and its wood,
and all the dust of the house, and brings it out before the city to
an unclean place," comp. ver. 41, 42. That the stones and the
dust belong here only to the figure, and that the real allusion is
to the low condition, and ruinous state of Sion (comp, at Ps.
Ixix. 35, vol. ii. 367), is clear from the title, according to which,
the Psalm is to be used in any distress, and from the circum
stance, that the descriptions of the miserable condition are
throughout general and poetical, and that there are no traces
whatever of the destruction of Jerusalem. The "for "at the
beginning is not co-ordinate with the " for" in ver. 13 (we must
be on our guard against such co-ordinate "fors"), but it grounds
the last position made there; the point of time has come, for
Sion lies in ruins, to the pain of thy faithful ones to whom thou
art a gracious God, and whom thou canst not turn away, when
they come before thee, with a " when we in severest trouble
are."1 — In ver. 15, we have the glorious consequences and fruit
which flow from the divine compassion on Sion, The world
shall be powerfully brought to the Lord when it sees how glo
riously he takes up the cause of his church, — a hope which is
fulfilled in Christ. What, in point of form, is expressed as a
prophecy, has, at the same time, in reality, the force of an ex
hortation addressed to God, that, for the furtherance of his
glory, he would cause the lowly state of Sion to be followed by

1 On " for thy servants have pleasure in her stones," Calvin : " Tho more sad the
' desolation of the church is, the less ought we to be alienated from its love. This
compassion ought rather to call forth from ua groans and sighs."

22(0 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
one of exaltation ;' comp., in reference to the thought, Ps. lxviii.
28, ss. Is. lix. 19 depends on our passage. The prefer., in ver.
16, 17, which represent the ground on which the heathen shall
be moved to fear the Lord, relate not to an external, but
to an inward sight. The -i^ny, probably a word of the Psal
mist's own formation, in ver. 17, is properly one entirely naked,
destitute of all human means of help ; Ven. : "deprived of all
good, help, and consolation." And he despises not; Ps. xxii. 4,
Ixix. 33.
Ver. 18-27. — Ver. 18. This shall be written to the generation
to come, and the people which shall be created shall praise tlie
Lord. Ver. 19. For he looks from his holy height, the Lord
looks from heaven upon the earth, Ver. 20. That he may hear
the groaning of the prisoners, that he may relieve the dying.
Ver. 21. In order that they may make known to Sion the name
of the Lord, and his praise to Jerusalem. Ver. 22. When the
nations assemble all together and the kingdoms to serve the Lord. —
Ver. 23. He has weakened in the way his strength, shortened my
days. Ver. 24. I say: My God, take me not away at the half of my
days, thy years continue for ever and ever. Ver. 25. Thou hast of
old founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of thy hands.
Ver. 26. They shall perish and thou remainest, and they shall
all like a garment wax old, like to a vesture thou changest them,
and they shall be changed. Ver. 27. And thou art he, and thy
years have no end. — On ver. 18, comp. Ps. xxii. 30, "it shall be
told of the Lord to the (future) generation," (xlviii. 13, Ixxviii.
4), according to which parallel passage we cannot translate
" may it," but only " it shall be written." The N****^ Qy is,
according to the "^y\2 QJ7 in Psalm xxii. 31, to be explained;
the people which is created then, i. e., in the time of the future
generation. The prefer, in ver. 19 are either to be referred to
doing of the Lord which is going on, as Ps. xxxiii. 13, — he
looks, as the fore-mentioned fact, the glorious salvation shows
which he has prepared for his anointed and for his people, or
they refer directly to the last doing, he looked, like the preterites
in ver. 16 and 17. On the' first elause comp. at Ps. xiv. 2. The
fundamental passage is Deut. xxvi. 15, "look from thy holy habi-
1 Calvin : " The prophet describes the fruit of deliverance because the glory of
God is by it rendered illustrious to nations and Icings themselves, by which he
tacitly declares, that the glory of God is impaired by the oppression of the church."

PSALM CII. VER. 18-27. 221
tation, from heaven, and bless thy people Israel." On the \yyyQ
comp. at Ps. xviii. 16.— The rarely used fipm in ver. 21, in all
only four times, is probably a word of David's own formation,
comp. Ps. xii. 5. In reference to the nrfiDH "CI. the dying, comp.
at Ps. Ixxix. J 1. There can be the less doubt that the expression
there is borrowed from the passage before us, as the " sons of those
bound" occurs also in that passage. To deliver — from the snares
of hell, from the dangers of death, Ps. xviii. 4, 5. — On ver. 21,
compare Ps. xxvi. 7. .Those who make known are partly Israel,
partly the heathen brought by the salvation of Israel to the
Lord. — On ver. 23 compare Ps. xxii. 27, lxviii. 32, ii. 11. The
second half of the strophe begins, apparently only, in ver. 23,
with a renewed complaint. This serves merely as the founda
tion and ascent to confidence. That the way is the way of
life, is manifest from ver. 24, compare Ps. Iv. 23. Allusion is
made, as appears, to Ex. xviii. 8, " and all the travel that had
come upon them by the way, and how the Lord delivered
them" (compare Num. xvii. 27, 28, xx. 14); and the sense is,
as on a former occasion, in the way through the wilderness.
David and Israel were in the wilderness until they reached the
glorious end set before them, viz., the dominion of the world,
until the kingdom of glory was entered upon. It is a great trial
when, in this course, strength seems to fail. Exhaustion and
feebleness, however, will be always merely transitory; youthful
vigour infallibly returns, comp. Ps. ciii. 5. In the words "his
strength," the difference between the Psalmist and the sufferer,
between David and his posterity, becomes prominent. The
Masorites were not able to understand the passage, all the less,
as no further on than tlie second clause, David again speaks
from the soul of his posterity, and therefore they substituted ipjD
instead of "\f]y On the second clause compare ver. 3, 11. The
shortening of the day exists only in appearance,' a threatening
sufficient to cause alarm that it may be so, compare ver. 24,
Ps.. ciii. 5. — The *n*7y in Hiph., in ver. 24, should signify to
hurry, off; but for this sense there is no proof. The cause to
ascend looks back to the figure of smoke which had been em
ployed in ver. 4; and pi^ is used as referring to this in Gen.
xix. 28, Jer. xlviii. 15, where it is used instead of to go away in
smoke. To be hurried off in the middle of their days is the lot
of the wicked (compare Ps. Iv. 23), from whose way of thinking

222 THE BOOK OF PSALMS,
the Psalmist had separated himself in Ps. ci., and on the ground
of which he here prays that he may not be involved in their
fate. The second clause in reality is connected with the first
by a "for." It contains the basis of the prayer uttered there:
for thou art eternal, and therefore also thy mercy and grace
towards thine own are eternal, thine anointed and thy people
whom thou canst never give up to destruction; they must reach
the goal of glory. — Ver. 25-27 expound the infinitely consola
tory thought of the eternity of God — the God of Sion and of
David never dies; David and Sion therefore can never die, for
he has inseparably connected himself with them, — inasmuch as
they render prominent his imperishable nature by contrasting
it with the perishing nature of that which relatively is the most
imperishable; in the second half of ver. 27, the thought of the
second half of ver. 24 returns after having had its basis assigned
it in the intermediate verses. — On ver. 25 compare Ps. viii. 3,
xix. 2, xxiv. 2, xxxiii 6. Reference is not made here to the
fact of the creation of the world, in proof of the eternity of
God — for the subject after ver. 24 and 27, is not the eternity,
but the immutability of God — but as a basis on which to rest
the announcement made in ver. 26, as to the annihilation of
the world, "what our God has made, that he can" not only
" maintain," but also annihilate ; heaven and earth shall
pass away as things that have been created, but the Lord
shall remain as He who created them. — Is. li. 6 depends
upon ver. 26 : there are other undoubted traces in the second
p.art of Isaiah of use having been made of Ps. ci. — ciii. They
all — heaven and earth with their fulness, all that is in them.
The comparison to a garment in the last clause refers to the
ease with which a garment is laid aside. The h^n is to perish,
as in Ps. xc. 5, 6, in Hiph. to change. The change refers not
to the origin of a new heavens and a new earth, Is. lxv. 17,
Ixvi 22, but as is shown by the relation of the changing to the
perishing, of the cause to the effect, to transition from a state of
existence to a state of non-existence. In accordance with the
context, it is only the perishing not the renovation (Matt. xix.
28), that is here contemplated, only death, not the resurrection
and the glorification. Many expositors, on the ground of such
passages as Job xiv. 12, where in popular language this last
hidden event is overlooked, or apparently denied (similar

tsalm cii. ver. 28. £23
passages occur also in the New Testament, comp. Matt, v. 18),
have very foolishly attempted to set aside the fact that the
doctrine of the future destruction of the present fabric of the
world is taught in this passage, and refer to mere possibility,
what is very expressly affirmed of reality. There is the less
reason for this, as such a doctrine is very manifestly taught in
other passages of Scripture ; comp., besides the passages already
quoted from Isa., chap. liv. 10, Matt. xxiv. 35, Luke xxi. 31, and
the proper classical passage in the New Testament, 2 Pet. iii.
7, 10, 11 . The foundation of this doctrine, to which the Psalm
ist himself refers as such, in ver. 25, is laid at the very begin
ning of the Scriptures, in what is there taught as to the crea
tion of all things out of nothing. If the Lord has created the
heavens and the earth by the exercise of his omnipotence, he
not only can but will change them when they no longer fulfil
their destination : when in the church of God everything has
become new, the announcement, " Behold I make all things
new," must be uttered in reference also to the place of habita
tion. — In ver. 27, the translation usually given is: thou art the
same. But this sense is not an ascertained one; it does not
suit in the fundamental passage, Deut. xxxii. 39, " Behold now,
I am he," or in the parallel passage, Isa. xliii. 10, and it does
not answer very well even the connection here, for it is not so
much the unchangeableness as the imperishable nature ot God
that is spoken. We must translate : " Thou art he to whom this
appertains,- — thou, and not the heavens and the earth, are im
perishable," exactly corresponding to " Thy years are through
all generations," and to the second clause.
In ver. 28, we have the result of the whole. — The sons of thy
servants shall dwell, and their seed be established before thee.- —
The servants of the Lord are the whole people, who, from their
ancestry, serve God; the sons of thy servants, and their seed,
are the present suffering generation ; instead of " thy servants,"
here we have " Jacob," in Isa. lxv. 9. The exposition, " if not
we, yet, at least, our children," is contrary to the fresh spirit of
faith of Scripture, and without analogy. Shall dwell, — in oppo
sition to those who wander about without roof or home; comp.
at Ps. lxviii 6, more exactly, "dwell in the land of the Lord,"
Ps. xxxvii. 29; Ixix. 35, 36, with which concluding verse the
one before us is very strikingly connected. On "before thee,"

224 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
comp. Gen. xvii. 1, Ps. Ixxxix. 36; the clause " shall be esta
blished," Ps. Ixxxix. 37, ci. 7, forms the contrast to the perish
ing and the vanishing away, ver. 3, 4, 23,. 24. The " shall not
be established" there forms the foundation of "it shall be esta
blished" here.

PSALM CIII.
Praise the Lord, 0 my soul, for he has crowned thee with
favour and compassion, ver. 1 — -5, he is full of kindness and pity
towards his church, ver. 6 — 10. His kindness is infinite towards
us poor mortals, ver. 11 — 14, the only and sure help to his peo
ple in the weakness and nothingness of human existence, ver.
15 — 18. 0 my highly favoured soul, do thou also praise him
who rules over the whole world, and is praised by the whole
world, ver. 19—22.
The Psalm, in regard to number, is an alphabetical one, har
monised in such a way as that the concluding verse turns back in
to the introductory one, the whole being in this manner finished
and rounded off. In like manner, the name Jehovah occurs
eleven times. The Psalm is divided into two strophes, the first
often and the second of twelve* verses. The ten is divided by
the five, and the twelve falls into three divisions, each of four
verses. Jehovah occurs in the first strophe four, and in the
second seven times.
The Psalm bears the character of quiet tenderness. It is a
still, clear brook of the praise of God. In accordance with this,
we find that the verses. are of equal length' as to structure, and
consist regularly of two members. It is only at the conclusion,
where the tone rises, that the verses become longer: the vessel
is. too small for the feeling.
The testimony which the Title bears on behalf of the compo
sition of the Psalm by David, is confirmed by the fact that the
Psalm in passages, the independence of whicli cannot be mista
ken, bears a striking resemblance to the other Psalms of David
(comp. the exposition), and by the connection with Ps. cii! —
David here teaches his posterity to render thanks, as there he
had taught them to pray: the deliverance from deep distress
which formed there the subject of prayer, forms here the sub-

PSALM CIII. VER. 1—10. 225
ject of thanks— and with Ps. ci. crap, the Introd. to that Psalm.
In accordance with what was observed there, we find first an
individual person speaking, ver. 1—5, the seed of David, from
whose soul David gives thanks; this individual person, however,
bears a comprehensive character; really grows up together with
the'whole congregation, so that without any mark of the change,
the community speaks from ver. 6, and again towards the con
clusion it is a single individual that speaks.

Ver. 1 — 10. — Ver. 1, By David. Praise, & my soul, the
Lord, and all that is in mehiis' holy name. Ver. 2. Praise, my
souli the Lord; and forget not all his- gifts. Ver. 3. Who forgiv
eSi thee aU thine iniquity, who> healeth all thy infirmities. Ver. 4.
Who delivereth thy lifefi-om ihe grave, who crowneth thee with
pity and tender mercies. Ver. 5. Who satisfieth thy beauty with
good things, so ihat thy youth is renewed like the eagle. — Ver. 6.
TheLord executeth righteousness and judgment for all oppressed.
Ver. 7. He maketh known his ways to Moses, his mighty deeds to
the children of Israel. Ver.. 8. Compassionate and gracious is the
Lord, long' suffering and rich in kindness. Ver. 9. He contends
notaUvays, and keeps not up for ever. Ver. 10. He deals not
towards us according to our ams;. and does not give to us accord
ing to our iniquities. — On the first clause of ver. 1, comp. Ps.
xxxiv. 2, 3. The thrice repeated " praise," properly " bless,"
(twice at the beginning and once at the end), to which the thrice
repeated " praise" in ver. 20 — 22, corresponds, stands in refer
ence to the three-membered Mosaic blessing, Num. vi. 24- — 26:
the soul, which has experienced the strength of the " bless thee,"
is exhorted to " bless;" he who has been blessed and refuses to
bless has sunk from the- state of a man to that of a beast. Ber
ieb. : " The smitten and death-struck soul again brought to life,
feeling the joy of its new freedom, and the enjoyment of its
deliverance, flows out, in testimony of its gratitude, entirely in
praise' and thanksgiving. He has,, says, such a man, delivered
thee by his goodness from thine own cares. Thou hast there
fore only one thing to de, namely to occupy thyself singly and
alone with offering to him praise and thanks. This for the
future sh6uld be thy only, employment." On yyp, the inward
part, comp. at Ps. v. 9. The. inward part where the heart is
(comp. Ps. xxxix. 3, "my heart was hot within me,") stands
here in contrast to what is external, the mere lips, with which
VOL. III. Q

226 THE 'BOOK OF PSALMS.
even the unthankful give thanks — Berieb.: "Men often say
from mere custbm, God be thanked or praised, and this rather
externally, without any inward tender gratitude, than in spirit
and in truth," comp. Ps. lxii. 4, " with the mouth they bless,
and with their inward part they curse." The plural of the y^p,
and the " all" are particularly emphatic. It adds to the con
trast of the heart to the mouth, that of the whole heart against
the half of it ; comp. at the " my one heart," and " with the
whole heart," in Ps. Ixxxvi 11, 12. The exhortation to the
soul, by no means a figurative expression, stands in contrast to
a superficial lip service. The fundamental passage is Deut. vi.
5, " thou shalt love (and therefore also praise, for praise grows
out of love) the Lord with all thy heart, and with all thy soul,
and with all thy strength." His holy name — him who by his
deeds has manifested himself as the holy and the adorable One;
comp. at Ps. xxii. 3. — In ver. 2 the positive exhortation is re
peated for the purpose of adding to it the negative one about
to be emphatically sounded forth. David knew too well from
experience the forgetfulness of the human heart not to con
sider it necessary to remind his posterity of it. For that under
the " I will not forget " there lies concealed a " forget thou
not," is clear from what has been already said. Berieb. : " Let
us therefore still address our forgetful heart on all occasions.
Ah ! may we still impress upon our souls on all occasions, by
the help of the Holy Ghost, forget not what good things the
Lord has done for thee !" Yea, " forget not" should always be
rung in our hearts, because they so easily forget. Allusion is
made to the words of Moses, " forget not the Lord thy God who
brought thee out of the land of Egypt," &pc, in Deut. vi. 12,
viii. 11, 14 ; compare Deut. xxxii. 15. On blUb *° bestow gifts,
compare at Psalm vii. 4. " All his gifts," stands in reference
to "all that is in me." It is only he who has given sparingly
that feels satisfied with half thanks. — On the first clause of ver.
2 compare Ps. xxv. 11, li. 9, and Ixxxvi 5. According to the
connection and parallelism, the forgiveness of sin is a matter-off
fact one ; it becomes known in the bringing about of salvation.
On the Jod and the suf. here, and in ver. 4 and 5, compare Ew.
§ 258 a. The manifestly designed repetition shows that it is
not an incidental Arameism, but a poetical form. That the sick
nesses figuratively refers to sufferings (many expositors suppose

PSALM CIII. VER. 1—10. 227'
that moral infirmities are meant, which, however, will not suit
tlie connection), is clear from the fundamental passage, Deut.
xxix. 22, " when they see the plagues of this land and the sick
nesses which the Lord hath laid on it," and Ex. xv. 26, " If thou
wilt hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God. ... I will not
send upon thee the sickness which I brought upon the Egyp
tians (in reference to the plagues of Egypt)  for I the
Lord am thy physician." The Psalmist praises the Lord be
cause he had removed the fulfilment of the threatening contained
in the first clause, and had brought about the fulfilment of the
promise of the second. — From the grave, ver. 4, compare at Ps.
xvi. 10, xxx. 9, to which the Psalmist had been very near,
comp. "my life is near to hell," Ps. lxxxviii. 3, lxviii. 20, xlviii.
14. The preceding Psalm complains of impending danger of
death, and hopes in it. Thy life — He, the God of thy life, Ps.
xiii. 8. Who crowns thee, Ps. lxv. 11, with kindness and com
passion, Ps. xxv. 6, xl. 11. — In ver. 5 all translations are to be
set aside as arbitrary, and not worth mentioning, which take
i-ty in any other sense than in the only one which is ascer
tained, and which also occurs in Ps. xxxii 9, that, viz., of orna
ment, beauty. That the Psalmist by his beauty denotes his soul
as his better part, is clear from the fact that the corresponding
expression " my glory," as denoting the soul, is a favourite one
with David, (compare at Ps. Ivii 8), and from the fact that to
satisfy the soul as the seat of the desires and wishes, is a phrase
of constant occurrence ; comp. Ps. cvii. 9, " for he satisfies the
longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with good ;" Is. lviii. 11,
" God satisfies in thirsty places thy soul;" Ps. Ixiii 5, xxv. 13.
The objection that the Psalmist addresses his soul, and cannot
call his soul the beauty of his soul, has no force. For in the
preceding clauses the idea of the whole person represented by
the soul as the better part, had imperceptibly come into the
place of that of the soul; and the soul is therefore named as
the ornament of the person ; compare " who healeth all thy sick
nesses," and "who delivereth thy life from the grave." In refer
ence to the poetical connection of the plural with the feminine
singular in the second clause, compare Ew. § 307. We cannot
translate : like that of the eagle, but only, like the eagle, the
comparison, as is the case very frequently (comp. Ew. § 221,
Lam. v. 21), being merely intimated, instead of " as is the case

228 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
with the eagle," " so that in point of strength thou art like the
eagle." The Scripture knows nothing of the idea that the eagle
when old renews its, youth: That there is nothing of this kind
contained in Is. xl. 31, which is Commonly appealed to, but that
it is rather the powerful flight of the eagle that is there referred
to, "they mount up on wings' like the eagle, they run and are
not weary," is evident from the "parallel, to fly,- run, march.
The want of the copula before the second clause, shows that the
goodness with which: the soul is satisfied, is just the renewing of
the youth, the high privilege of the royal family of David which
is continually verified as ages rUn on. Old age, in other cases
always the forerunner of death, is here continually the forerun
ner of youth ; the greater the failure ot strength is, so much
the nearer is the entire renewal of strength. How completely
worn out with old age was the family of David at the time of
the first appearance of Christ .'—From the favour of God! to
wards the royal family of David, the Psalmist turns in the
second half of the strophe to that towards the church, whose
weal and woe were intimately and indissolubly bound up with
tliose of the royal race, which in it and with it is crowned with
kindness and eompassion, satisfied with good things, and, raised
to fresh and powerful youth. That by "all oppressed ones" in
ver. 6, we are to understand "his people in ali oppressions," is
evident from what follows; compare the praise of the care of
God for widows and orphans, in special reference to the suffer
ing church, in Ps. lxviii. 5. The my**!*}, righteousnesses, is
manifestations of righteousness, as QiECt^D is right actions. —
The ways of the Lord in ver. 7 are his safe guidance, and the
making known is a matter-of-fact one; comp. at Ps. xxv. 4,
"thy ways, 0 Lord, make known to me/' instead of " manifest
to me thy safe guidance,' —our passage serves to confirm the
interpretation given there, Ps, Ixvii 2. All these passages de
pend upon Ex. xxxiii. 13, where Moses says to the Lord, " if I
have found grace in thy sight, make known to me thy ways,
and let me know thee." Moses speaks there- in name of
the people whose soul he was. The import of the prayer, is,
that the Lord would make him the object of his safe guidance,
and maKe himself known in it. The prayer is. heard. God
promises that he himself will go before him and will lead him
to rest. The reference of our verse to this fundamental passage

PSALM CIII. VER. 11 — 22. 229
is all the more direct, as the following verse also is unquestion
ably borrowed from the Pentateuch. As Moses represents the
congregation of the Lord, there is no reason for taking y*fp
in the sense of a preterite ; God always makes known his ways
to Moses, — the discourse even in the whole paragraph is of
what God does continually. His mighty deeds, Ps. ix. 11,
Ixxviii. 11. — Ver. 8 depends upon Ex. xxxiv. 6; comp. the repe
tition just as literal in Joel ii. 13, Ps. Ixxxvi. 15, and the refer
ences as entirely undeniable in Ps. Ixxviii. 38, cxi. 4, Nah. i. 3.
These passages show what a deep impression had been made
upon the Israelitish mind by this , great and consolatory, saying
which alone ought to have annihilated all the dreams of Mo
loch. — On the thought of ver. 9, comp. Ps. xxx. 5. Is. Ivii. 16
depends upon the first clause : -e' for I will not contend for ever."
The circumstance that the riDNI of the fundamental passage
is omitted, shows how close is the connection here with the pre
ceding clause. The second clause depends Upon Lev. xix. 18,
"thou shalt not be revengeful nor bear any grudge, *it3ri tO,
against the children of thy people." In strict theological expo
sition, the Psalmist sees in the passage a proof of the inclination
of God to forgive his people, whose commandments are so many
illustrations of his nature. He would destroy his own law were
lie not to do so. Nah. i 2 again depends upon the passage before
us : ' " the Lord will take vengeance Upon his adversaries, and he
keepeth wrath (not assuredly for his people, of whom the de
claration of the Psalmist holds trUe, but still) for his enemies ;"
and Jer. iii. 5, 12. — That the preterites in ver. 10, and also the
preceding futures, are to be translated as presents, and refer to
the constant doings of God, is evident from ver. 11-14, especi
ally ver. 14, Where the piet. does not give the least meaning.
He deals not with us according to our sins, as he has threatened,
in Lev. xxvi. 21: he does this only to mere despisers. The
" with us" — the fearers of God — niust be carefully attended to.
Otherwise the ungrounded inference which the Berieb. B. de
duces will meet us : " punishments hence cannot be absolutely
eternal, otherwise he would undoubtedly act towards us (?)
according to our sins." The ^qj, to give, in ver. 2, with the
^y is to gift, as here, at Ps. xiii. 6.
Ver. 11-22. — 'Ver. 11. For as high as heaven is above the
earth, his mercy is mighty over those who fear him. Ver. 12.

230 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our
transgressions from us. Ver. 13. As a father pitieth his chil
dren, so the Lord pitieth them who fear him. Ver. 14. For he
knoweth our frame, he remembereth that we are dust. Ver. 15.
Man is, in his life, like grass, like a flower of the field, so he
blossoms. Ver. 1 6. For a wind goes over it, and it is gone, and
its place knows it no more. Ver. J 7. And the mercy of the
Lord endureth from eternity to eternity over those who fear him,
and his righteousness to the children's children. Ver. 18. With
those who keep his covenant and remember his commandments to
do accordingly. Ver. 19. The Lord has in heaven prepared his
throne, and his kingdom ruleth over all. Ver. 20. Praise the
Lord, ye his angels, ye strong warriors, who perform his word,
you that listen to the voice of his word. Ver. 21. Praise the
Lord, all his hosts, his servants, who do his pleasure. Ver. 22:
Praise the Lord, all his works, in all places of his dominion.
Praise ihe Lord, 0 my soul. — In ver. 11 the point of comparison
is infinity.1 The verse is independently allied to both the Da
vidic passages, Ps. xxxvi. 5, Ivii. 10. " They who fear him," is
expanded in ver. 18. It is not a vague " sense of dependence,"
but the living acknowledgment of his holiness(at Ps. xxii. 3) which
calls forth child-like and unreserved obedience to his revealed
will. The region of God's fatherly love extends only so far as
this does. The Psalmist everywhere speaks not of what God
is towards the human family, but of what he is towards his
church. — The infinite mercy of ver. 11 is verified in the forgive
ness of sin of ver. 12. — On ver. 13, comp. Deut. xxx. 3. What
is there said of Israel is here said of those who fear the Lord.
These are identical with Israel as soon as the false seed are ex
cluded from the latter. What especially moves God to show
fatherly pity to his people is, according to ver. 14, the misery
of their earthly condition, which appears altogether to cut
them off from the riches of his fatherly care.8 Comp. in refer-
1 Amyrald. on ver. 11, 12: "The' prophet here uses the largest measures which
the world can afford to express a thing which can scarcely be expressed in any
other way.''
s Calvin : " This is carefully to be attended to, lest our misery retard or impair
our confidence, for in proportion as our condition is miserable and despised, is God
inclined to pity, since, indeed, in order to do us good, he is content with even dust
and aahea." Berieb. B. : " All unbelief and dejection should be ashamed of itself
and be put to shame, which does not give to God the glory of interesting himself
in his creatures and of feeling for their misery."

PSALM CIII. VER. 11 — 22. 231
ence to the thought Ps. Ixxviii. 39, Ixxxix. 47, and in onr
(German) spiritual poetry the words, " we are still poor worms,
dust and ashes, laden with sin, weakness, trouble, and death,
wherefore should we be destroyed in thy wrath without any
pity." The -^i, the form, the nature, is used in the Pentateuch
to denote the moral nature of man, Gen. vi. 5, viii. 21, Deut.
xxxi. 21, and here, according to the reference to the funda
mental passage, Gen. ii. 7, his physical nature. According to
this passage, " and the Lord God formed "ygm, man as dust of
the earth," the second clause contains the development of the
first: he knows our form that we are dust, transitory, and
hence frail, weak, and miserable. In like manner, the first
clause is to be supplied out of it: He, as our former, knows our
form. The use of the passive part, -^¦j is to be here explained
from the passive nature of memory. — Ver. 15-18: in the tran
sitory, and, as caused by this, the feeble and helpless nature of
the human condition, we must despair, were it not that we had
a sure ground of hope in the eternal mercy of the Lord, which
is exercised towards those who fear him, those of the latest no
less than those of the earliest generations. This paragraph
agrees so very strikingly in thought and expression with Ps.
xc. 1-5 (the transitory nature, and the miserable condition of
life on earth, leads us to God as our only refuge), that David
without doubt drew it from Moses. The eternal word of the
Lord in Is. xl. 6-8 is opposed to men as grass, just as his
eternal mercy is here. That the borrowing is on the side of
Isaiah is clear from the references in which the peculiar ex
pression (which, like many other expressions in the passage,
are generally misunderstood by expositors : all his mercy (all
mercy and all help which flesh can show and secure) is as the
flower of the field) stands to the clause here, ver. 17, "the
mercy of the Lord is from eternity," &c. : the fact also that the
thought here is much more simple, is in favour of this view. —
The first clause of ver. 1 5 is literally : a man, as grass are his
days, he who has his name from frailty (comp. at Ps. viii. 4)
perishes as quickly as the grass. How could this breath help,
protect, heal itself ! Comp. Ps. xxxvii. 2. Like a flower of
the field, so he flourishes, for as short a time as the flower of the
field flourishes does his existence last; comp. Ps. xc. 6, and the
dependent passage, Job xiv. 2, " as a flower he fades and is cut

232 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
down." — The 13 in ver. 16 is as a confirmative particle alto
gether in its place; he is like, grass, or the flower, for as the
hot, burning east wind (Gen. xli. 6, .23, Jon. iv. 8) destroys the
grass and flowers after a short existence, so the wind of suffer
ing, trouble, sickness, destroys the figurative flower, man. The
suffix in the «q refers to the figurative flewer, man. . On " and
he is not," comp. Ps. xxxvii., 10. His place, namely in those
who come into his room, knows him not, would not know him
if he were to return, so completely is he unknown and forgotten.
The seoond clause is quoted word for word in Job vii. 10.- — Ver
17 and 18 depend upon Deut. vii. 9, 11 : the faithful God, who
keepeth covenant and mercy for those who love him; and keep
his commandments for a thousand generations, . . . And thqu
shalt keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judg
ments which I command thee this day that thou do them," — a
passage to which also Ps. xxv. 10 refers. The righteousness of
God, according to whicli he gives to. every one his own, manifests
itself in this, that he does not withdraw his pity from his peo
ple, not on the ground of their merit, but because, his nature
demands. that he sho w. himself gracious ,tp them.. To the. chil
dren's children, therefore, not only to the fathers in the glorious
past, ver. 7, . but also to us in .these last, afflicted times.* — Ver.
19-22 — Praise, 0 my soul, the Lord, who. rules, over, all places
with his hands, whom angels above praise with their song,
whom sun, moon, stars, and all his works praise, AH serves
to lay the foundations for this.— On the first clause of ver. 19,
comp. Ps. ii. 1, ix. 7, ix. 4. The throne of God in heaven
stands in contrast to the throne of those who are usually called
kings, the throne of David, itself upon the earth, the state of
feebleness. — On ver. 20, comp. xxix. 1, 2. The exhortation in
that passage goes forth to the heavenly servants .of God to
praise his glory and strength, in order to remove fear from the
church of God on the earth; in the passage before us, to
awaken it to praise God.1 The -qj, is always a warrior, comp.
at Ps. Iii, 1. The clause "to, listen to the voice of , his word,"
comp. Deut. xxvi. 1"8, xxx. 20,. where to, hearken to. the voiee
of the Lord is connected with to love him, and to cleave to him
is added for the: purpose of rendering still more pointedly prb-
1 Amyr.> in reference to this view: " It has admirable force, for it cannot pr6ceed
except from singular piety and admiration of the Divine excellencies,"

PSALM CIV. 233
minent the difference between the spiritual and the material
portions of the heavenly hosts, which is also adverted to in the
relation subsisting between those who obey his word and those
who obey his will in ver. 21. The angels serve God as con
scious instruments with free love, the stars do his will only un
consciously. This marked difference between the angels and
the stars ought to be carefully attended to. It testifies against
those who would fain connect the angels more closely with the
stars, and also against those who, from dislike to angels, con
sider them a mere personification. — The hosts of God are in
other passages very particularly and usually the sun, moon,
and stars; comp. at Ps. xxiv. 10. Here the angels are specially
excluded by ver. 20. Ps. xix. 1 ought to be compared where
in like manner the heavens and the firmament are enjoined to
make known the glory of God, which in fact they by their very
being praise. — My soul, ver. 22, thou who hast received so many
special proofs of the glory of the Lord, hast been crowned with
compassion and tender mercy. How canst thou alone remain
silent, when everything in the world praises God? Berieb.:
" The Psalm thus ends as it began, and by such a conclusion
powerfully reminds the reader of his duty."

PSALM CIV.
Iii ver. 1, after an exhortation from the Psalmist to his soul
to praise God, we have the theme or the sum of this praise, the
greatness of God as seen in, his works. In ver. 2—34 we have
the development of this themes in the description of the works
of God ; first the light, and heaven, and earth, then the forma
tion of the dry land, ver. 6-9, after this the watering of the
ground by the fountains, ver. 10-12, of the mountains by the
rain, for the nourishment of beasts and men, ver. 13-17. From
the, mountains. the Psalmist ascends by the means of the highest
summits, which are still a place of .habitation for living creatures,
ver. 18, to the sun and the moon, and to what these do on be
half of the creatures of God upon the earth, ver. 19-23. From
this he descends to the extreme depth, the sea, which conceals
so many beasts in its bosom, and which by navigation is of such

o

234 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
signal service even to the human race, ver. 24-26. All crea
tures get their nourishment from God ; they perish and come
into existence according to his will, ver. 27-30. In ver. 31-34
we have the conclusion of the development of the thesis, and of
the praise of God from his works. God is eternally glorified by
his works, and the Psalmist will praise him. In ver. 35 the
result from the glory of God in his works is applied to the cir
cumstances in which the Psalmist is placed; the dominion of
the wicked upon earth can be only transitory, God shall anni
hilate these his enemies; the pledge of this is his omnipotent
love as revealed in his works.
As regards formal arrangement, ver. 1 and 35 are obviously
the introductory and the concluding verses. In like manner
we must consider the 18th verse as standing out of the formal
arrangement, a verse whicli cannot be immediately connected
with the preceding section (that being wholly taken up with
the watering), and which forms the transition from the first to
the second half. Each of the two halves divided by it has ten
verses. The divisions intowhich these fall stand over against
each other as antistrophes. In both a main strophe of four is
separated from another of twelve verses. The signatures of
the world and of the people of God are connected together in
one Psalm, which deduces from what God does in the former,
what he will do for the latter. In the first part, ver. 2-5, the
strophe of four verses is occupied with the fundamental rela
tions in creation, the light and the formation of the heavens
and the earth; in the second, ver. 31-34, where it forms the
conclusion, as it does then the beginning, it contains the praise
of God on account of his works. The strophe of twelve verses
is in the first part divided by the seven, which again falls into
the four and the three, and the five, in the second part, by the
five and the seven, which is again divided by the three and the
four. The name Jehovah occurs in all ten times (including the
Hallelujah), in the first part three and in the second seven
times. The interchange of the address to Jehovah and of the
discourse about him, runs throughout the whole Psalm, as it
had been introduced in the first verse. The division of the
strophes, generally speaking, follows this. Still there are ex
ceptions: ver. 13, 16, 20, 27-30, show that the Psalmist did
not, in this respect, lay down for himself any definite rule, and

PSALM CIV. 235
that, in a manner somewhat arbitrary, wherever a break in the
sense occurs, he makes a change. — From all this it appears that
the arrangement here is peculiarly artificial, more so than we
have as yet found to be the case in any other Psalm, so arti
ficial (particularly in the antistrophe-relation of the sections of
the two main divisions which was noticed by Koster), that
many, such, namely, as will not take the trouble to reckon up
with care, will be angry at seeing it.
In fixing the object of the Psalm, most expositors follow
Luther, who inscribes it as " a praise of God from the book of
nature." There are reasons which antecedently ought to put us
on our guard against this view. The Psalmists of the Old Testa
ment laid themselves out very little for mere "Psalms of nature."
They were too much involved in the conflicts of the contending
church, too much moved by the sufferings and the joys of Sion,
its fears and its hopes, to give themselves up in the simplicity
of childhood, to the mere impressions of nature. With such
pure nature-psalms, also, they would have done little to benefit
the church. Always placed in the middle position, between
death and life, she needed stronger food. She sought every
where an answer to the great question prompted by her heart,
"Lord, how long ;" and nature had no charms except in so far
as meditating upon her could contribute to furnish an answer to
a question whicli still fills the whole heart of all the members of
the church.
The true object of the Psalm comes out when we put together
the first and the last verses, which contain the quintessence of
the whole : the intermediate verses are merely a development
of the first. According to this view, the praise of God from
nature is only the means: the object is to quicken in the
church confidence in the final victory of the righteous over the
wicked, of the church of God over the world, whicli, at the
time when the Psalm was composed, had the upper hand. From
comparing the following psalm, whicli is intimately connected
with the one now before us, it appears that " the sinners" and
" the wicked" were at that time, in a peculiar manner, raging
from without against the city of God, that the Psalmist, in a
time of severe trouble, arising from the power of the heathen,
sought consolation in reflecting upon the greatness of God in
nature.

236 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
From these remarks it is evident that the descriptions of na
ture in our Psalm occupy the same place as those of Ps. xxix.,
where the Psalmist describes the greatness of God in a thunder-'
storm, for the purpose of preparing for the church a shield
against all painful cares.
According to the general relation of the whole Psalm-poetry,
and also of prophecy, to the books of Moses, it cannot but be,
that the Psalmist, in the praise of God from nature, hung very
closely upon the first book of Genesis. The description follows
in general the succession of the several days of creation: the
first and second, ver. 2-5, the third, ver. 6-18, the fourth, ver.
1-9-23, the fifth, ver. 24-26, and an allusion to the seventh in
ver. 31. The deviations are occasioned, not only by the differ
ence between the poet and the historian, and by the circum
stance that the Psalmist has before his eyes the creation per
petually prolonged in the preservation of the world, while the
historian describes the act of creation merely in itself, but also
by the fact that the Psalmist has proposed for himself not the
general object to, represent the greatness of God universally in
nature, but the special object to set forth the greatness of God
in the care which he takes of living beings. This affords an ex
planation of the circumstance, that in the succession of days
no mention is made of the sixth which is occupied with the
creation of these beings. The Psalmist has only this one object
in view in all that he touches upon.
The " Praise the Lord, 0 my soul," at the beginning and at
the end of the Psalm, as also in Ps. ciii., has given occasion to
many expositors to take up the idea that the title "by David"
applies also to this Psalm. But these reasons are of no force,
The expression, "praise the Lord,. 0 my soul," may equally
well be a borrowed one, and really bears the character of such,
as it stands pretty loose, and the two Psalms have no such, near
connection as to lead us to view it as a bond of connection be
tween them. That the position after Ps, ciii. not only can, but
must be explained by the later Psalmist appending it to that
Psalm, and that the transposition of the Davidic Psalms from
their natural place in the collection of David's Psalms ia to be
explained from the collector wishing to connect to these some
thing similar in character from later times, will be made mani
fest in some remarks which have yet to be made. We have to

PSALM CIV. VER. 1. 237
urge against the assumption that David is the author, first.
that David is not named in the title as such — the existence of
Davidic Psalms not externally marked as such out of that part .
of the collection which is specially set apart to them is very
problematical, nay, must even be distinctly denied,— ^second, the
want of all near contact with the Davidic Psalms— a feature
so very prominent in Ps. ci-ciii, — and, lastly, the hallelujah
which never occurs in Psalms ascribed to .David in the title,
a problem worthy the attention of those who set the titles at
nought. The Psalm before us stands nearly related to the one which
follows, to which again Ps. cvi is appended. As the confident
expectation of the destruction of the heathen power is here
grounded upon the greatness of the works of God in nature, it
is in like manner there founded upon the greatness of the
works of God in history. It is from these two Psalms that we
first find materials which enable us exactly to fix the object
and authorship of this whole trilogy of Psalms annexed to a
similar trilogy composed by David; while in the Psalm before
us, in accordance with its introductory character, the allusions
are all general.

Ver. 1. Praise, my soul, the Lord! 0 Lord my God, thou art
very great, majesty and glory hast thou put on. The two clauses
of the verse may be considered as separated by a colon. The
exhortation to praise God is immediately followed by the praise
of God in its most general extent. The " My (Israel's) God "
is an indication of the public character of the Psalm, of its
reference to the relations of the church, as is more strongly
marked at the close. The clause, "thou art very great," de
notes the nature of God ; what follows leads a proof of the
greatness of his nature, deduced from the glory of his works.
On majesty and glory, comp. at Ps. xcvi. 6. The tyy?, to
put on, occurs at Ps. xciii. 1, Is. li. 9. He put on these at
creation ; he makes it known in creation, which is continually
prolonged in the preservation of the world. In the whole
Psalm the discourse is not of what God is in himself, but of
what he is in his creation. There lies at bottom a comparison
of a glorious royal garment. As, and because, God has already
put on this garment of glory and majesty in creation, he shall

238 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
yet put it on also in redeeming and glorifying his church, comp.
Ps. xciii. 1.
Ver. 2-5. — Ver. 2. He covers himself in light like to a gar
ment, he spreads out ihe heaven like a curtain. Ver. 3. Who
makes his upper chambers with water, makes of the clouds his
chariot, who rides upon the wings of the wind. Ver. 4. He
mdkeh winds his angels and flaming fire his servants. Ver. 5.
He founded the earth upon its sure foundation, it moves not al
ways and eternally. — The passage is occupied with the works
of the first and second days of creation. There lies at bottom
the figure of an earthly king, with his glorious garment, his
high tower, his magnificent chariot, his splendid retinue of
servants. What such a one has shall be infinitely surpassed
by the glory of the heavenly king. What, for example, is the
garment of an earthly king, however much it may glitter with
gold and precious stones, compared to the garment of light of
the heavenly king! — The "he covers himself," in ver. 2, is
appended to "he has put on," at the conclusion of ver. 1.
There the whole glory of God, unfolded in creation, appears as
a garment which he has put on ; here the figure of a garment
is transferred to one particularly glorious part of the glory of
creation, the light with the creation of which the whole work of
creation began. The discourse is not here of the " inaccessible
light" in which God dwells, according to I Tim. vi. 16; for we
have here to do, as is evident from the second clause, only with
the glory of God unfolded in creation; but of the light which
daily shines upon us. We have before us, in a poetical form,
" God said, let there be light, and there was light." The light
created by God appears under the figure of a garment in whicli
he clothes himself, because it makes him appear glorious, just
as an earthly king is rendered glorious in appearance by his
splendid dress. The participles denote the continued action :
God, whose work of creation is prolonged in providence, clothes
himself daily anew with light as with his garment, and spreads
out the heaven like a curtain. The article at the garment, the
covering, the waters in ver. 3, stands generically. In the
second clause the Psalmist turns to the work of the second day,
Gen. i 6-8. Like a curtain, — with the same ease, by his mere
word, with which a man spreads out a tent-curtain, Is. liv. 2.
Is. xl. 2.2 is parallel, " that stretchest out the heavens as a

psalm Civ. ver. 2 — 5: 239
curtain, and spreadeth thera out as a tent to dwell in." — Ver. 3
continues the description of the work of the second day. There
lie at bottom, in the first clause, the words of Gen. i 7: " God
made the vaulted sky and divided between the waters which are
under the vault and the waters which are above the vault." The
waters above are the materials with which, or out of which, the
structure is reared. To construct out of the moveable waters a
firm palace, the cloudy heaven, " firm as a molten glass," Job
xxxvii. 18, is a magnificent work of divine omnipotence. The
citadel of cloud gets the name of the upper chamber of God, as
being the upper part of the fabric of the world ; the under one
is the earth, " the under, lower" of ver. 5. The translation is
quite at fault which gives: "who builds above the waters his
upper chamber," who prepares for himself a habitation in that
part of heaven which is uppermost, and furthest removed from
mortal eye. The Psalm is occupied only with the unfolded
glory of God with that which all see with their eyes, and which
God does for the benefit of his creatures, and the concealed
throne of God is not at all referred to; according to ver. 13, the
rain comes out of the upper chamber of God. The clouds ap
pear as the chariot of God, because he drives them about at his
pleasure, as a king his car. The wind, which is not at all men
tioned in the history of the creation, is joined with the clouds
in the third clause, because they both operate together in bad
weather. This clause depends on Ps. xviii. 9, Who drives for
ward, &c, — to whom, as to their governor, the winds are as
obedient as horses are to an earthly king. — In ver. 4 we have
the glorious retinue of God's servants, the wind and flaming
fire as it descends from the clouds, the lightning, comp. Ps. cv.
32. " For his messengers" stands first, according to the analogy
of Gen. vi. 14, "for cells make the vessel," for the sake of the
contrast to the chariot and the upper chamber of God. This
departure from the usual arrangement has given occasion to the
translation " he makes his angels winds and his servants flames
of fire," — a translation, however, to be set aside for the follow
ing reasons: we have here to do only with the visible glory of
God in connection with Gen. i, which throughout is occupied
only with the material creation; we are here specially engaged
with the work of the second day, to which the whole of the
second half of ver. 2-5 refers; material servants alone are suit-

24i) THE BOOK OF PSALMS
able in connection with material garments, fortress, ahd chariot;
and, finally, the parallel passages are against it, Ps. cv. 32;
cxlviii. 8, " (praise the Lord) fire and hail, snow and smoke,
stormy wind who obey his word." The citation, Heb. i. 7, can
not lead to this false translation. Even according to our view
the passage serves the object of the author. For it is a degra
dation of the messengers of God in a strict sense, those who by
pre-eminence are so named, that the mere powers of nature
should be associated with them and be called by their names,
— the more so as an indirect reference to angels is clear from
the relation to Ps. ciii. 20. The maxim, " known from com
pany" applies even here. He who has such companions can in
no wise be placed on a level with the Lord of glory. Even in
ver. 5 we still find ourselves within the range of the second day.
It was not till after the work of that day was ended that the
earth had a separate existence. What is here said of the earth
corresponds to what was said of the heaven in the first clause, of
ver. 3. As the upper part of the fabric of the world stands firm,
though it has only water instead of beams, so is it with the
lower, the earth is held as firm by the omnipotence of God,
without a foundation, as if it had one ; he has given to the
earth, which is propped up by nothing, a firm existence, like a
building which rests on a solid foundation. Ps. xxiv. 2 is not
to be compared; for the discourse there is. of the earth in a
limited sense, of the division of land and water; but Job xxvi,
7, "he hangs the earth upon nothing;" comp. ver.- 8 there, "he
binds together the water in his thick clouds, and the cloud is
not rent under them," with ver. 3 here, and also Job xxxviii.
4-6. Ver. 6-18. — Ver. 6. The flood thou coveredest above like to a
garment, the waters stand upon the mountains. Ver. 7. Before
thy rebuke they flee, before the voice of thy thunder they haste
away. Ver. 8. They go up to the mountains, down to the valleys,
to the place which thou hast founded for them. Ver. 9. A
boundary thou didst set, they pass it not, they turn not again to-
cover the earth. — Ver. 10. He sends fountains, in the.valleys, ihey
flow between the mountains^ Ver. 11, All the beasts of the field
drink them, the wild asses quench their thirst. Ver. 12. Oner
them dwell the birds of heaven, from the midst, of the boughs they
let their voices be heard. — Ver. .13; He watereth the hills out of

PSALM CIV. VER. 6—18. £41
his upper chambers, of the fruit of thy works tlie earth is satisfied.
Ver. 14. He causes the grass to grow for the cattle and com for
the cultivation of man, to bring forth bread out of the earth. Ver.
15. And wine gladdens the heart of man to make his face to shine
with oil, and bread strengthens man's heart. Ver. 16. The trees
of the Lord are saturated, ihe cedars of Lebanon which he has
planted. Ver. 17. Where the birds build their nests, the stork he
dwells on the cypresses. Ver. 1 8. The high hills are for the
chamois, the rocks a refuge for the jerboas. — The work of the
third day, the removal of the water from the earth, is painted
by the Psalmist in ver. 6-9 at great length, and with , special
delight, because he sees in it an allegory, the type of the re
moval from the Lord's land of the floods of the heathen by which
it had been overspread; comp. on the sea as the standing emblem
of the heathen world, at Ps. xciii. — The suffix in ijtid^, ver. 6,
refers to the flood : the flood, like a garment thou didst cover it,
over the earth. It will not do to refer it to the earth, for y^N
does not occur in the preceding verses, and is everywhere femi-
nihe except in a few cases where it stands for the inhabitants
of the earth. The future in the second half and in the follow
ing clauses is to be explained from the vivid picturing of the
scene as present. The mountains appear here (as the work of
the second day begins) as already in existence, and only covered
by the floods, as they were on a later occasion at the deluge (Gen.
vii. 19, 20), by which the earth was brought back to its original
condition. — The expression, "the waters under heaven shall
assemble in one place," Gen. i. 9, appears in ver. 7 as a rebuke
of God, because God is the enemy of disorder, and because the
water stood in an attitude of hostility to the realization of his
purpose to manifest his glory on the earth. If we view the
water as symbolical of heathen power hindering the realization
of the purpose of God to bestow salvation on his people, the
rebuke appears as still more suitable, compare Matt, viii 26.
The thunder is called the word of God, because it is as ter
rible as his word is. On iQ*n, to hasten for fear, at Ps. xxxi.
22. — The clause, " they (the waters) go up to the mountains,
down to the valleys, to the place (till they finally got to it)
which thou hast founded for them," ver. 8, contains a graphic
description of the effect of the divine rebuke and thunder:
thrown into a state of tumultuous excitement, the waters quickly
VOL. 111. r

242 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
again ascend the mountains, their high abode, from which the
rebuke of God had brought them down, but unable to keep
themselves there they go down to the valleys, until they find
themselves in their proper situation, and enter into the place
where God designs them to be, — a striking picture of the cir
cumstances which occur when God designs to deliver his church
from the power of its enemies. Even then the floods do not
retire at once softly and quietly. They make repeatedly the
attempt again to ascend the mountains; after that at least to
obtain possession of the valleys ; but at last they are compelled
to be off entirely. The common translation is: up go the
mountains, down go the valleys. But in this case the Neptu
nian origin of the mountains and valleys would be really indi
cated as the immediate consequence of the separation of the
fluid from the dry ; for a mode of expression as suited to the
appearance which most adopt, can scarcely be extracted from
the words: they came by and by, however high or low in ap
pearance. Against this interpretation we have Ps. cvii. 26,
" they go up to heaven, down to the valleys," whose oift^ and
niDinn are accusatives: the unquestionable reference of the
second half of our verse to the waters, according to the funda
mental passage in Gen. i. 9, " let the waters under heaven be
assembled in one place ;" and the circumstance that in ver. 9
the water is the subject as it must also be in ver. 8. It is less
possible that the language here can refer to the origin of the
mountains, as according to ver. 6 they were already in existence.
They existed also, according to Gen. i, before the work .of the
six days. To the third day belonged only the appearing of the
dry land, not its formation ; the work of that day consisted
only in this, that, as at the deluge, the waters retired from the
earth, " the dry land appeared." The -j^i stands here as in
ver. 5, Ps. cii. 25, in the sense of to found: God, as the master-
builder of the world, founded the sea (as he did heaven and
earth), as the place of habitation for the waters and for the in
numerable creatures in them, ver. 25. .Even this founding suits
better for the sea than it does for the state of the hills and the
valleys.— On ver. 9, comp. Job xxxviii. 8-1 1. The exception
of the deluge cannot break the rule; and comes into notice here,
as according toGen. ix. 11,. it cannot be repeated, all the less
on this account, as the Psalmist is speaking of the present and

PSALM CIV. VER. 6 — 1 8. 243
future. Berieb.: "But if God had not set such boundaries,
the earth would long ago have overwhelmed the church. Where
fore may the rebuke of thy spirit always scatter it more and
more !" — To the description of the negative act there is here
appended the positive one : in the exercise of his loving regard
for his living creatures, God waters the dry land, as a type of
his tender care over his church delivered from the power of its
enemies. The creation of the vegetable' world for the nourish
ment of men and beasts belongs, also in Gen. i 1 1, 1 2, still to
the work of the third day: only, however, as is obvious from ch.
ii. 5, as regards its germ. Here we have brought forward what
forms the condition of the development of this germ, and at all
times the foundation of all vegetation on the earth. We have
for the first time, in ver. 10-12, the watering of the ground. — ¦
That the ^nD> a brook, next a valley through which a brook flows,
stands in ver. 10 in the latter sense, is evident from ver. 13,
where the mountains, which receive moisture from the upper
waters, form the opposite of the valleys here spoken of. The
fountains hence comprehend the brooks formed by them: as in
Joeliv. 18, "and a fountain shall proceed from the house of
the Lord, and water the valley of Acacias"— a passage much
more closely connected in reality with ours than would readily
appear. Also in " they go/' the fountains form the subject. —
The beasts of the field, ver. 11 , (comp. on ")jyiff at Ps. 1. 10), stand
in opposition to domestic animals, the cattle of ver. 14. On
" they break their thirst," comp. -\y&, corn, because it breaks
the hunger,1 — The birds of heaven of ver. 12 are from Gen. i 30,
ii. 19, where in like manner the birds of heaven stand in opposi
tion to the beasts of the field, with whom they have this in com
mon, that no one on earth cares for them. He who takes under
his care the beasts of the field and the birds of heaven, will
much more take .care of his own people, comp. Matt. vi. 26,
which passage serves as a key to the one now before us. — In
ver. 13-17 the Psalmist continues the subject of the care of
God for the nourishment of his creatures by watering the dry
land. As this takes place in lower situations by means of
fountains, from which the wild beasts drink, and beside which
the birds of heaven rear their habitations, so does it in the upper
1 It is in favour of this explanation that the corn bears this name in a particular
manner in Gen. xlii., ss., comp. especially xli. 57, xlii. I.

244 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
regions by rain, which makes the grass to grow for cattle, and
corn and wine for men, and which waters even the trees where
the birds build their nests. How should such a God not open
the fountains of salvation for his own people, and pour down
upon the thirsty the rain of grace! — The nptZflD *n ver- ^ cor
responds to the "ipny*! in ver. J 1 : " he gives drink even to the
mountains." This division of the watering occurs in Gen. xlix.
25, " with blessings of the heaven above, with blessings of the
deep which resteth below." The mountains are especially named
because they are entirely assigned to the rain; comp. Deut. xi. 11 ,
where it is said of Canaan : " a land of mountains and of valleys,
it drinketh in water of the rain -of heaven," in opposition to
Egypt which is watered by the Nile. Out of his upper chambers
— comp. ver. 3. The works of God are the heavens or the upper ,
chambers,1 ver. 2, 3, (comp. ver. 24); and the fruit of these
works is the rain; by this the earth is satisfied, riehly watered
with it. — In ver. 14 we have the fruit which the earth thus
watered bears for cattle and men. Instead .of " for the culti
vation of men," many (translate after Luther: "for the use of
men;" but the l-froy signifies always labour, service, (in this
sense ver, 23), never, use, need, not even in Num. iii. 31, 36 ; the
mere y&y is not. enough — it belongs to cattle as food, Gen. i.
30, and needs an adjunct which corresponds to the "bearing
seed" in Gen. i 11, 29, and limits the expression to "com;"
finally, the fundamental passages, Gen. ii. 5, "to labour the
ground," iii, 23, iv. 2, are an favour of the rendering *" for the
cultivation." The last words "to bring forth," for "that he
may bring forth," give the, object of the shooting of the corn:
God in this way prepares for man his chief means of support,
bread. Allusion is made to Gen. i. 12, " And the earth brought
forth grass bearing seed ; " comp. Job xxviii. 5, *" the earth out
of'whkih goes forth hread." — In ver. 15 the importance of bread
for men is brought prominently forward — it imparts strength
to the weak — after mention had been made of another blessing,
which by means of the watering is imparted to men, viz., wine.
And wine gladdens — viz., in eonsequence of the watering from
the upper chambers of God. It- is designedly that man in both
clauses is termed \*y*i2N, weah frail, full of care, comp. the
1 Ven.; "AllHBiorais manifestly made, to these upper chambers constructed hy
God, ver. 3; and for this cause these are here called the works of God."

PSALM CIV. VER. 6—18. 245
reference at Ps. viii. The Psalmist hereby intimates why God
has provided for him these means of cheerfulness and strength,
how lovingly God has had regard for him in adopting these
means to his necessities. The ^p^ is to rejoice, in Hiph., to
make to rejoice, to make joyful ; comp. Prov, xv. 13, "a joyful
heart makes a good countenance," where also as here the
article is poetically wanting. With oil — the oil of gladness, Ps.
xiv. 7, xxiii. 5, with which they were wont to anoint them
selves on festive occasions before meak. The brightening on
such occasions did not come from the oil, with which they
anointed themselves only as a sign of the joy, but in spite of
the misuse made of it, from tlie wine the noble gift of God,
which made the sign a truthful one. The translation commonly
given is: so that it makes his face shining as if it were anointed
with oil. But this assumes without any ground that the i?;-^
here is equivalent to "\rT%, more particularly so, as this verb
never occurs in Hiph. in the sense of to make to shine; there is
moreover the feet that it was not tbe face that was ever anoint
ed, but the head; comp. Ps. xxiii. 5, Matt. vi. 17, "anoint thy
head, and wash thy face." The small difference in the shade of
meaning in brf^ *n the translation given above need occasion
less difficulty, as the word was selected because of the reference
of "\rT2j oil: the *$-(% does not cause the bTTS but the wine (it is
not the shining but the wine that brightens the face). Bottcher,
Proben. p. 212, defends the translation of Luther: " and his
face became beautiful with oil," according, to which oil as the
third chief product of Canaan is named between the bread and
the wine ; which, however, here as in other passages are united
together as one noble pair, Ps. iv. 7, Gen, xiv. 18, xxvii.
28. Against this, however, there is the ^tTSlfej according to
which the words cannot possibly be construed as an independent
clause ; the contrast between the gladness and the strength,
which alone justifies the renewed mention of the bread, is
weakened; in the whole paragraph, ver. 10-17, mention is
made only of what appeases hunger and thirst, with which oil
has nothing to do. The phrase, "to strengthen man's heart,"
is from, Gen. xviii. 5,: — The words "they are satisfied," in ver.
16j refer baek to "the earth is satisfied" in ver. 13: with the
earth also the trees. The mountains at God are, in Ps. xxxvi.
6, the highest mountains, which proclaim in the loudest terni3

246 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
the creative power of God; the cedars of Lebanon are also, in
Ps. lxxx. 1 0, called, as being the kings of the trees, the cedars
of God: in the fundamental passage, Num. xxiv. 6, " the spice
trees which the Lord hath planted," are trees of particularly
powerful growth, comp. Balaam, p. 1 45. According to this, " the
trees of the Lord" here must ,also be tliose which, as, for ex
ample, the cedars of Lebanon, named in the second clause as
individual specimens, loudly proclaim, hy tlieir magnificence,
the origin from which they have come : there is no refer
ence whatever to any contrast between the trees here spoken
of and such trees as have been planted by man. — Ver. 17 corres
ponds to ver. 12. The rain is not less beneficial to the birds
than are the fountains of water. Where, — in the trees upon the
mountains, according to ver. 12 and the second clause. The
little birds and the stork, i.e., birds great and small. — It has
been already observed in the introduction that ver. 18 stands
out of the oonnectioa, and is to be looked upon merely as a
transition clause. The hills, the high ones I understand, instead
of the high hills, in opposition to the hills generally, in ver. 13,
and in parallel to the high rocks. The 'nDnTD ls no* *° ^e SUP"
lied in the first clause, but serves only to show the force of the
b in that clause. On the second- clause, comp. Prov. xxx. 26.
Shall not he who points out to the wild goat and the spring-
mouse their little abode, and leaves none of his creatures un-
eared for, undertake for his chosen ones? shall he leave any of
them to perish? No ; wherever they turn throughout the wide
world, they everywhere see the prophecy of their salvation.
The birds on the trees, the wild beasts at the fountains, the
mouse on the hills, everything cries out to them: be ye com
forted, and of good 'courage, for are you not better than many
sparrows? At the time when this Psalm was composed, it -was
worse with Israel than with the goat and the spring-mouse
(comp. Matt viii. 20).; they had no place of refuge,, no spot upon
the wide earth which they could call their own; comp. with
the middle verse here the 23d verse of Ps. cv.
Ver. 19-30. — Ver. 19. He made the moon to divide the time,
the sun knows his going down. Ver. 20. Thou makest darkness
and it is night, in it all the beasts of the forest are astir. Ver.
21 . The lions roaring after their prey, and to seek from God
their food. Ver. 22. The sun rises, they gather themselves to-

PSALM CIV. VER. 19 — 30 247
gether and lie down in their dens. Ver. 23. Man goes forth to
his work and his labour till the evening. — Ver. 24. How mani
fold are thy works, 0 Lord, in wisdom hast thou made them all,
the 'earth is full of thy goodness. Ver. 25. Here the sea, great
and wide, where are moving things without number, beasts, small
with great. Ver. 26. There go the ships, the leviathan whom
thou hast formed that he should sport there. — Ver. 27. All this
waits upon thee, that thou givest their meat in their time. Ver.
28. Thou givest them, they gather up; thou openestthy hand, they
are satisfied with good. Ver. 29. Thou hidest thy countenance,
they are terrified; thou collectest their breath, ihey fade and turn
back to their dust. Ver. 30. Thou sendest out thy breath, they
are created, thou renewest the' appearance of the earth. — First,
ver. 19-23, by the distinction made by the sun and moon, the
work of the fourth day, Gen. i. 14, ss., between day and night,
God makes provision for the different portions of his creatures,
the beasts of the forest to whom the night belongs, and man
whose is the day. Shall he who bears such loving care for the
lions forget Sion? — For appointed times, ver. 19, (compare the
"7^j2, point of time, Ps. Ixxv. 2, cii. 13), that there may be
such, that these may be marked by it, namely and particularly,
the difference between day and night. It is clear from the
second parallel clause, and from the expansion in ver. 20-23,
that this fundamental difference on which the others depend is
here also brought particularly into view; comp. " to divide be
tween day and night," which in Gen. i. 14 precedes, "and to
serve for signs and for seasons," and "to divide the light and
between the darkness" of ver. 18. The moon is named before
the sun as the proper time-divider, as the Hebrews began the
day with the evening, and also because the Psalmist wished to
conclude with the picture of the day. The sun knows his going
down, so that he never remains in the heaven beyond his time,
and thus destroys the division of time, and robs a part of God's
creatures of their maintenance. Nllft ™ n°t the act of coming
but the place, Ez. xxvi. 1 0, " the approaches to a conquered
city;" tiflDtB1 N"Qft> the place where the sun goes down, Ps. 1. 1,
cxiii. 3, in opposition to ^yr^f mtft; the place where he rises.
— The two abbreviated futures in ver. 20, are properly, " make
thou darkness and it shall be as night," instead of when thou
makest darkness and it is. The condition in animated dis-

248 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
course is expressed as if it were a wish.- — In ver. 21 the trans
lation is not "the lions roar," but " the lions (rise) roaring after
their prey and to seek;" compare Amos viii. 12, " they run to
and fro to seek the word of the Lord." From God who is their
proper provider, and who therefore prepares for them the night
in whicli they may seek their nourishment, comp. Job xxxviii. 39.
If God thus cares for the wild beasts of the forest, and provides
for the hungry lions their food, shall he permit his chosen peo
ple to perish in sorrow and misery ? The roar of the lion should
ring in their ears: " 0 ye of little faith." — They are assembled,
ver. 12, from the dispersion spoken of in ver. 20, 21. God
causes for the sake of men the day to follow the night, in which
they may go forth to their labour, and work for their mainten
ance ; he will, therefore, on behalf of those who can pray to him
" our Father," cause the day of salvation to follow the night of
trouble during the whole course of history, and in the most glo
rious manner at the end of time. Berieb.: " When Jesus Christ
went into a state of humiliation, then roaring lions, bears,
and foxes, came out of their holes, and fell fiercely upon him,
Acts iv. 27. And a similar lot still befalls his church, even at
this time, and did so throughout the long night under Anti
christ. But on the morning of the seventh day the sun shall
rise in his strength, and shall shine throughout the whole day,
when no wicked beast shall dare to look out." — In ver, 24-26,
after an introduction which directs attention afresh to the pointi
of view from which the whole description is to be looked at, tcr
the sun namely and to the moon as the highest point in the
creation, where the omnipotent love of God is made manifest,
there follows the sea as the deepest. In the Mosaic history of
the creation the formation of the fishes and the birds belongs
to the fifth day. As the business of the Psalmist is not to treat
of the formation of the creatures, but only of the care which
God takes of them, and as he had already handled the care
taken of birds, there hence suitably follows the preparation of
the sea for marine animals, and also for man, who by means of
it obtains the advantages arising from navigation and trade. — -
The -ft-^ pro in ver. 24, is not "how great," — that is pj?2
"fo-fo, Ps- xcii 6 — but "how many are," compare Ps. iii 2.
The *ii3p is not a creature, but as always a possession ; compare
Psal. cv. 31. Throughout the whole Psalm the discourse is not

PSALM CIV. VER. 19 — 30. 249
of the riches of the creatures of God, but of the riches of his
arrangements on their behalf, so that each of them finds his
sphere of existence and his means of support: thy possessions
— in which thou investest thy creatures, and by means of which
thou maintainest them. Also by the works of God we are not
to understand his creatures, but the arrangements made for
them, — not the sea-animals, for example, but the sea itself. In
consequence of the numerous, works of God, which are made
according to the necessities of his various creatures, the earth
is full of his good things by which he supports his creatures
How should Sion alone starve in the midst of all these riches of
her God? How should he who cares for the beasts of the sea,
great and small, not care, for her? According to Koster, our
verse should come after ver. 26, and be appended to ver. 27:
the ry?2 there manifestly points back to our verse., We are,
however, by this proposal strikingly reminded of the fable of
the acorn. Ver. 24 and 27 do not at all suit well together, as
the language of the former of these verses does not apply to
creatures.- — This the. sea, ver. 25 (the Psalmist takes this case
as an instance), is equivalent to, here as one of the many works
which thou hast made in wisdom, the sea. Wide of both hands,
tor on both hands, on both sides. The ty£"v of sea-animals, used
only here, is taken from l-ft^D"*"!!"*!' ®en i- 21 » comn. Fs. ix;x.
34, " Assuredly the species of the sea-animals are of the most
varied kinds, the smallest and the largest are among tnem. —
The mention of the ships in ver. 26 points to wnai tne sea does
for man (comp. Gen. xlix. 13); while the leviathan, presenting
the appearance of a ship, represents the animals. The mascu
line fi^rT*1 's to be explained from the personification of the
ships as active wanderers (comp. Gen. iv. 7), as we speak of a
quiek sailor. At the, second clause we are not to. comp. Job
xl. 29, but ver. 20: " And all beasts, of the field sport there."
The translation, " whom thou hast made to sport with him,"
suits well for Jarchi, but not for our day. According to the
design of the Psalmist, notice is taken only of what the sea
does far the leviathan, who feels himself when there to be in
his element. — In ver. 27^30, aU creatures obtain from God their
food in their seasons ; he will, therefore, give also to his starv
ing church her daily food ; they perish and begin life again ac
cording to hi3 will ; he renews, after it has been destroyed, the

250 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
appearance of the earth, his church, therefore, whicn even now
experiences his death-bringing power, shall also in due season
experience his life-giving power, and the comforting word,
" Behold I make all things new." — The suffix in q^ ver. 27
most interpreters would refer only to the sea-animals. But the
expression " Thou renewest the face of the earth," in ver. 30,
alone is sufficient to refute this. It applies to everything named
in the preceding verses; including also men; comp. ver. 14, 15,
23; and also 26, where "there go the ships" refers also to men.
The conjunct reference to men appears particularly clear, from
the fundamental and parallel passages in the following verses,
comp. particularly Job xxxiv. 14, 15. Had the strophes been
originally separated by an outward mark, the temptation to
apply the q'jj only to what immediately precedes would have
been much less. Ps. cxlvii. 9 is really parallel to our verse. On
" at their time" comp. Ps. i. 3, cxlv. 15. — In ver. 28, the very
rare word, tap7> n°t to gather together generally, but to gather up,
to pick up from the earth, shows that there lies at bottom a re
ference to the manna, in connection with which this is the word
of constant occurrence, Ex. xvi. 4, 5, 16. This reference inti
mates that all nourishment is bread from heaven, Ps. cv. 40, in
accordance with Deut. viii. 3, according to which the Lord gave
manna to the Israelites, for the purpose of impressing upon
them this great truth. — In ver. 29 the hiding of the counten
ance denotes the withdrawal of God's compassionate care. On
" they are terrified," comp. at Ps. xc. 7. On " Thou assemblest
their breath or spirit," (not thou takest away), comp. Job
xxxiv. 14, 15, "If he would regard him, he would gather to
him his spirit and breath : all flesh would die at once, and man
would return to the dust." According to the doctrine of Scrip
ture, all life, not only what is immaterial and spiritual, but also
what is physical, is from God, the fountain of life, the God of
the spirits of all flesh, Num. xvi. 22, xxvii. 16, Heb. xii. 9 ;
comp. Gen. i 2, ii. 7, Ec. xii. 7, " The spirit returns to God who
gave it." The abbreviated future is to be explained, as in ver.
20, properly gather in instead of if thou gather in. The yp\^
alludes to the mighty confirmation given to the position here
expressed by the deluge ; comp. Gen. vii. 21, 22 : " All flesh
died that moved upon the earth, bird, and cattle, and wild
beast, . and every man : every thing in whose nostrils was

PSALM CIV. VER. 31—34. 251
the breath of life . . . died." The expression " return to
their dust" depends on Gen. iii. 19, "until thou return to the
dust from which thou wast taken, for dust thou art, and unto
dust shalt thou return." — They are created, they as the whole,
or the whole classes of creatures, are again called into being ;
comp. the ^-^ in Ps. cii. 18. The face of the earth (from Gen.
•vii. 4, "I destroy every living thing from the face of the
earth," 6, 7) is renewed, viz., by this reproduction of living
creatures, but, at the same time, by the removal of every other
desolation. The period after the flood furnishes us with the
most visible picture of such a renewal, as it exists after every
ruinous catastrophe, and in a certain measure each spring.
These renewals of the earth furnish a type and a pledge of the
renewal of the condition of the church, until the final perfect
regeneration, Matt. xix. 28.
Ver. 31-34. — Ver. 31. Let the glory of the Lord be eternal, let
the Lord rejoice in his works. Ver. 32. He looks upon the earth,
it shakes; he touches the mountains, they smoke. Ver. 33. I
will sing to the Lord so long as I live^ I will play to my God
while I have a being. Ver. 34. May my meditation be acceptable
to him, I will rejoice in the Lord. — The " may it be, may he re
joice," in ver. 31, has at bottom, " it shall be; he shall rejoice,"
and hence merely intimates that this being and rejoicing are
agreeable to the wishes of the Psalmist: the Lord is and shall
be eternally glorified by his works, and shall have cause to re
joice, as it is said he did after creation was finished, Gen. i. 31,
to which allusion is here made, " And God saw every thing
which he had made, and behold it was very good." The lan
guage does not apply to the acknowledgment of the glory of God,
but to the real existence of that glory. The works of God, ver.
13, 24, Ps. xix. 1, can only be what had been praised in the
preceding verses; and therefore are not animals and men, but
everything which he has created for them, and by which he
manifests his care over them, the heavens, the sun, the moon,
the earth, the fountains, &c. As the nature of God is eternally
glorified by these works, so also — this is the concealed back
ground, this the conclusion of faith — shall it be by his work of
deliverance. — In ver. 32 we have the basis of the confidence ex-
Dressed in ver. 31, the omnipotence of God, according to which
he can easily prevent every deterioration of the creature from

252 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
its original condition. Should the earth presume to depart from
the course of its destination, a single look of the Almighty is
sufficient to bring it back to trembling obedience ; should the
mountains refuse to render their service, the Lord requires only
to touch them, in order to humble them. And if the earth and
the mountains cannot frustrate the design which the Lord had
in creating them, the world and its kingdoms (comp. on the
mountains as symbols of kingdoms, Ps. lxviii. 15) cannot frus
trate the purposes of redemption. The mountains smoke, — with
fire, the wrath of the Lord which kindles their foundation ;
Deut. xxxii. 22, Ex. xix. 18, " And Sinai smoked wholly because
ihe Lord descended upon it in fire  and the
* whole mountains shook exceedingly" (the first clause). — In the
second pair of verses in the conclusion, we have as growing out
of the eternity of the glory of God in his works, the determina
tion of the Psalmist, and of the church in whose name he speaks,
to praise the Lord, and by this praise to conquer " all care,
anguish, and pain." The expression, " in my life," in ver. 33,
is not " my whole life through," (comp. at Ps, Ixiii 4), but in
harmony with the second clause, " so long as have I yet to live,
ere death shut my lips for his praise, the night cometh when I
can no more praise," comp. Ps. vi. 5, lxxxviii. 10, cxv. 17, 18,
xxx. 9. — " My meditation shall be acceptable to him," ver. 34,
according to the connection, the parallel and Ps. cv. 2, is equi
valent to " I will meditate on his wonders to his pleasure," " I
will bring to him the acceptable offering of my meditation." 1
will rejoice in the Lord— -he rejoices in his works, ver. 31, and
we will rejoice in them because of their glory.
Ver. 35. Sinners shall end from the earth, and the wicked
shall no more be. Praise my soul the Lord, Halleluja! The
fundamental passage is Num.. xiv. 35 : " the whole company of
the wicked who are assembled against me shall come to an end
in the wilderness and shall die there." The fate which in a
former age befell the wicked company of the Israelites in the
wilderness, shall be repeated upon the heathen company which
had assembled against the Lord and his church : this hope the
Psalmist entertains from having considered the glory of God
in his works. Tlie words, " sinners shall end," &c, here form
the counterpart to " the sons of thy servants shall abide," &c,
at the close of Ps. cii.

PSALM cv. 253

PSALM CV.

In ver. 1-7, we have the theme: the judgments and the won
ders of God in the past as the foundation of joyful hope for the
future. Next, the development: God always remembers the
promise of the permanent possession of Canaan which he im
parted to the fathers of the nation, ver. 8-1 2. Faithful to this
promise he protected the fathers in every danger, ver. 13-15.
It was under his wonderful guidance that Jacob the bearer of
the promise came with his family to Egypt, ver. 1 6-23, and was
afterwards delivered from it by great wonders and signs, ver. 24-
28, which are represented in detail, ver. 29-38: the destruction
of the useful fishes, and the introduction of the destructive frogs,
flies, and gnats, ver. 29-31 ; hail, ruinous to the trees, and lo
custs to the plants, ver. 32-35 ; and, finally, the death of the
first-born, ver. 36-38. After that, we have the wonders of God
in the wilderness, ver. 39-42, and the introduction of the Israel
ites into Canaan, ver. 43-45.
The beginning and the conclusion consist each of a strophe
of seven verses, divided by the four and the three. Of the re
maining thirty-one verses, the twenty-third is not counted,
" and Israel came to Egypt, and Jacob sojourned as a pilgrim in
the land of Ham." This verse, which forms the point of con
nection between the past and the present, stands out of the
formal arrangement. There remain, therefore, three decades.
These are grouped on both sides round ver. 23, as the middle
point. The five forms both times the beginning, ver. 8-12, and
ver. 24-28, the ten is both times, ver. 13-22, and ver. 29-
38, divided by a three, four, three, or by a three and a seven,
which, again, as in the introduction and conclusion, falls into a
four and three.
It is announced in the Introduction that the object of the
Psalm is to awaken the Church to joyful hope for the future,
by the consideration of the wonders of God in the past. This
general object assumes a specific form in the development. The
author does not introduce the whole series of the wonders of
God, but concludes as soon as Israel has obtained possession of
Canaan. Out of the whole storehouse of the promises of God
vouchsafed to the patriarchs, only one is brought prominently

254 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
forward, 'namely, that concerning the possession of Canaan.
Everything revolves round this. The wonders and the judg
ments have all, for their ultimate design, the fulfilment of this
promise. The matter of the abode in Egypt, however, is con
sidered by the author as of particular importance in treating of
the fulfilment of these promises. He depicts, particularly, how
this abode was brought about. He renders prominent, with
most manifest design, the clause, " Israel came to Egypt," as
the most significant point of the whole Psalm ; he speaks at
great length of the wonders and signs by which Israel was
delivered from Egypt. He takes very little notice of what was
done subsequent to this, throwing it merely into the conclusion,
and treating of it very briefly and superficially.
All these facts are sufficiently explained as soon as we assume
the composition of the Psalm to belong -to the period of the
Babylonish captivity, — a period which extends its sway even to
the cvi. Psalm, with which ours is inseparably connected. At
this period, the promise of Canaan given to the fathers, and the
doings of God in early times, in fulfilment of that promise,
must have exercised a powerful influence on the spirits of men.
This faithfulness of God to his promises, whicli brought Israel
out of Egypt, in order to bestow upon him, at the first, his in
heritance, must also deliver him out of the Egypt of the present,
out of Babylon, in order to restore to him his lost inheritance.
A more close connection with Psalm civ. is externally in
dicated by the circumstance, that, as there, so here also, the
Hallelujah, which unquestionably has its original position in
these Psalms, forms the conclusion. There are also individual
points of contact in addition to the formal arrangement, the
characteristic feature of which is, that both Psalms have a
middle verse, here in ver. 2 comp. with civ. 34, in ver. 1 6 comp.
with civ. 15. Both Psalms have for their common object to
comfort sorely-afflicted Israel. The civ. Psalm draws the con
solation from " meditating upon the wonders of God" in nature,
our Psalm in history.
The connection of the Psalm with the cvi., which, beginning
and ending with the Hallelujah, embraces the two Halfelujahs
of the preceding Psalms, i3 effected by the last verse, in which the
ultimate design of Israel's possessing Canaan, appears as the obey
ing, on their part, the commandments of God. The following

PSALM CV. VER. 1 — 7. 255
Psalm enters at length into a description of the position which
Israel obtained, in order to fulfil this purpose. Ver. 23 here comes
into contact, in particular expressions, with ver. 22 of Ps. cvi.
The historical character of our Psalm is common to it with
Psalm Ixxviii ; the design, however, is different. — The Psalmist
there is occupied in endeavouring, by making use of the events
of the Mosaic period, to lead the Israelites to repentance, but
here to awaken them to faith in the paternal guidance of God.
Our Psalm leans upon that one in particular expressions. It
would form the subject of an interesting treatise to point out
the principles of composition adopted in Scripture. The prac
tice of drawing inferences from a few principles or facts, in the
way of similarity and consequence, prevails to a great extent.
Psalms such as ours and the 78th show very manifestly how
firmly the facts of sacred history were rooted in the Israelitish
mind, and how absurd it is to institute any comparison between
these facts and the myths or traditions of a heathen antiquity.
The material here is unquestionably a given one, over which
poetry has no power.
On the previous occurrence of the first 1 5 verses of this
Psalm in 1 Chron. xvi., compare at Psalm cvi.

Ver. 1-7. — Ver. 1. Praise the Lord, call on Ms name, make
known among the nations Ms mighty deeds. Ver. 2. Sing to Mm,
play to him, meditate upon all Ms wonderful works. Ver. 3. Glory
in his holy name, let the heart of them rejoice who seek the Lord.
Ver. 4. Enquire at the Lord and Ms might, seek Ms face continu
ally. Ver. 5. Think upon Ms wonderful works which he has done,
Ms wonders and the judgments of his mouth. Ver. 6. Ye the seed
of Abraham Ms servant, the sons of Jacob Ms chosen one. Ver. 7.
He is the Lord our God, Ms judgments are over all the earth. —
Praise the Lord, ver. 4; comp. Ps. xxxiii. 2. Call on his name,
— on him according to his historically manifested glory (comp.
at Ps. Ixiii 4), in the first instance praising and thanking after
the example of Abraham, who, as often as God acquired for
himself a name in guiding him, called in solemn worship upon
the name of the Lord, Gen. xii. 8, xiii. 4. On " make known
among the nations," comp. Ps. xviii. 49, Ivii. 9. The mighty
deeds of God are those out of which his name grows. On
"glory ye," ver. 3, comp. Ps. xxxiv. 2, " My soul shall glory in

256 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
the Lord." His holy name:^- this he has acquired by his glo
rious deeds on behalf of Israel, for whose future salvation it
affords security, and, therefore, it forms for Israel the object of
glorying. The world glories in its horses and chariots against
the church of God lying iii the dust ; but the church has some
thing better in which to glory. Let the heart rejoice in midst of
deepest trouble; comp, Ps, xxxiii. 21, " For our heart rejoices
in him because we trust in his holy name." To seek the Lord
is equivalent to " trust in him," Ps. Ixix. 6. — Enquire at the
Lord and his might, ver. 4, stirred up by the glorious manifesta
tions of these in times past, whether they will not help you
even now; comp. Ps. xxxiv. 4, Ixxviii 34, 2 Chron. xvi. 12, and,
in reference to his might at Ps. Ixiii. 2, lxviii. 34. To seek the
face of the Lord is to be. a candidate for his favour, encouraged
by the manifestations of this ia ancient times; comp. at Ps.
xxiv. 6, xxvii. %.^-Think Upon, ver. 5,^-and. forget not, Ps.
Ixxviii. 11 . — His wonderful works which he has done, Ps. Ixxviii.
4, 1 2. The judgments of his mouth, — the deeds of the Lord are
neither more nor less than so many matter-of-fact discourses,
judicial decisions, such, for examplej as the wonders of God in
Egypt, which were exactly so many judicial decisions of God in
the case of Israel against the Egyptians, or of the church of
God against the world; comp. Ps. cxix. 13, where "all the
judgments of thy mouth" mean the commandments of God. —
Ver. 6 grounds the exhortation in ver. 5. Those addressed had
good reason to remember these deeds of God, for they are the
seed of Abraham his servant, = his client (not his servants,
comp. ver. 42), and, therefore, the legitimate heirs of his pro
mises ; the early deeds are for them pledges of a similar deliver
ance. — The Jehovah in ver. 7 contains the sense of the true
Godhead in it, and guarantees infinite power to judge and to
help. The expression, "His judgments are over the whole
earth, or extend over the whole earth," has its basis in those
judgments of God in the past, which are more particularly de
scribed in the following verses, and its face towards the future,
for the God of Israel, as surely as he is Jehovah, shall anew
manifest himself as the Judge of the earth, Ps. xciv. 2.
Ver. 8-12. — Ver. 8. He remembers eternally his covenant,
the word which he ordains for a thousand generations. Ver. 9
Which lie concluded with Abraham and his oath to Isaac. Ver.

PSALM CV. VER. 8—12. 257
10. And which he appointed to Jacob for a law, to Israel for an
eternal covenant. Ver. 11. Saying, to thee will I give the land
of Canaan for your inheritance. Ver. 12. When they were
small in number, very few and strangers in it. — The preterite
stands in ver. 8 on account of the verification in past times of
the general position taken up in the following verses. Instead
of the covenant in the second clause, we have the word, tor the
purpose of intimating that the covenant comes into notice here
on account of its promises. The word according to what follows
is the declaration of the favour or grace of God on behalf of
the chosen family, and especially of the possession of Canaan.
It is manifest from ver. 42 that the -q-j is still governed by
•^¦j, and that therefore the relative must be supplied: "for he
remembered his holy word with Abraham his servant." Which
he ordained, — set forth like an inviolable law, ver. 10. To or
for a thousand, innumerable generations — -a verbal allusion to
Deut. vii. 9, "who keepeth covenant, and mercy for those who
love him to a thousand generations," comp. Ex. xx. 6. — In
ver. 9-11, the covenant and the word are more particularly de
scribed; in reference to those who first received them in ver. 9
and 10 (the language depending on Deut. Xxix. 12, "as he
spoke to thee, and as he swore to thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob," comp. Deut. iv. 31), and in reference to their con
tents in ver. 11. It is evident from ver. 42, that we must in
ver. 9 expound : he remembers the word which he concluded with
Abraham. The p\13 ^s a^s9 in Hagg- "• ^ connected with the
~\y^ instead of the otherwise common j-)i*^*2, "the word which
I concluded With you when I led you out of Egypt ;" and this
connection here ought to occasion the less difficulty, as the word
according to the parallel is the word of the covenant. "He
remembers," mUst also be supplied at the second clause.
Allusion is made to Gen. xxvi. 3, where God says to Isaac,
" Sojourn in the land, and I shall be with thee and bless thee,
for to thee and to thy seed I will give all these lands, arid fulfil
the oath which I swore to Abraham thy father." — On -fi^rr
with the accusative bf the things and' the dative of the person,
ver. 1 0, compare at Ps. xxx. 7. The expression, " and he
appointed to him," is equivalent to " and he remembered the
oath which he appointed;" On prfo, Ven.: "that it might
retain perpetual force like some solemnly proclaimed decree."
VOL. III. s

258 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
Allusion is made to Gen. xxviii. 1 3, where God says to Jacob,
"lam the God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac,
the land whereon thou liest I will give it to thee and to thy
seed;" and to Gen. xxxv. 12, where he says to Israel, "the land
which I have given to Abraham I will give to thee, and to
thy seed after thee will I give this land." — " To thee will 'I give,"
ver. 11, — so said God to each individual of the above-mentioned
three, hence in the second clause " for your inheritance," com
pare at Ps. lxxvii. 55. The following verse shows that we are
not to regard the plural as having any reference to the descen
dants. — When they were small in number, — a "little flock," who
could do nothing themselves to 'bring about the fulfilment of
the promise, who might easily have perished without leaving a
trace behind them, had not the mighty arm of Him who had
made the promises been wielded over them. Thus was it also
again at the time of the composition of this Psalm: in 1 Chron.
xvi. 1 9, when ye were, in your fathers, this allusion is directly
applied to present circumstances. Allusion is made to Gen.
xxxiv. 30: "And I am few in number, and they may easily
gather themselves together against me, and slay me, and I shall
be destroyed, I and my house." The J2^J33 is properly like a
few, comp. Is. i. 9. The ideal magnitude to which the real here
corresponds is the few, not the many. What resembles the
original idea of fewness must be few indeed,
Ver. 13—23. — Ver. 13. And they went from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another nation. Ver. 14. He permitted
no man to do them harm, and punished kings for their sakes.
Ver. 1 5. " Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no
harm!''1 Ver. 1 6. And he called hunger upon the land, he broke
every staff' of bread. Ver. 17. He sent before them a man, Jo
seph was sold for a servant. Ver, 18. They tormented his feet
with fetters, Ms soul came into iron. Ver. 19. Until the' time
when Ms word came, the word of the Lord cleared Mm. — Ver. 20.
Then the king sent and released him, the ruler of the nations, and
set Mm free. Ver. 21. He made him Lord over his house, and
ruler over all Ms possessions. Ver. 22. That he might bind his
princes at Ms. pleasure, and teach his ancients wisdom. — Ver. 23.
A nd Israel came to Egypt, and Jacob sojourned as a pilgrim in
the land of Ham.— -In ver. 13-15 we have the providence of
God watching over those who first received the promises, by

PSALM CV. VER. 13—23. 259
which was declared the possibility of the fulfilment of these
promises. They wandered from nation to nation, ver. 13, and
therefore from danger to danger; the waters of the heathen
world would have overflowed them, had it not been for the pro
tecting hand of God. Everywhere, in Canaan itself, among
the Philistines, among the Egyptians, it was only this hand
which turned away all injury from the patriarchs. — He pun
ished kings for their sakes, — Pharaoh, in Gen. xii. 17, and Abi
melech in xx. 3, ss., to whose case chiefly the allusion is made,
as is evident from the reproof quoted in ver. 15. On "touch
not," ver. 15, comp. Gen. xxvi. 2, where Abimelech says of
Isaac, " whoever touches this man and his wife shall be put to
death," comp. ver. 29. The anointing is in the Scriptures both
of the Old and New Testament the standing symbol and type
(the latter, for example, in 1 Kings xix. 1 6, Is. lxi. 1) of the
communication of the gifts of the Spirit ; see the proof of this
in the Christol. P. ii. p. 444 ss. Mine anointed, — therefore, the
vessels of my Spirit (comp. Gen. xli. 38, where Pharaoh says
of Joseph, " Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom
the Spirit of God is ?"), the bearers of my revelation. The
parallel and the whole connection show that the discourse here
is specially of the prophetic gifts of the Spirit. The translation
" my confidants," as " a vague common honorary title," is a piece
of nonsense. "Do my prophets no harm" depends upon Gen.
xx. 7, where God says to Abimelech, " And now give the man
back his wife, for he is a prophet, and if he pray for thee thou
shalt live." The ^23 means properly the "God-bespoken:"
the nature of prophecy is a divine address. The language al
ready used in ver. 1 1 refers to this ; Gen. xv. relates how
Abraham received such addresses in both the forms peculiar to
prophecy, vision and dream. Isaac had a prophetical dream at
Beersheba ; Jacob at Bethel. The latter as a prophet saw at
Mahanaim the angels of God, and wrestled with the Lord at
Jabbok. Prophetic revelations form the basis of the blessing of
Isaac ahd Jacob. Our passage is of importance as a proof that
fc^H2 *^oes n°t denote, as is commonly said, the orator of God,
but that the form maintains its usual passive sense. The pro
phets were not " inspired orators," except in the isolated case
of the above-mentioned two blessing-addresses, which, accord
ing to ver. 11, do not here come specially into view, but God-

260 tfHE BOOK OF PSALMS.
bespoken* men, recipients of divine communications, and in so
far vessels of honour, which the world durst not touch with im
punity. — In ven 16-23 we have the iniroductioh into Egypt of
the bearers of theprohiise, in circumstances which manifestly
showed that- the hand of God was there in operation, and that;
the promise of God was not by this broken, but on the contrary, ,
that its fulfilment was by this means to .be brought about. —
The land in ver; 16 is the' land in which the patriarchs so-,
journed, and which had been promised to. them, ver. 11, 12.
The staff comes into notice as the support, comp. Ps. civ. 15,,
"and bread' supporteth man's heart." The words are from
Lev. xxvi. 26, "'if- 1 break for you the staff of bread," on
which Is. iii ldepends.— At the first clause of ver. 17, comp-
Gen. xiv. 5, where Joseph says to his brethren,, " And novt, be
not distressed because you soldme, for God sent me before you
for a support," 1. 20. On the second clause, Gen. xxxvii. 34.
The exceeding copiousness of detail with Which, the Psalmist
speaks of Joseph gives rise to the* idea that he had before his
mind a counterpart tb Joseph in the Egypt of the present time.
We might suppose that die alluded to the ten tribes, ;who are
spoken of by the name of Joseph in Ps. lxxx. 1, but the de
scription will not suit this Joseph, for he had nothing 'in com
mon with the old one except the single circumstance that he
was taken to ' Egypt before Judah. It is. not told in history
that he prepared for him a city there. On the other hand, an
astonishing light breaks in upon the picture, if we see the
second Joseph in Daniel. The striking similarity betweeii
Joseph and Daniel is clear as day. Daniel had been led away
into captivity in the fourth year of Jehoiakim ; an interpretation
of a dream procured for him an influential position) which put
it within his reach to promote the welfare of, his captive breth
ren, whose pride he was according' to the testimony of Ezekiel,
and finally, to effect their deliverahce. That Joseph was fet
tered in -prison, ver. 18, is: expressly said, in Gen xl. 3; comp.
also xxxix. 20, 22, according to which all the prisoners in the
king's prison were bound,1 Still, his fetters were assuredly
light, after he obtained the favour of the keeper of the prison,
1 It has been maintained without any reason, that'itjji also signifies to make
captive, to keep in custody although not bound'.' Custody without bonds was not
common.

PSALM OV. VER. 13—23. 261
xxxix. 21, 'ss. The original miserable condition of Joseph as a
prisoner, and his subsequent deliverance, are described at such
length, because the Psalmist sees in him a picture of "tliose
bound in misery and iron," Ps. cvii. 10. The Keri, his foot,
depends on the miserable ground that the fetter is singular.
That the bV\2. ls the accusative is clear from the simple ground
that it i; masculine. The whole person is denoted by the soul,
(at Ps. ciii. 5), because the soul of the captive suffers still more
than the body. Imprisonment, is one of the most severe trials
to the soul. Even to spiritual heroes, such as a Savonarola and
St Cyran (Ste Beuve hist, de Port, royal, P. i), the waters
often go over the soul. — -The word of Joseph (the suffix refers
everywhere to Joseph in this connection) is that by which he
interpreted to the royal servants their dreams in prison ; comp.
Gen. xli. 13, "And as he interpreted so it happened, me he re
stored to my place, and him he hanged;" and also the 14th verse,
"then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they took him out
of the prison, and he shaved his beard and changed, his clothes
and came to, Pharaoh/' As the verification of the interpreta
tion of the dreams ion the part of Joseph and his deliverance
are connected together as cause and effect, no notice is taken
of the interval of , two years which elapsed between them,
Gen. xli. 1. The word ot the Lord in the second clause is,
according to ver. 11 and 42, the promise of the possession of
Canaan, the accomplishment of which demanded the preceding-
residence in Egypt. The purifying of Joseph in the eyes of
men, the establishment of his character, is attributed to the
living and powerful word of God, because it happened on ac
count of it. The words depend upon Ps. xviii. 30, "the, word
pf the Lord (his promise) is purified;" the word of the Lord,
because pure, purified; and it was the reference to that passage
which led to the strange, expression. — On ver. 21 comp. Gen.
xli. 40, 41, and as the most exactly accordant fundamental pas
sage, xiv. 8.— The figurative expression, to bind, in ver. 21, was
occasioned by the reference to "his soul came into iron," in
ver. 18: the soul once bound now binds princes. That the ex
pression is nqt to be . taken in a literal sense, is evident not
only from the parallel but also from the fundamental passages,
in which no mention is anywhere made of imprisonment, but
always only of obedience ; compare Gen. xli. 44, " without thee

262 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
no man shall move his hand or his foot in all the land of
Egypt;" but especially ver. 40, " thou shalt be over my house,
and all my people shall kiss thy mouth." Besides, we have
"lti?D21> which, according to the b^ll *n ver- -* ®> an<^ the usual
sense of the y after the verb of binding, Ps. cxlix. 8, must be
explained : with his soul, so that the soul is what binds, the
fetter. On the second clause comp. Gen. xli. 39, where Pha
raoh declares Joseph to be the man of the greatest understand
ing and wisdom, and on the ground of this exalts him to the
highest honour. — That Jacob in ver. 23 is the man, is ma
nifest from "his people" in ver. 24. Still he came with his
whole house, Gen. xiv. The verse joins on to ver. 16; Jacob
came on the occasion of a famine, ver. 16, and was intro
duced by Joseph, who had risen to the highest honour, ver.
17-22. He sojourned, Gen. xlvii. 4. In the land of Ham, Ps.
Ixxviii. 51.
Ver. 24-28. — Ver. 24. And he made his people very fruitful,
and stronger than their enemies. Ver. 25. He turned their heart
to hate Ms people, to use subtlety against Ms servants, Ver. 26.
He sent Moses his servant, Aaron whom he chose. Ver. 27. They
laid down beside them all his signs and wonders in the land of
Ham. Ver. 28. He sent darkness, and made it dark, and they
resisted not Ms word. — -On ver. 24 comp. Gen. xvii. 6, xxviii. 3,
Ex. i 7, 9. Berieb.: " Behold there the concealed blessing in
the secret of the eross. Under it here the people of God are
in the most fruitful state." The expression "he made them
strong," does not refer to the mere increase of numbers, but, as
is evident from the clause, " more in number and stronger than
we," of the fundamental passage, to the strength arising from
this increase. — In ver. 25 the great rationalism of Lutheran
theology in regard to the relation of God to the wicked, comes
out in the many forced translations and arbitrary expedients
which have been had recourse to in connection with the passage ;
compare on the co-operation of God in evil, which for example
brings it about that a certain person writes a life of Jesus in
stead of gratifying his evil passions in another way, Beitr. 3, p.
462 ss,, and at Ps. li. 5.1 He turned, ver. 25, (comp. 1 Sam. x.
1 Calvin : " We see that it is deliberately propounded by the prophet that the
whole government of the church is subject to God. . . . And this is ex-

psalm cv. veil 24 — 28. 263
9), in order that he might furnish an opportunity for the dis
play of his wonderful power. In like manner, according to
Isaiah xliii. 17, God led out Pharaoh and his hosts to pursue
the Israelites. The Hithp. of ^j occurs elsewhere only in
Gen. xxxvii. 18, where it is used of the .wicked plots of Joseph's
brethren against him. It corresponds to the l-ro^nro ^n Ex.
i. 10. — Ver. 27 is according to Ps. Ixxviii 43. The things of
his signs, — the whole number of them, Ps. cxlv. 5, and at Ps.
lxv. 3. — The sending of darkness in verse 28 is to be taken in a
figurative sense = the impending displeasure and misery; the
Egyptians were, in this sense, covered with darkness from the
first to the last plague. The second-last plague in Egypt, Ex.
x. 22, 23, is only alluded to. This plague was well-fitted to
serve as the basis for such a figurative representation, as even
in the Mosaic account it manifestly bears a symbolical charac
ter, from which the singular prominence given to darkness ad
mits of being explained: the darkness which covered Egypt
was an image of the divine wrath; comp. Egypt and the Books
of Moses, p. 123. Against the idea that the ninth plague
comes into notice here in the same way in which the others do,
which are mentioned in the following verses, may be urged the
formal arrangement — it would not be glanced at in a general
way, but would, like the rest, have a separate part assigned to
it, — next, the circumstance that the following plagues, with the
insignificant exception of the plague of the gnats and flies, are
introduced in their historical order, and finally, the completely
decisive ground, that, even by this plague, the heart of Pharaoh
was not broken; to which, therefore, the second clause is not
suitable, whereas it becomes perfectly suitable, as soon as the
darkness is considered as comprehending the ten plagues, and,
of course, the destruction of the first-born; comp. ver. 36, which
corresponds to the second clause here. Several interpreters, to
get out of the difficulty, refer the second clause, in a most un
satisfactory manner, to Moses and Aaron. A similar figurative
pressly affirmed, lest we should think that the hearts of the wicked run freely on
to our destruction. But this ought to be sufficient for us that, whatever plots
the devil and wicked men may lay against us, God restrains their efforts; faith is
doubly confirmed when we hear that, not only their handa, but even their hearts
and their minds are held bound, so that they cannot even lay a single plan except
what God permits.'"

264 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
use of darkness, finally, occurs, for example, in Is. sly. 7,
"Making light and creating darkness, making peace and creat
ing evil;" 1. 3, " I will Clethe the heaven in darkness." The
"Iptynn never means "to be dark," always ''to make dark;"
comp. Am. v. 8, " He makes the day dark into night ;" also Ps.
cxxxix. 12, Jer. xiii. 16, "before he make it dark." The mar
gin, " his word," instead of " his words'," has proceeded merely
from a misapprehension of .the obviously correct sense, and of
the meaning arising from it, , that the discourse here can be
only of a single, word of God, either to the Egyptians or to
Moses and Aaron-
Ver. 29-38. — Ver. 29. He changed their water into blood, and
killed their fish., Ver. 30. He filled their land with frogs, in the
chambers of their kings. Ver. 31. He. spake, there came vermin,
midges in all their boundaries. — Ver. 32. He gave hail for (heir
rain, flaming fire in their land, Ver. 33. And destroyed their
vine and their fig^ree, and' brake the trees of their' boundaries.
Ver. 34. He spake, there came locusts, and caterpillars without
number. Ver. 35. And ihey consumed all the grass. in their land,
and consumed the fruit of 'their field. ,^-Ver. 36. And he smote all
the first-born in their land,, the firstling's of all strength. Ver. 37.
And he led them out with silver and gold, and there was no one
that stumbled among their tribes: Ver. 38. Egypt was glad when
they went out, f Or fear had fallen upon them. — This representa
tion of the Egyptian plagues in detail, which terminates in the
same way in ver. 38, in which the general view did in ver. 28,
falls into two gfoups of three and seven verses, of which the
last is again divided by a four and a three. Of the ten plagues
of Egypt, only. seven are mentioned, the omissions being the
fifth and the sixth, the destruction of the cattle and the boils,
and the ninth, the darkness, the same which are omitted in
Ps. Ixxviii. Four plagues are allotted to the first group, and
three to the second, two of which are described in the first poiv
tion, while the second is wholly filled up with the last decisive
plague. — That in ver. 29 the emphasis lies upon the result, the
death of the fish, is clear from the consideration, that in this
way unity is "imparted to this first group ; — he deprived them
of their beloved fish, and gave them, in and out of the water,
hated frogs, and in addition to this, upon their land abomin
able flies and gnats. Ps. Ixxviii. 44, Ex. vii. 18, 21, are to be

psalm ov. ver. 39—45. 2,65
compared. — On the second clause of ver. 30, comp. Ex. vii. 28.
Their kings, — because the king represented kings, and dwelt
in the king's palace. — In ver. 31, the little midges, which are
wholly omitted in Ps. Ixxviii. (comp. on q^ Egypt, p. 113),
must yield precedence to the larger flies, Ps. Ixxviii. 45, — In
the first division of the second group, in the transition from
the animal to the vegetable kingdom, the hail whicli destroyed
the trees, and the locusts which destroyed the plants, are bound
together in one pair; — the whole food of the people was thus
destroyed, Gen. i. 29. — In ver. 32, the allusion to .Lev. xxvi. 4,
"And I give you rain in its season," shows that -J]-*] is to be
taken in the sense of to give and not to make for anything: — he
gave to them as their rain, or instead of the mild fertilizing
rain which he gives to his people in its season, destructive hail
with lightning, a fine gift if they would consider it as such.
On the second clause, comp. Ps. Ixxviii 48.— In reference to
the vine, in ver. 33, comp. at Ps. Ixxviii. 47. — In ver. 34, glyi,
the licker, stands in parallel with the locust, as does ^idj-J) the
gnawer — both poetical epithets of the locust; comp. the Christol.
3, p. 351.— On ver. 35, comp. Ex. x. 5. — In ver. 36, the divine
vengeance proceeds from the food of man to himself; comp. " he
smote" here with the same word in ver. 33. The ninth plague
must be left out because it destroyed this progress. It is omitted
for a similar reason in Ps. Ixxviii. For the same reason, the
ravages which the hail made among the cattle are not alluded
to. Ps. Ixxviii. 51 is to be compared: " He smote all the first
born in Egypt, the firstlings of the strength in the tents of
Ham." The, borrowing here, cannot fail to be observed. — With
silver and gold, —the silver and golden vessels, of the Egyptians,
which they received from them at their departure as presents;
comp. Beitr. 3. p. 507 ss. The second clause depends upon Ex.
xiii 1,8, " And the children of Israel went strong out of the
land of Egypt," comp. Is. v. 27.— On ver. 38, comp. Ex. xi. 1,
xii. 31-33, according to which Pharaoh sent away the children
of Israel by neck and shoulder, " for they said, We shall all die."
On the second clause, Ex. xv. 16, Deut. xi. 25.
Ver. 39-45. — Ver. 39. He spread out a cloud for a covering,
and fire during the night to give light. Ver. it). They asked, he
caused quails to come, with the bread of heaven he satisfied them.
Vei\ 41. He opened the rock, waters gushed out, ran in dry places

266 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.

a river. Ver. 42. For he remembered his holy word with
Abraham his servant. — Ver. 43. And thus he led out his people
with joy, his chosen ones with a shout. Ver. 44. And gave to
them the lands of the heathen, and they received the labour of the
nations. Ver. 45. So that they should have observed his statutes,
and kept Ms laws. Halleluja. — He spread out a cloud for a
covering, ver. 39, namely, during their journeys; for while they
lay encamped, it rested over the tabernacle. Num. x. 34, ought
to be compared: " And the cloud of the Lord was over them by
day, when they rose up from their encampment." In the burn
ing wilderness the cloud was a protection to the congregation
of the Lord against the sun (comp. Is. iv. 5, 6), an emblem of
the protection of the favour of God which at all times watches
over his church (comp. the interpretation given by Isaiah in
other passages) ; and during the night the pillar of cloud and
fire enlightened the darkness, an emblem of the light which
the Lord makes to shine at all times upon the darkness of the
misery of his church. The spreading out does not suit the
second clause; we have, therefore, a Zeugma. That i-pr***) is
an adverb is evident from Num. ix. 16, "The cloud covered it
and the appearance of fire by night," where, as here, " by day"
is omitted; and also from Ex. xiii. 21. Ps. Ixxviii. 14, ought
to be compared. — The bwZ} *n ver- ^ ^s impers., they asked.
In reference to the quails, comp. Ps. Ixxviii. 26, 27, and the
maAma, ver. 22-25. The bread of heaven is from Ex. xvi. 4;
comp. Ps. Ixxviii. 24, 25. On " He satisfies them," comp. Ex.
xvi 3, 8, 12. — On ver. 41, comp. Ps. Ixxviii 20, on -p^ Ps.
Ixxviii. 17, on ^j-j^ ver. 16. — For he remembered, ver. 42, Ber
ieb.: "That we may again come to. the fountain from which
have flowed so many and so great acts of kindness on the part
of God towards his people." — The holy = glorious word of God,
far above all feebleness and deceit, — is the word regarding the
possession of Canaan, comp, ver. 8 and 11. The fundamental
passage is Ex. ii. 24, " And God remembered his covenant with
Abraham, and with Isaac, and with Jacob ;" comp. " which he
confirmed with Abraham," ver. 9. We cannot translate " to
Abraham," for the word is not one which God merely uttered,
but one which he gave. — On ver. 44, comp. Ps. Ixxviii. 55. — On
ver, 45, Deut. iv. 40, xxvi. 17, Ps. Ixxviii. 7. The observance
of the commandments of God by Abraham appears even in Gen.

psalm cvi. 267
xviii. 1 9, as the object of the covenant. The Psalmist adds at
the conclusion a fatal knot. The observance of the command
ments of God is the object for which Israel has had given to
him possession of Canaan, and these commandments Israel has
wilfully violated; the word of God, therefore, regarding the
possession of Canaan to the patriarchs, and all that God has
done in the days of old in fulfilment of that word, can furnish
no support whatever to his hopes. The business of the follow
ing Psalm is to untie this knot.

PSALM CVI.
May God, who is rich in mercy towards his own people, ver.
], 2, if they walk according to his commandments, ver. 3, ma
nifest also at the present time this mercy towards his suf
fering church, ver. 4, 5. Assuredly we have sinned grievously,
and hitherto have not fulfilled the condition of salvation ; and,
therefore, instead of salvation, we have had severe punishment,
in Egypt, ver. 6-12, in the wilderness, ver. 13-33, and in
Canaan, where the consummation of the sins of the people has
at last led to the consummation of the punishment, the cap
tivity and the desolation, ver. 34-43. But as on former occa
sions, the mercy of God shone forth in many ways through his
wrath, so has he even now heard the cry of his people in their
deserved misery, and turned towards them the heart of his op
pressors, so that, in spite of his sins, which brought to a ter
mination the prayer begun in ver. 4, 5, he can, full of confidence,
call upon the Lord to complete the work which he had begun,
and to gather them from among the heathen, ver. 44-48.
The beginning and the conclusion, whicli consist each of five
verses, make up a decade. The name Jehovah occurs in all
in these verses seven times, four time's in ver. 1—5, and three in
ver. 44—48. The representation of the sins of the people is
complete in four strophes, of whicli tlie first, containing seven
verses, represents the transgressions in Egypt, the second and
third, each containing ten verses, the transgressions in the wil
derness, ver. 13-22, and ver. 24-33, and the third, containing
likewise two, the transgressions in Canaan. The two first
strophes are separated from the two last by an intercalary verse,

268 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
ver. '23, which this Psalni has in common with Ps. civ. and cv.
The fourth strophe, corresponding to the decade of the beginning
and the conclusion, is divided by a five and a five, While the
second is. divided by a three and a seven.
The situation is described exactly in ver. 46 arid 47. A
better turn of fortune has visited the Israelites, inasmuch as
the Lord has turned towards them the hearts of their oppressors,
ver. 46, but still they are in captivity, scattered among the hea
then, and full deliverance is the object of desire and prayer,
ver. 47 ; comp. also ver. 4 and 5. The situation, therefore, is
that towards the end, of the captivity, exactly corresponding to
that in the prayer of Daniel at the beginning of the Medo-
Persian dynasty, ch. ix., a passage with which our Psalm is so
intimately connected, that it may be considered as its lyrical
echo. The result thus set forth may still be adopted even
though we were to infer from the clause at the conclusion,
" And all the people say Amen," that the Psalm was intended
for use in the sanctuary, and must thus have been first com
posed after the return from the captivity. The situation in this
case; instead of being a real, would be an assumed one. The
Psalmist, with ,the design of leading the, people intp a full
understanding of their own experience, would iri this case trans
fer himself along with the. people who are here introduced as
speaking from beginning to end, into the time immediately be
fore full possession had, been obtained. This inference, however,
is anything but sure; Meetings for the public worship of God
(arid only such in general can, be supposed to be implied in, the
conclusion) assuredly took place during the captivity: a people
pf God cannot exist without worshipping God.
Our Psalm. is the concluding portion of that trilogy of the
captivity which is appended to the Davidic trijbgy, and with
which it forms one whole. This is evident from the joyful con
clusion, — a conclusion which manifestly belongs to one great
whole — and also from the Halleluja at the beginning and at
the end,-— a circumstance all the more decisive, as such a con
clusion occurs also at Ps, cxiii, which is connected in a similar
manner with Ps. cxi and cxii. — in manifest connection with
the simple Halleluja of Ps. civ. and cv.
The design of the Psalm. is to awaken the people to a lively
conciousness of the truth, that though there is much of sin in

PSALM CVI. 269
ns, there is much more of grace in God, and thus to untie the
knot which the Psalmist had tied at the end of Ps. cv., to whicli
ver. 3 here alludes in the intimation made of the dependence of
the possession of Canaan upon obedience to the commandments
of God, — to remove the enemy which threatened to rob the
people of the help, and of the restoration to their own land, of
which they had been assured by nature, Ps. civ., and by history,
Ps. cv.
The main-character of the Psalm is that of a confession of sin.
This is manifest from the general position placed at its head,
" we have sinned with our fathers, we have coinmitted iniquity,
we have done wickedly," of which all that follows is to be con
sidered merely as a development. It is also manifest from the
circumstance that the sinfulness of the people is the one thought
which runs through all the strophes, and is the regularly and
exclusively predominant one. It can be considered here only
as a subordinate matter introduced in the way of preparation
for the conclusion, to point to the divine compassion which in
sures deliverance to Israel, notwithstanding their sins, ver. 8-
12, 23. ,
The object of the confession of sin is in the first instance to
represent the hinderanceto salvation in its whole extent and
with full sharpness, so that the inventive spirit of men troubled
by a conscience of sin might be able to add nothing to it. In
such a case everything depends upon the fact: that, nothing is
covered over and palliated: it is only where an awakened con
science sees an entirely true representation of sin that it can
appropriate to itself the offered consolation. At the same time,
however, the full representation of sins by which the people had1
merited the judgments under which theywere sighing might
serve completely to justify the former ways of God, and thus to
remove one mighty hinderance to hope. It is only the' man who
gives fully the glory to God in reference to suffering, who sees
nothing in- it' except deserved punishment, punishment which
cannot mislead, but serves for the promotion of his glory; it is
only he who can give to him also the glory in reference to
deliverances It is only a true confession of sin that throws
light upon the future as it docs upon the past ways of God.1
1 CalviD: "If God chastise us severely, we immediately, imagine that his promises
have failed. But when, on the contrary, we are told that we bear the punishment

270 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
The older expositors give hence the impression which the
Psalm ought to produce upon the New Testament church : " 0
Lord, thou art a gracious God, be gracious to us also poor sin
ners, for the sake of thy covenant and of thy grace which thou
hast promised in Christ, as thou hast been gracious to our fore
fathers in regard to their sins."
In 1 Chron. xvi., there is given a Psalm-piece, consisting of
the beginning of Ps. cv. (ver. ] -1 5), the whole of Psalm xcvi.,
and the beginning (in ver. 34) and the end (in ver. 35-36) of
our Psalm. According to the common idea, the author of
Chronicles is understood to relate that this composition was
sung at the erection of the sanctuary on Sion under David.
The older expositors hence conclude that the three Psalms
from which this fragment is made up, were composed by David,
or at least in the time of David ; in more modern times a proof
has been got of the non-genuineness of Chronicles or of the
arbitrary manner in which the Jews fixed the authors and the
dates of the Psalms. But the whole depends upon a mistake.
The description of the service which took place at the in
troduction of the ark of the covenant in 1 Chron. xvi. termin
ates before the Psalm-piece is given : so that we cannot con
ceive of any use made of that Psalm-piece at this festival.
David had already pronounced the blessing, ver. 2, and the
people had been dismissed with gifts, with which, according to
2 Chron. vi. 18, 19, the festival was closed. A narrative is next
given of the arrangement of the sacred music in the tabernacle.
It is recorded next in ver. 7, that David on the same day caused
thanks to be given by Asaph and his brethren, and on the
occasion of the great memorable day of the establishment of the
sacred music, there is given the essence in ver. 8-16 of those
Psalms which at all times were sung, accompanied by this
music, in representation of the whole Psalter. The author of
Chronicles naturally formed his composition out of these Psalms
which were sung in his day most frequently, and with the
greatest relish. In like manner it was natural that he should
not bind himself strictly to the text of the borrowed passages,
but should introduce slight variations wherever such seemed
which our sins have deserved, and the promises at the same time are held out in
us, by which God offers himself as gracious, immediately we repent with our whole
heart."

r

PSALM CVI. VEB. 1  5. 271
suitable. The defence lies in this, that he does not, like the
author of the Books of Samuel, in 2 Sam. xxii, pledge himself
to give a faithful transcript of another man's labour, but has
rather published expressly an abstract by himself; and we must
therefore expect it a priori to be given with that freedom
which is manifested in selecting from Ps. cv. only the beginning,
and from our Psalm the beginning and the conclusion.
Ver. 1-5. — Ver. 1. Halleluja, praise the Lord, for he is
good, for his mercy lasts for ever. Ver. 2. Who can express the
mighty deeds of the Lord, shew forth all his praise. Ver. 3. Bless
ed are they who keep judgment, practise righteousness at all times.
Ver. 4. Remember me, 0 Lord, with the favour of thy people, visit
me with thy salvation. Ver. 5. So that I see the good of thy chosen,
rejoice with the joy of thy people: be glad with thine inheritance. —
The beginning, praise the Lord, corresponds designedly to that
ofPs. cv. The enduring of the goodness, = the being good of
the Lord, is the eternal duration of his mercy ; compare at the
fundamental passage, Ps. cv. — The transcendent greatness of
the deeds of God, ver. 2, ought not to keep us back from prais
ing him, but contains in it the strongest motive to praise, comp.
Ps. xl. 5, lxxi. 15; the farther off the goal is, the more earnestly
must we strive. — The third verse points to the condition with
which participation in the eternal mercy of God is connected,
in agreement with Ps. cv. 45, ciii. 18, ci. ; — the import being,
" Blessed the people, if they only." The church does not allow
herself to be incidentally turned aside by this important " if,"
but proceeds onward from praising the mercy of the Lord, ver.
4 and 5, to pray that that mercy may be imparted to her. After
she had offered up such a prayer, however, the " if" goes to her
heart with a hundred-fold greater weight ; she acknowledges that
the condition by no means exists in her case, and lays hold of
the compassion of God as the last anchor of deliverance. It is
exactly in the same way that the confession of sin in Dan. ix.
4, is appended to the words, " he keepeth covenant and mercy
for ever for those who love him." — In ver. 4 it is not the Psalmist
himself that speaks, but the present generation, compare ver. 6
— such personal references are very rarely to be adopte d in
these Psalms that were composed at the period of the captivity
and subsequently, and indeed scarcely ever in any of the non-

272 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
Davidic Psalms. The conclusion of the Psalm shows that the
speaker is the people. They pray in tlieir misery to the Lord;
who appeared to have forgotten them, that he would think upon
them and visit them with that favour which belongs to his own
people, and which they themselves had so readily enjoyed ii
early times. The v-ft, ver. 5, is used also in other passages of
Israel when qj^ had preceded, for example, Zeph. ii. 9. The
inheritance of God is Israel, compare Deut. ix. 29.
Ver. 6-12. — :Ver. 6. We have sinned with our fathers, we
have transgressed, we have done wickedly. Ver. 7. Our fathers
in Egypt . understood not thy wonders, they thought not on the.
multitude of thy tender mercies, and rebelled at the sea, at the Red
Sea. — Ver. 8. And he delivered them for his namis sake, that he
might make known Ms strength. Ver. 9. And, rebuked the Red
Sea, where it was dry, and he led them through the floods as through
the wilderness. Ver. 10. And delivered them from the hand of
Mm who hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the
enemy., Ver. 11. And the, waters covered their enemies, there. was
not one of them left. Ver. 12. Then they .believed in his word,
they sang his praise.- — The three verbs in ver. 6, by which in
the most impressive manner the greatness of the transgressions
of the people is described, occur also in 1 Kings viii. 47, in the
prayer of Solomon at the dedication of the temple, and also; in
Dan. ix. 5, in the same order and in a similar connection. ; 1
Kings viii. 47 is undoubtedly the fundamental [passage. There
occurs also an undeniable reference in ver. 46 to the prayer of
Solomon, which the authbr of Kings took from its ancient.
source, so that no deduction can be drawn from it as to the
date of composition of these books; comp. ver. , 50 there. With
our fathers, — along with them, so that we and they together
form one corrupted mass. The transgressions of the fathers
of Israel, the Mosaic generation (compare ver. 7, Ps. Ixxviii. 8,
12), are next given in detail, in ver. 7-33, and their own sins
or those of Israel in Canaan, ver. 34-43. — On ver, 7 compare,
Ps. Ixxviii 11, 42 ; on irvDH at Ixxviii. 17. The full descrip
tion of the locality is intended to direct attention to this the
first place where Israel's hardness of heart was displayed after
the omnipotence and the grace of God had been made known
to them in the ten plagues of Egypt. It appears that, in the
description of the locality allusion is made to Ex. xv. 4, "the

PSALM CVI. VER. 13 — 22. 273
chariots of Pharaoh and his host he cast into the sea, and his
chosen warriors were drowned in the Red Sea." The conjecture,
Qi^y, referring to the Red Sea, is decidedly to be rejected-
The j, could only stand here after the more exact word ^v had
gone before. But for it, the rebellion must be conceived of as
having taken place in the sea. — For his name's sake, ver. 8, —
compare Ps. xxiii. 3, xxv. 1 1 . — He rebuked, ver. 9, compare civ.
7. On " as the wilderness," concisely, for " as one goes through
the wilderness," compare Is. Ixiii. 13, " who led them through
the floods, like the horse in the wilderness, they did not
stumble." — Ver. 12 depends on Ex. xiv. 31; on the second
clause compare Ex. xv. 1 . That Israel believed is not said to
his praise, but to the praise of God who constrained them as it
were to a momentary faith, and in view of the following pa
ragraph, according to which they immediately lost this faith
thus wrought in them.
Out of the number of the transgressions of the people in the
wilderness, the Psalmist gives prominence in the first decade to
three, ascending, without any regard to arrangement as to time,
from the smaller to the greater: eager impatience in demand
ing flesh, ver. 13-15; rebellious attack upon the rank given to
the princes by God, ver. 16-18, direct attack upon God in
erecting and worshipping the calf, ver. 19-22. The reason why
the Psalmist dwells at such length upon the sins of Israel in
the wilderness, is not merely because these are detailed in the
Books of Moses as a glass for all future times, but because he
sees in the exclusion which took place in consequence of these,
of that sinful generation from Canaan, a type of the leading
away into captivity from Canaan of their posterity, comp.
ver. 27.
Ver. 13-22. — Ver. 13. They hasted, forgot Ms works, waited not
Tor Ms counsel. Ver. 1 4. And lusted in the wilderness, and tempt
ed God in the desert. Ver. 15. And he gave them their desire,
and sent leanness into their soul. — Ver. 16. And they envied
Moses in the camp, Aaron the holy one of the Lord. Ver. 17-
The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the com
pany of Abiram. Ver. 18. And afire was kindled among their
company, flame burnt up the wicked. — Ver. 19. They made a
calf in Horeb, and worshipped a molten image. Ver. 20. And
changed their glory into the image of an ox that eateth grass.
vol. in. T

274 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
Ver. 21. They forgot God their Saviour, who had done great
things in Egypt. Ver. 22. Wonders in the land of Ham, terrible
things at the Red Sea. — On ver. 1 3, Berieb. : " It might well be
said, except ye See signs and wonders ye will not believe," John
iv. 48. On "they hasted," comp. Ex. xxxii. 8, "they have
turned aside hastily from the way which I commanded them."
His works, comp. Deut. xi. 3, 4, Dan. ix. 14. For his counsel,
" inasmuch as he had already determined when and how he
should help them," Berieb.:1 — On ver. 14 comp. Num. xi. 4,
" And the mixed multitude who were among them lusted a
lust. . . . And they said, who shall give us flesh to eat,
ver. 34, and they called the place the graves of lust, because
there they buried the people who had lusted." Improper con
duct of a similar kind had already been exhibited in connection
with the want of support, but the Psalmist brings forward this
case here because the sin was more aggravated — formerly it
was impatience when in want of the necessaries of life, but here
it was lusting — and because a divine judgment was connected
with it. On the second clause comp.Ps. Ixxviii. 18. — On "he gave
them their desire," ver. 15, comp. Num. xi. 18, ss., Ps. Ixxviii.
29, " he gratified their appetite." The nVtyi'l) and thus sent,
even by this; comp. at Ps. Ixxviii 30. The ^53 is the animal,
food* needing soul; comp. at Ps. Ixxviii. 18, cvii. 18, Num. xi.
6, " And now our soul is dried up." This soul, while it desired
to be satisfied and filled by this bounty, got its wish, but at the
same time by means of this gift it got also the opposite and its
own punishment; for immediately there came on wasting sick
ness which at last ended in death. — On ver. 16 comp. Num.
xvi. 1, ss. On "Aaron the holy one of the Lord, "—" holy"
does not denote a moral property but the office which he held,
his nobility, comp. at Ps. xvi. 3 — comp. Num. xvi. 3, where
the rebels say, " the whole congregation, they are all holy, and
wherefore do ye exalt yourselves above the congregation of the
Lord, ver. 5, in the morning the Lord will make1 known who is
his and who is holy, ver. 7, he whom the Lord shall choose he
is the holy one." — The rebellion was followed by a double
punishment. The first, ver. 17 here, fell upon the non-Levitical
1 "Calvin.: The haste of our desires is astonishing, so much so that we can
scarcely allow* God one day. For unless he immediately answer our call, instantly
there arise impatience and at length despair."

PSALM CVI. VER. 13 — 22. 275
portion of the rebels, the Reubenites, Dathan and Abiram, and
tlieir dependents; comp. Num. xvi. (the people of Korah there
in ver. 32, are Korah the chief ringleader's Reubenite associ
ates), xxvi. 1 0, Deut. xi. 6. These were swallowed up by the
earth. On the first clause comp. Num. xvi. 32, " and the
earth opened her mouth," which is here to be supplied, Deut.
xi. 6; on the second, Num. v. 33, "and the earth covered
them. The second punishment fell upon the Levitical, portion,
with Korah at their head, comp. Num. xvi. 35, xvii. ' 5, xxvi.
1 0. These had sinned by fire and were punished by fire like
the sons of Aaron, Lev. x. %. A similar correspondence be
tween the transgression and the punishment exists in the first
fall; the depth of the fall marks by way of contrast the height
of the exaltation, comp. Is. xiv. 12. — The indirect assault upon
the Lord in his counsel and in his holy one is followed in ver.
1 9 by the direct one. They made — contrary to the prohibition
in Ex. xx. 4, 5 — a calf, intended to represent an ox, compare
ver. 20. They would gladly have made an ox, but they were
not able to get this length, so contemptible was the whole un
dertaking. The name, calf, is everywhere used in contempt ;
the worshippers without doubt called it a bull, according to
Philo they made " a golden bull ; " comp. the inquiries on the
calf-worship in the Beitr. 2, p. 155, ss. Allusion is made to Ex.
xxxii. 4, " And he made it a golden calf." — Their glory, ver. 20
— the God who had lifted them from the dust of debasement
to the glory of the children of God, and had distinguished them
above all other nations ; comp. Deut. iv. 6-8, x. 21, " he is thy
praise (thy glory), thy God, who hath done to thee this great
and terrible thing which thine eyes have seen." The J-**!}!]-*
is from Deut. iv. 16, 17. On the whole verse comp. Jer, ii 11.
Israel had intended to have worshipped Jehovah under the
symbol of the calf or the bull, which they borrowed fronithe
Egyptians (comp. the Beitr. p. 157); but as this symbolizing
was incompatible with the nature of Jehovah, they did in
reality by it give up the Lord altogether, (comp. 1 Kings xvi.
9, Beitr. p. 159), and were given up by him. They had there
fore now, instead of the Lord of heaven and earth: — 0 sinful
stupidity ! — nothing but an ox whieh can and will do nothing
else than eat grass.— On ver. 21, 22, comp. the full description
of the great deeds of the Lord in Egypt, as given in Ps. cv. 27,

276 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
s . In tlie land of Ham, Ps. cv. 23, 27 The end of the strophe
turns back to its beginning in ver. 13.
Ver. 23. And, he said he would destroy them, had not Moses his'
chosen stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath that'
he should not destroy them. The length of this verse harmonises
with its important position. Long verses occur in our Psalm
only where prominence is intended to be given to some impor
tant point. On "he said," not "he thought," Deut. ix. 13,
comp. ver. 8. Before " had not" we are to supply, " this would
really have happened." To stand in the breach — like a warrior
who covers with his body the broken part of the wall of a be
sieged city, comp.. Ez. xiii. 5, xxii. 30. The weapon with which
Moses defended the spiritual city is intercessory prayer, comp.
Ex. xxxii. 11-14, Deut. ix. 18, 19. In reference to the
^i^pj, turned away, comp. Ps. Ixxviii. 38, and the fundamental
passage, Num. xxv. 11, "Phinehas turned away my anger from
the children of Israel." Moses in this matter is not to be con
sidered as a stranger to the people, but as their representative
and intercessor. Because at least in him the leader, there was
realized the idea of the people, God looked graciously upon the
whole people in him, and withdrew the real but conditional
determination which he had formed to destroy them, Ex. xxxii.
10, after it had been made known that the object of the condi
tion of the determination existed, a manifestation which was
brought about in consequence of the announcement which had
been made of the severe determination. And the circumstance
that the nation at the very commencement of its history owed
its preservation from destruction to meditation, was sufficient
to show the depth of sinful corruption, and also how little hope
could exist of salvation in any other way than through the
mercy of God.
Ver. 24. And they despised the land of beauty, they believed not
his word. Ver. 25. And murmured in their tents, and did not
hearken to the voice of the Lord. Ver. 26. And he lifted up his
hand on them, so that he overthrew them in the wilderness. Ver.
27. And so that he overthrew their seed among the heathen, and
scattered them in the lands. — Ver. 28. And they bound themselves
also to Baal-peor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead. Ver. 29. And
enraged him by their deeds, and the plague broke out among them.
Ver. 30. Then stood up Phinehas and judged, and the plague wai

psalm cvi. ver. 24—32. 277
stayed. Ver. 3 1 * . And it was reckoned to him for righteousness for all
generations for ever. — Ver. 32. And they provoked him to anger at
the waters of strife, and it went ill with Moses for their sakes. Ver.
33. For they rebelled against his spirit, so that he spoke inadvisedly
with his lips. — This decade is divided not in the usual way by
a 7 and a 3, or by a 5 and a 5, but by 4, 4, 2. First, the rebel
lion after the sending of the spies and its consequences, ver.
24-27, next the sins of the new generation, participation in the
Moabitish idolatry, ver. 28-31, and the offence at Meribah, ver.
32, 33. The transgressions of the fathers reach the amount of
seven; in the first strophe, one in Egypt, in the second and third,
the doubled three in the wilderness. These seven stand op
posed to the seven wonders and signs of God on behalf of his
people in the preceding Psalm, according to " do ye thus requite
the Lord, O foolish people?" in Deut. xxxii. 6. In the books
of Moses, also, the tenfold temptations are set over against the
tenfold wonders and signs, Num. xiv. 22. — On " they despised."
ver. 24, comp. Num. xiv. 31, " the land which you despised."
moPl never signifies a wish, a desire, but always beauty; comp.
the Christol. iii. p. 354, and Jer. iii. 19, where " the land of
beauty" stands in parallel with "the goodly heritage." Allu
sion is made to the descriptions of the beauty of the land, such
as Ex. iii. 8, " a good and large land, flowing with milk and
honey," Deut. ,xi 11-15. They believed not his word, by which
he had repeatedly promised that he would give them the land;
rather they believed the word of the faithless spies; comp. Ps.
Ixxviii. 22, 32. The first clause of the 25th verse is from Deut. i.
27; the second from Num. xiv. 22. — That the lifting up of the hand
in ver. 26 is the gesture of swearing (several falsely: he lifted up
his hand against them) is evident from Num. xiv. 30, " ye shall
not come into the land which I have lifted up my hand (comp.
Gen. xiv. 22, Ex. vi. 8) to make you dwell in it," in connection with
the express mention of swearing in the case referred to in Num.
ver. 28, Deut. i 34, ii. 1 4. On " that he made them fall," comp.
Num. xiv. 29, " And your carcases shall fall in the wilderness,"
ver. 32. The determination against their seed, ver. 27, was not
expressed at that time but on another occasion, Lev. xxvi., Deut.
xxviii.; it was, however, implied in the determination against
the fathers, and is here with propriety deduced from it. The
^Dn'? cannot here be taken in any other sense than that in

278 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
which it occurs in 'the preceding verse, not only because of the
similarity of the expression, but also because of the intimate
connection of the two facts which is intended to be brought
into notice by the similarity of the expression. The funda
mental passage also, Lev. xxvi. 38, " and ye perish among the
hbathen, and your enemy consumes your land," shows how
little reason there is for changing the construction. The q*t*i;q
corresponds exactly to "Q*-T!*22- The wilderness was not more
destructive for the fathers than residence among the heathen
shall be for the children; the latter is also in Ps. cvii. spoken of
as typified by the former. The second clause is from Lev. xxvi.
33, " And I will scatter you among the heathen."- — The first
clause of ver. 28 is from Num. xxv. 3, comp. ver. 5. — They bound
themselves is explained by " to w^lk after Baal-peor" of Deut.
iv. 3. Baal-peor, the proprietor of Peor, was the name given to
the Moabitish idol Kamosh only in that country, from one of
the places where he was worshipped, Mount Peor, Num. xxiii.
28, at the foot of which Israel at that time lay encamped; comp.
the Treatise on Balaam, p. 248, ss. The name never occurs
except in connection with that locality and that circumstance.
It is manifest from the fundamental passage that by " the
dead" are meant the dumb, dead idols, 1 Cor. xii. 2, in op
position to the living God, Jer. x. 10, Num. xxv. 2, " And they
invited the people to the sacrifice of their God, and the people
did eat, and worshipped their God." The one word brings to
gether what is spread out in Jer. x. 3-10, Ps. cxv. 5, ss. Other
expositions are to be rejected, because they bring forward a
circumstance not mentioned in the original narrative, and to
that narrative the Psalmist throughout confines himself. — On
ver. 29 comp. Num. xxv. 18, 19, Ps. Ixxviii. 58. The two mem
bers are related to each other as cause and effect; and because
they thus provoked him, therefore. The w-^q is to break in,
Ex. xix. 24. — Ver. 30 agrees as to expression, still more literally
with NUm. xvii. 13, " And he (Aaron) stood (propitiating) be
tween the livings and the dead, and the plague was stayed," and
ajso with the fundamental passage concerning Phinehas, Num.
xxv. 8. The bhfi ^iguifies in Pi. always to judge: and this
sense appears here entirely suitable as soon as we get a right
view of the transaction; objections such as those of Gousset dis
appear of their own accord, " Judicial authority and legal right

psalm cvi. ver. 24-32. 279
were wanting." The act of Phinehas was a judicial one. The
judges of Israel to whom Moses had given commandment, "let
every one put to death his people who have bound themselves
to Baal-peor," stood at the door of the tabernacle and wept,
Num. xxv. 5, 6, thus intimating tlieir will, but at the same time
their want of strength to judge, and exhorting every one who
possessed it to judge in their room, and under their authority.
When, therefore, the commandmentwas given, the will to execute
was present in the ordinary judges, and Phinehas, who possessed
what they wanted, came forward in their room. — At ver. 31 we
should combare for the expression Gen. xv. 6, the only passage
where It occurs, and for the subject, Deut. vi. 25, xxiv. 13, at
Ps. xvii, xxiv. 5. The language does not refer to the first
justification, but to the second, to the good works of one already
in a state of grace, by which he obtains from God, who recom
penses every one according to his works, a reward of grace, as
Phinehas obtained on the present occasion the priesthood for
his family, comp. Num. xxv. 13. At the expression, "for all
generations for ever," we are to consider that the gifts may be
lost temporarily in the same way in which they were won, and
really were lost, as was the case with the family of David; and
further, that the everlasting priesthood was promised to Phine
has only in opposition to the other descendants of Aaron, com
pare Deut. xv. 17, Lev. xxv. 46, Christol. 2, p. 433. The strong
prominence given to the deed of Phinehas, which was scarcely
called for by the tendency of the Psalm, as also to the similar
action of Moses, gives rise to the idea that the Psalmist had be
fore his eyes a man of his own day, who stood in the breach like
these spiritual heroes of antiquity. If this be so, the person al
luded to can be only Daniel, according to Ezek. xiv. 14, 20,
according to the relation of our Psalm to Dan. ix., where Daniel
in a very special manner stands in the breach on behalf of his
people, and according to the manifest allusion to Daniel pre
viously made in the preceding Psalm. — On ihe waters of Meribah,
ver. 32, compare at Ps. xcv. 8. For their sakes, because their
unbelief called forth the weakness of faith on the part of Moses,
comp. Deut. i 37, iii. 26, Beitr. B. p. 425. — Ver. 23 develops
"for their sakes" more fully, because while they rebelled against
the Spirit of the Lord, and Moses spoke unadvisedly with his
lips, he was so far affected by their rebellious unbelief that he

280 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
momentarily became weak in faith, and some doubting words
fell from his lips, those, viz., of Num. xx. 10, " Hear, ye rebels,
shall we bring water for you out of the rock." His spirit, not
the spirit of Moses (Luther, for they vexed his .heart), but the
Spirit of God. For ;-nEn with the accusative does not mean
to vex or to embitter, but always to rebel against any one (comp.
at Ps. Ixxviii. 17, 56), and occurs in this sense even in ver. 7,
43 of the present Psalm ; the words " to rebel against the Spirit
of the Lord,"' correspond to " rebel against the words of God,"
Ps. cvii. 1 1 , or against his mouth. " They rebelled," stands in
reference to " ye rebels" of the fundamental passage. The spirit
of the Lord is mentioned as his power and presence ruling over
Israel, comp. Is. Ixiii. 11," who put his Holy Spirit in the midst
of them;" ver. 10, "And they rebelled and vexed his Holy
Spirit," Eph. iv. 30. The event at Meribah is designedly placed
at the end, although it preceded those mentioned in ver. 28-31.
For the effects of the former extended to the latter. That
Moses, the holy leader of the people, must die because of their
sin, before he entered the land of promise, gives us a deep in
sight into the sinfulness of the people, and makes us look upon
them with trembling expectation, ente?ing the land of promise.
From the fathers the Psalmist turns in ver. 34-43 to the
sons: in the first half of the decade, their sins, and in the second
the judgment of God. — Ver. 34. They did, not destroy the nations,
concerning whom the Lord spake to them. Ver. 35. And mixed
with the heathen and learned their works. Ver. 36. And served
their idols, which were a snare to them. Ver. 37. And offered
their sons and their daughters to the lords. Ver. 38. And shed
innocent blood, the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom
they offered to the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with
blood. — Ver. 39. And they were defiled with their works, and
committed whoredom with their deeds: Ver. 40. There the anger
of the Lord burned against Ms people, and he abhorred his inheri
tance. Ver. 41 . And gave them into the hands of the heathen,
and those who hated them ruled over them. Ver. 42. And their
enemies oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under
their hand. Ver. 43. Many times did he deliver them, but they
rebelled against him with their counsel, and were brought low by
their iniquity. — They did not destroy, ver. 34, not because of
want of inclination, but because they were deficient in strength,

PSALM CVI. VER. 34—43. 281
in consequence of tlieir guilt, — not from feelings of compassion,
but from want of holy zeal and from slothfulness. Concerning
which the Lord spake to them, comp. Ex. xxiii. 32, 33, xxxiv. 1.1-
15. — They mixed, ver. 35, in spite of the fresh warning of Joshua,
Jos. xxiii. 12, 13. A commentary is furnished by Jud. iii. 6,
" And they took their daughters for wives, and they gave tlieir
own daughters to their sons, and they served their gods," comp.
Deut. vii. 3. Berieb.: "Ah! how common is such a mixture
even among the pious at this day!" On the second clause,
comp. Deut. xviii. 9, xx. 18. — For a snare, ver. 36, for a cause
of misery, inasmuch as it called down upon them the wrath of
God, comp. Ex. x. 7, Deut. vii. 16. — On "they offered their
sons," ver. 37, Berieb.: " Among us such sacrifices take place
by careless bringing up of children, when parents encourage
them, for example, in pride and other sins, offer them to the god
of the world, carefully inculcate the maxims of the world, and
fill them with love of vanity and show." The qvt*^ occurs only
here and in the fundamental passage, Deut. xxxii. 17, "They
offered to Shedim, no-gods, gods whicli they knew not." The
Shedim there corresponds to Elohim; the bad sense (Luther : to
devils) does not lie in the word itself, but is deduced from the
next word, " no-god," corresponding to " which they knew not"
of the second clause. Hence the word is not derived from -[Try
to destroy, nor from aL* to be black, but from aL, to rule.
They are the xLpioi in 1 Cor. viii. 5, the mpnra.ni? xon/iou hoi in
Wis. xiii. 2, the poetical word for the prosaic Baal; comp. with
the above passage in Deut., Jud. ii. 11, 12, where we have first
"they served Baalim," and afterwards " they walked after other
gods." The bad sense which the word has in Syriac owes its
existence to the influence of Christianity. " The gods of
Canaan" in ver. 38 is the corresponding expression. — "They
shed innocent blood," in ver. 38, depends upon Deut. xix. 10,
" Innocent blood shall not be shed in thy land which the Lord
thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, otherwise the guilt of
blood shall be against thee." Which they offered, — contrary to
the strict commandment, Deut. xii. 31, xviii. 10. On "the
land was polluted with blood," comp. Num. xxxv. 33, " And ye
shall not pollute the land with blood wherein ye are, for blood
pollutes the land." The law calls up everything which may
impress upon the conscience the horror of shedding blood; and

282 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
the difference between Jehovah and Moloch is so very sharply
marked on this point, that the delusion of those who would have
it that both approximated, deserves only commiseration. — Ver. 39
collects together the offence for the purpose of adding to it the
punishment— because they thus. &c. Thfe whoredom is of a spiri
tual character, for it is only of this that the language had been
used in the first half of the strophe, the contents of whicli are
here resumed; comp. Ex. xxxiv. 17, Lev. xx. 5, xvii. 7, Num.
xiv. 33. — On ver. 40, comp. Ps. Ixxviii. 59, 62. — On ver. 41,
Jud. ii. 14. The second clause is according to Lev. xxvi. 17. —
On the second clause of ver. 42, comp. Jud. iii. 30, viii. 28. —
The frequent deliverances in ver. 43 are those during the judicial
(Jud. ii. 16) and the regal period. By their counsel — their cor
rupt ungodly plans, The expression, " they were brought low
by their iniquity," refers to the final complete degradation of
the irreclaimable people in being led away into captivity. Allu
sion is made to the expression intended to refer in like man
ner to this last catastrophe, Lev. xxvi. 39, " they pine away
also by their evil doings," where instead of "pQ we have here
ppO, comp. also Ezek. xxxiii. 10.
Ver. 44—48. — Ver. 44. And he saw in this their rtrouble, when
he heard their complaint. Ver. 45. And remembered for them
his covenant, and repented according to the fulness of Ms compas
sion. Ver. 46. And caused them to be pitied before all who had
taken them captive. Ver. 47. Deliver us, 0 Lord our God, and
gather us from the heathen that we may praise thy holy name and
boast of thy praise. Ver. 48. Praised be the Lord the God of
Israel from eternity to eternity, and all the people say, Amen,
Halleluja. — Ver. 44-46 contain the facts, whicli impart courage to
the conscience-smitten people to resume, in ver. 47, the prayer
which had been begun in ver. 4 and 5. — God saw, ver. 44, the
burden of the matter, their misery, Ex. iv. 31, the object being
to be supplied out of what follows. The seeing is the opposite
of overlooking, comp. Ex. ii. 25. " In the trouble to them"
(comp. Ps. xviii. 6) is here, as in Ps. cvii. 6, from Deut. iv. 30,
" in the trouble to thee when all these words strike thee." — On
the first clause of ver. 45, comp. Lev. xxvi. 42, " and I remem
ber for them my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant
with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham," and ver. 45. The
promise which the Lord there imparts to his people for times of

psalm cvi. ver. 44 — 48. 283
deepest trouble, he has now begun to fulfil. " He repented
him," depends on Deut. xxxii 36, " And it repented him of his
servants," comp. at Ps. xc. 13. Instead of the singular YlpI***^
his mercy, the Masorites read the plural unseasonably referring
to ver. 7. The mercies of the Lord are always the manifesta
tions of his mercies, comp. at Ps. Ixxxix. 2, also Isa. Ixiii 7,
comp. Ps. cvii. 43. The discourse here, however, is of the ful
ness of love dwelling in God. That the Kri must be rejected
appears from the fundamental passage, Num. xiv. 19, " pardon
still this people according to the greatness of thy mercy," comp.
Ps. v. 7, Ixix. 13, Neh. xiii. 22. A similarly bad Kri is to be
found in Lam. iii. 32. — Ver. ,46 depends upon 1 Kings viii. 50,
comp. 2 Chron. xxx. 9. The operation of God referred to here
was seen in facts such as that " he gave Daniel favour and pity
in the face of the keeper of the eunuchs," Dan. i. 9, and after
wards made him, and in him the whole people, acceptable to
Nebuchadnezzar and his successors, and softened the heart of
Evil-merodach to have pity upon Jehoiachin, 2 Kings xxv. 27, so
that generally the former bitter hatred against Judah was fol
lowed by a more favourable state of mind, by which the way
was prepared for their deliverance from captivity and their re
turn to their own land. — That ver. 44-46 refer to the captivity,
and not, as many have supposed, to earlier times, is clear
from the circumstance that the Psalmist had gone on to the
end of ver. 43 speaking about the captivity, from the clarise
" before all who led them away captives" — the Babylonish cap
tivity was the first, comp. l^nty' iQ Ps- cxxxvii, 3, — and from the
reference to the fundamental passages of the Pentateuch, which
treat of the grace of God towards the people in captivity, and
to 1 Kings viii. — There rises on the ground of the compassion
of God, manifested already towaids the people in spite of their
sins, the prayer that God would complete his begun work, and
collect together his people from among the heathen. This
prayer depends upon Deut. xxx. 3; comp. ver. 4, " And the
Lord turn back to thy captivity, and have mercy upon thee,
and gather thee from among all the nations among which the
Lord thy God has scattered thee," — a passage to which Isaiah
alludes in ch. xi 12, when he beheld in spirit the captivity as
already present, and also Micah in ch. ii. 12. That the lan
guage here refers to the return of the great body of the people,

284 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
as it took place afterwards in the first year of Cyrus, appears
from the circumstance that there is not the least trace of a re
turn which had already taken place, while at the same time an
allusion to a commencement which had recently taken place
would have given the best foundation for the prayer for a com
plete restoration; and, from the reference to the fundamental pas
sage, from Ps. cvii. 3, where, immediately after the first return,
the thing which is here prayed for appears as having already
been imparted. On " that we may praise thy holy name,"
comp. "praise his holy memorial " in Ps. xxx. 4. The Hiph.
of nyQf, to glory in a thing, occurs only here and in 1 Chron. xvi.
35 = bbtlftTl 'n ver- 5- The praise of God is the praise whicli
he procures for himself by his glorious deeds on behalf of his
people, comp. Ps. xlviii. 11, and Ps. cv. 3, "boast yourselves in
his holy name." — In ver. 48 the common translation is : " and
let all the people say, Amen." But that the translation ought to
be, " and the people say," is evident from the fundamental pas
sage, Deut, xxvii. 15, " And the whole people answers and says,
Amen," and from 1 Chron. xvi. 36, where, instead of "i*n^T we
have "nQNi*l, and they say. The people strike in with these
words. Further, according to the common idea, the verse is
not to be considered as an original part of the Psalm, but is the
doxology added by the compiler of the Psalms as the conclusion
of the fourth book. But against this it may be urged that it is
inconceivable that the response used by the people was taken
from the conclusion of a book which had no connection with
public worship, that the author of Chronicles would not in this
case have quoted it, that the verse is indispensable to the formal
arrangement of the Psalm, that the conclusion of the Psalm
breathing praise to God remarkably agrees with its beginning,
which bears a similar character, and also with the conclusion of
Ps. civ., that this doxology differs from that at the end of the
other books, Ps. xli., lxxii, Ixxxix., inasmuch as the Halleluja
is there wanting, and the Amen is placed doubled, and that
the Halleluja here is manifestly shown to be an integral portion
of the Psalm by its correspondence with that at the beginning.
We must therefore maintain that the doxology formed origi
nally the conclusion of the Psalm, and, at the same time, as its
length shows, also of the whole collection, Ps. ci.-cvi, and that
it was made by the compiler to serve a second purpose, namely,
to form the conclusion of the fourth book.

PSALM CVII. 285

PSALM CVII.
The Psalm begins in ver. 1 with an exhortation to praise
God, as the object of which, in ver. 2, 3, there is given the de
liverance of the church out of great trouble, and its collection
out of all lands. These gracious deeds are celebrated, in ver.
4-32, under different images: of those who wander up and
down in the wilderness, hungry and thirsty, and now were led
to an inhabited city, ver. 4-9 ; of those bound with fetters in
dark prisons, who are now set at liberty, ver. 10-16; of those
sick, who are now healed, ver. 1 7-22 ; of tliose who survive a
great storm at sea, ver. 23-32. In this portion there exists a
great similarity; first always the trouble, next the prayer, after
this the deliverance, and finally the exhortation to give thanks.
The words " they cry unto the Lord out of their trouble, and
he delivers them out of their distresses," and " these may praise
the Lord for his mercy, and for his wonders to the children of
men," perpetually return. In the last strophe the similarity
ceases. It celebrates, in three sections, the overthrow of the
power of the world, and the exaltation of Israel, who has now-
been restored to his own home, has rebuilt his city there, cul
tivated his land, reaped its fruit, and prospers joyfully in all
respects. A conclusion in ver. 43 contains an exhortation to
render suitable thanks to the Lord for his favour.
The fundamental number of the Psalm, which praises the
gathering of Israel from the four ends of the earth (comp. ver.
3), is four. The introduction (the opening, ver. 1, the theme,
ver. 2, 3), and the conclusion, contain four verses. These en
close four strophes, one of twelve, one of seven, and two of ten
verses. The strophe of twelve verses is divided into two halves,
ver. 4-9, and ver. 17-22, in the midst of which there stands
the strophe of seven verses. The signature of the people of the
covenant is thus grouped round that of the covenant. The
Psalm was, according to ver. 32, sung at a joyful national re
ligious service, and according to ver. 22, in connection with the
bringing forward of thank-offerings, to which it stands related
as soul to body. A very suitable occasion is furnished by the
first celebration of the feast of tabernacles after the return from
exile, when the whole of Israel were assembled at Jerusalem,

286 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
and sacrifices were offered to the Lord upon the newly-erected
altar; comp. Ezra iii. 1, ss. The Psalm cannot have been com
posed earlier, because public worship was then for the first time
resumed, and also because, as intimated in ver. 37, the first
harvest was then over. And it cannot have been composed
later, because, in the whole Psalm, there is no mention what
ever made of the temple, which, had it existed, could not but
have been mentioned in ver. 33-42, as it must have occupied a
very prominent place among the gracious deeds of God ; every
where the language refers only to a new building of the city,
ver. 36, and to a new cultivation of the land, ver. 37. In addi
tion to this, we find everywhere the first joy and elevation of
spirit; we see the congregation enjoying its recovery-festival.
Another state of mind very soon prevailed, the beginning of
which was first seen at the second great festival, at the laying
of the foundation of the house of the Lord in the second year,
comp. Ez. iii. 12; although, at that time, upon the whole, the
joyful feeling still prevailed. The machinations of the enemies
then came into view. Instead of this, the comparison is be
tween the present and the immediate mournful, and the more
remote prosperous past, and the splendid predictions of the
prophets. In the prophecies of Haggai, Zechariah, and Mala
chi, we find ourselves upon an altogether different territory;
comp. the introduction to these prophets in the Christol.
Our Psalm is closely related to Ps. cvi. The similarity of
the beginning points to this. Thanks are given here, ver. 3,
for what forms there the object of desire, ver. 47. The praise
of the Lord, which, in Ps. cvi. 47, is promised, should salvation
be imparted, is here rendered to him now that salvation is en
joyed. The points of contact, however, are only of the same kind as
are those of Ps. civ. and ciii., and are to be explained by suppos
ing that another Psalmist, at a later period, appended our
Psalm to the group Ps. ci-cvi, and thus completed the number
seven, the first and last word of which is the mercy of the Lord.
Even the other points of connection are not of such a kind as
necessarily to demand the identity of the author. The author,
however, may be the same (what renders it very possible, yea,
probable, is that Ps. civ.-cvi. were composed towards the end of
the captivity, and our Psalm in the first year after the return):

tsalm cvii. 287
wo must, at the same time, maintain, that the trilogy, Ps. civ.-
cvi, joined to the Davidic one so as to form one whole, existed
as a previously completed group, before the number seven was
completed by the addition of our Psalm, and that the cvii was
added as a later supplement. We are led to the same conclu
sion by the last verse of Ps. cvi., which manifestly belongs, not
merely to this Psalm, but to the whole group ; by the indirect
testimony of the compilers, who would assuredly not have
separated what is inseparably connected together; by elevating
the conclusion of Ps. cvi. to the rank of the conclusion of the
fourth book ; and, finally, by the want of the Hallelujah in Ps.
cvii. ; whereas, had the connection of Ps. civ.-cvii. been original
and absolute, the 107th Psalm would, like a common band, have
closed the whole.
The state of matters is this: to the Davidic trilogy, some
Psalmist added, towards the close of the captivity, one of his
own composition. This; group was rounded off, internally and
externally, after the return from the captivity, by the addition
of a seventh Psalm.
A great many expositors have failed completely to observe
the special reference of the Psalm to the return from the Baby
lonish captivity ; and, led astray by the different figures under
which the deliverance of God here appears, have referred every-
, thing to the constant course of divine providence, and to the
deliverances which God works out on behalf of different classes
of sufferers,1 — a mistake against which a careful consideration
of ver. 2, 3, might have been sufficient to have guarded, as these
verses regulate the whole, whose theiiie they contain. At the
same time, there lies a measure of truth at the bottom of this
error, in so far as the Psalmist was conscious that he was not a
1 Amyraldus, with whom J. H. Michaelis agrees, saya : "Of the more illustrious
interpreters of the Psalms, there is not yne who does not acknowledge, that while
many others, and eapecially the two preceding Paalms, treat of the special provi
dence of God, as exercised on behalf of the Israelites, this one has fyr its object to
celebrate that general care by which God continually governs all men and all na
tions." It would be difficult to explain how it ia said of the heathen that they call
upon Jehovah. At the same time there have been individuals who took the cor
rect view. The Syrian translator gives as the title: " God collects the Jews out of
captivity, and brings them back out of Babylon; the only-begotten Son of God also,
Jesus Christ, collects the nations from the four corners of the world, by calling
upon men to be baptized."

288 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
poet for a mere occasion, but that he sang for the church of God
of all times. The special references, therefore, are designedly
as little marked as possible, so that the Psalm is, in reality, very
suitable as a song of thanksgiving for the church, and also for
particular members after every deliverance. The general re
ferences, however, to mankind at large, must be given up en
tirely; we find ourselves everywhere in the domain of Jehovah,
not of Elohim ; the expression, they cry unto the Lord in their
trouble, which does not suit the heathen, continually recurs:
and ver. 11 is suitable only for the people of the law and of
revelation. The strong dependence upon Isaiah and Job is characteristic
of the Psalm.

Ver. 1-3. — Ver. 1. Praise the Lord, for he is good, for his
mercy endureth for ever. — Ver. 2. The redeemed of the Lord may
say so, whom he has redeemed from the land of trouble. Ver. 3.
And whom he has assembled out of the lands, from the east and
from the west, from the north and from the sea. — It must have
made a deep impression when the Psalmist put into the mouth
of the redeemed the same words, ver. 1, with which, on a former
occasion, when in deep misery, they had praised their God on
the ground of his former glorious deeds, and in the exercise of
hope, Ps. cvi. 1. It is obvious that the verse before us is bor
rowed from this passage, because the words are not, as is the
obvious view at first sight, addressed by the Psalmist to the
church, but are put into the lips of the church. — In defining
those who are called upon to praise the Lord, the Psalmist an
nounces, in ver. 2 and 3, the theme of the Psalm. The " re
deemed of the Lord," ver. 2, is from Is. lxii. 12, Ixiii. 4. The
•y%, according to ver. 6, 13, Ps. cvi. 44, is not Opponents, but
trouble, which is here personified and represented as a dangerous
enemy, which has Israel in its hands. Throughout the whole
Psalm, the discourse is not of enemies but of trouble. — That
ver. 3 refers to the return from the captivity is evident from
Ps. cvi. 47, and from the reference to the fundamental passages
in Is. lvi. 8, but especially xliii. 5, 6: " From the rising of the
sun will I bring thy seed, and from the going down of the sun
will I assemble thee, I will say to the north, Give up, and to the
south, Keep not back;" and xlix. 12, " Behold, these come from

PSALM CVII. VER. A  9. 289
afar, and behold these from the north and from the sea and
from tho land of Sinim." This last passage bears such a close
resemblance to the passage before us, particularly in the juxta
position of thenorth and the sea, as to exclude the possibility of
its being accidental. Still the reference to the return from
captivity is so framed as to admit of the words being applied
to those whom the Lord has brought home " from different
places to which necessary duty or severe misfortune had driven
them" (Amyr.). The reference to the prophetical fundamental
passages shows that we are not carefully to inquire whether the
exiles returned from all these different places. From supposing
that the four quarters of heaven must be here fully named,
every possible attempt has been made to make out that qi,
which can denote only such a sea as represents a quarter of the
heavens, viz., the west, or the Mediterranean sea, must mean
the south. The correct view, however, is, that the Psalmist
here, like the prophet in ch. xlix. 12, is content with naming
the places according to the number of the quarters of heaven,
without exactly naming each quarter. The omission of the
south, and the substitution instead of it of the sea, on which
the scattered exiles returned from Egypt and other lands (comp.
Deut. xxviii. 68), might be occasioned by the circumstance that
there was nothing in that quarter but a wilderness. The omis
sion of the north in Ps. Ixxv. 7, in the enumeration of the quar
ters of the heavens, proceeded from an exactly similar cause.
Ver. 4-9. — Ver. 4. They wandered in the wilderness, the path
less desert, they found not a city of habitation. Ver. 5. Hungry
and thirsty, their soul fainted within them. Ver. 6. And they cried
to the Lord in their trouble, he delivers them out of their oppres
sions. Ver. 7. And led them in the right way, so that they went
to the city of habitation. Ver. 8. These should praise to the
Lord his mercy, and his wonders to the children of men. Ver. 9.
For he satisfied the languishing soul, and he filled the hungry sovl
with good. — The representation of Israel languishing in exile
under the image of those who wander up and down in the wil
derness, in this strophe, depends upon the typical import of the
march through the wilderness, just as, on the same basis, Isaiah
in the second part of his prophecy, had not unfrequently de
scribed the miserable condition of Israel by the figure of the
wilderness; for example, xl. 3. xliii. 19, 20. Comp., on other
vol. in. u

290 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
typical applications of the march through the wilderness, the
Christol. on Hos. ii. 1 6. The desert of the way (comp. fiE-ji^i
of the Arabic wilderness, Deut. xxxii. 10, Ps. lxviii. 7, Ixxviii.
40) is one which is this in reference to the way, in its way-
lessness; comp. ver. 40, " And allowed them to wander in
the wilderness without a way." Against the connection of
the *-p-j with what follows, we have, besides this parallel pas
sage, the accents and the want of the article in fifties. The
Ity-lft signifies only seat, place of abode. It is obvious, from
ver. 36, that allusion is made to Jerusaleni, which, in a certain
sense, because it was the eity of God, was the dwelling-place of
the whole people; comp. at Ps. ci. 8. — The hunger, and thirst,
and the fatigue thereby induced (comp. the fmy, Lam. ii. 19,
Ps. lxxvii. 3) are named in ver. 5 merely as the principal
symptoms of the miserable condition of the Israelites in the
real wilderne&s. That the Israelites were not so badly off in
a temporal point of view, during the captivity, is manifest from
the circumstance, that so many who knew nothing of higher
wants, the hunger and the thirst after the beautiful worship of
the Lord, and after the land where the footsteps of God were
everywhere visible, preferred remaining where they were. Ps.
cxxxvii. shows us what corresponded in the figurative wilder
ness to the hunger and the thirst. — The subject in ver. 8 is,
" those thus led." The b must manifestly be construed in the
same way in both clauses; it is not the wonders, therefore, but
the praise, that belongs to the children of men (Luther: which
he does to the children of men). The praise belongs to the
Lord in so far as it is given to him, and to the children of men
in so far as it is uttered by them, to the glorifying of God among
them. — The languishing soul, in ver. 9, is not one which lan
guishes in itself, but, asds obvious from the opposition of the
hungry soul in the second clause, the soul of the thirsty; comp. Is.
xxix. 8. To satisfy, by delivering from thirst, occurs also in
Ps. civ. 1 3, 1 6. With good, Ps. ciii. 5.
Ver. 10-1 6. — Ver. 10. Who must have sat in darkness and the
shadow of death, bound in misery and iron. Ver. 11. For they
rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the
Most High. Ver. 12. Wherefore he brought down their heart in
suffering, they fell down, and there was no helper. Ver. 13. And
tliey cried to the Lord in their trouble, he delivered them out of their

PSALM CVII. VER, 17 — 22. 291
distresses. Ver. 14. A nd led them out of darkness and the shadow
of death, and brake their bands. Ver. 15. These should praise to
the Lord his mercy, and his wonders to the children of men. Ver.
1 6. For he brake the doors of brass, and destroyed the bars of iron.
— The indication of the subject in ver. 10 is in reality carried
forward in ver. 11-14, and after that there is appended, " May
these praise." — The first clause- of ver. 10 is from Is. ix. 1. The
dark prison, as an image of the misery, occurs also in ch. xlii.
7, xlix. 9. On " the shadow of death," at Ps. xxiii. 4. That
the vjy denotes the misery of the past condition, and that, there
fore, the discourse is ot iron— iron fetters, Ps. cv. 18, only in a
figurative sense, is evident from ver. 41, and from the funda
mental passage, Job xxxvi. 8, " And if they be bound in fetters
and be holden in cords of affliction," where, according to the
connection; the discourse is only of suffering generally, and not
of literal imprisonment and fetters. — On iTon* *n ver- H> comP-
Ps. cvi. 7, 33, 43. There is a paronomasia between y)'r)'n and
"HQ^, and between jy$p and t^n;- ^he words of the Lord are
those which he had spoken to them in his law, and by his holy
servants tho prophets. The counsel of the Lord is either the
counsel which he has taken to destroy secure and rebellious
sinners, and to impart salvation only to the penitent — in this
case, Isaiah v. 19 is to be compared, where the rebellious sin
ners, despising the counsel of the Lord, say, " Let him make speed,
and hasten his work, that we may see it ; let the counsel of the
Holy One of Israel draw near and come that we may know it;"
and also Is. xix. 17, Luke vii. 30, and Ps. cvi 13 — or the coun
sel which the Lord gave them ; in this case we must comp.
Prov. i 25, and 2 Kings xvii. 13. The latter explanation is fa
voured by the parallelism to the words ot God. — He brought
down their heart, in ver. 1 2, — which had proudly risen up in
rebellion and contempt. On ver. 15 comp. Ps. cxvi. 16, where
the expression, " Thou hast loosed my bands," occurs in the
sense of deliverance from captivity. — Ver. 16 depends upon Is.
xiv. 2, where it is said of Cyrus : " I will go before thee, and
make the crooked places straight, I will break in pieces the
gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron."
Ver. 17-22. — Ver. 17. Fools because of their walk in iniquity,
and those who because of their iniquities were afflicted. Ver. 18.
Their soul loathed all food, and they came to the gates of death.

292 THE BOOK OF PSALMS,
Ver. 19. And they cried to the Lord in their trouble ; he de
livered them from their oppressions. Ver. 20. He sent his word
and healed them, and delivered them from their pits. Ver. 21.
These should praise to the Lord his mercy, and his wonders to tlie
children of men. Ver. '22. And offer sacrifices of praise and re
count his works in triumph.— rThe rytb^iS °f the first clause
corresponds to the 'ujtf'yi of the second : fools because of their
evil way, i. e., those who by their Wicked conduct, became fools,
were openly exhibited as such by the punishments which were
the consequences of this conduct.— -That the cause of the loath
ing of food, in ver. 18, was not grief, as several unsuit
ably referring to Ps. cii 4 have supposed, but severe sickness,
under the figure of which the suffering is here spoken of, (comp.
at Ps. ciii. 3) is manifest from ver. 20, " He healed them,"
and from the fundamental passage, Job xxxiii. 20, where it, is
said of the sick man, " His life abhorreth food and his soul
dainty meat." On the second clause comp. Job xxxiii. 22, Ps.
lxxxviii. 3; on the gates of death, at Ps. ix. 13. — The word of
the Lord, by which he appoints salvation for Israel, with in
fallible success (comp. Ps. xxxiii. 9, Matt. viii. 8) appears in ver.
20 under the figure of the physician whom he sends to heal the
sick, comp. at Ps. xxx. 3. That the pits are equivalent to the
graves in which they were almost already lying, is evident from
ver. 18, and from the fundamental passage, Job xxxiii. 28, " he
has delivered my soul from the grave and my life sees the
light," instead of pinty there, and in ver. 22, 24, 30, we have
here the rare form nnTTiy) which only occurs again in Lam.
iv. 20); comp. Ps. ciii. 4, " who delivers thy life from the pit."
— The thank-offerings, ver. 22, occur here, according to the
second clause, chiefly in connection with what constitutes their
essence, thanks ; comp. at Ps. 1. 14, 23.
Ver. 23—32. — Ver. 23. Those who cross the sea in ships, do
duty in many waters. Ver. 24. They see the Works of the .Lord,
and his wonders in the deep. Ver. 25. And he spoke and stilled
a storm of wind which lifted its billows. Ver. 26. They go
up to heaven, down to the floods, their soul is melted in trouble.
Ver. 27. They dance and stagger like a drunken man, and are at
their wifs end. Ver. 28. And they cried to the Lord in their
trouble, he delivered them out of their distresses. Ver. 29. He
changed the storm into a calm, and its waves were silent. Ver.

psalm cvii. ver. 23—32. 293
30. And they -u ere glad that they had rest, and he brought them to
the object of their uish. Ver. 31. These should praise to the
Lord his mercy, and his wonders to the children of men. Ver.
32. And exalt him in the assembly of the people, and praise Mm in
the seat of the elders. — The sea is the standing emblem of the
world; comp. Ps. xlvi, and at Ps. xciii. 3, civ. 6, ss. The church
of God, therefore, which has its existence in the world, appears,
ver. 23, under the emblem of **those who cross the sea, and carry
on their business there, such as mariners, merchants, or fisher
men. What is here a figure is, in Mark iv. 36, ss., Matt. viii.
23, ss., Luke viii. 22, ss., embodied in a symbolical action.1
Those interpreters who could not understand the figurative re
presentation, have, in some cases, been obliged to have recourse
to strange expedients. This is the case with those who suppose
that the Psalmist has before his mind, not as is the case through
out the whole preceding part of the Psalm, the whole church,
but a few of its members, who, during the captivity, were obliged,
to have recourse, as a temporary occupation, to a seafaring life!
— The works and wonders of the Lord upon the deep, ver. 24,
are such as are described in the following verses, the glorious
deliverances which he imparts to his own people when they are
sent by him on the sea of the world, and are overtaken by a
fierce storm of oppression. — On "he said," ver. 25, comp. Ps.
cv. 31. The suffix in " his billows," does not refer to the sea,
qi, — for the language in the immediately preceding clauses had
not been used of it, but of the deep — but to the Lord; comp.
"all thy waves and thy billows go over me," in Ps. xlii. 7. — On
ver. 26, comp. Ps. civ.. 8. To the floods — the usual place which
these occupy. In trouble — comp. Gen. xliv. 29. Melts — comp.
Ps. xxii. 14, xlii. 4.— On ver. 28, Berieb. :— " To the Lord, I
mean, men learn then to cry, according to the common saying:
whoever cannot pray, let him become a sailor." — The Qpi, in ver.
29, the abbreviated future, instead of the common form (comp.
ver. 33, Ps. xviii. 10), not he quieted, he calmed — this sense is
not attested — but he put it, like the TiftyrT ™ ver- 25, into a
calm, he changed it into a calm, or even he restored it; comp.
Amos ix. 12. The nOEl is not a gentle breeze, but always
1 Ven. : "There are three seas in which the church, like a ship, was tossed about
by its billows, at great risk, but with a most prosperous isaue, viz., the Jewish, tha
Pagan, and the Antichriatian world."

294 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
silence {yaKfan, Matt. viii. 26), even in 1 Kings xix. 12. Sea
sons of rest and revival had already been spoken of in that pas
sage under the figure of a calm after storm. The suffix in
" their waves," does not refer to the sea, of which, in the plural,
no mention had been made, but to the sailors, to whom the
suffixes in the preceding and following words refer: — their
waves, the trouble whicli threatened to ruin them. " Their
waves" here corresponds to " his waves," in ver. 25. The waves
belong to the Lord, in so far as he raises them ("he raises the
sea, its waves roar," Is. li. 15), and to the church, in so far as
she is overflowed by them. It is very consolatory that all the
waves of the church are also the waves of her Lord; and the
corresponding suffixes are fraught with a meaning of deep im
portance. The waves act as if they intended, at their own
hand, to engulph the church; but it is in reality far otherwise.
The Lord on high sends them; and hence the unqualified truth
of the maxim, " he can remove calamity, he has it in his
hands." — The pp\$} in ver- 30 occurs only in Jon. i. 11, pryof
Qij-fj he stills or silences the sea. The Psalmist appears gene
rally to have had before his eyes the description of the storm
which occurs there. The best derivation of flnQ *s that of
Gousset from ^j-j = j-j^j-j to see, the object looked at, the mark. —
It is obvious from ver. 22, that in ver. 32 we are to think of a
public assembly for the worship of God in the then-existing
sanctuary of the nation; comp. at Ps. xxii. 22, 2 Chron. xx. 3-5.
On the second clause, comp. at Ps. i. 1. The elders are the
chiefs of the people (comp. Ps. cv. 22), the heads of the tribes
of Judah and Benjamin, Ezr. i 5, the guides of the congregation
in conduct, and also in praise.
Ver. 33-42. — Ver. 33. He changes rivers into a wilderness, and
fountains of water into dry ground. Ver. 34. A fruitful land
into salt, on account of the wickedness of its inhabitants. Ver. 35.
He changes the wilderness into a water pond, and dry land into
streams of water. — Ver. 36. And maketh the hungry to dwell ihere,
and they build a city of habitation. Ver. 37. And sow fields and
plant vineyards, and produce fruit of increase. Ver. 38. And he
blesses them, and they multiply greatly, and he does not suffer their
cattle to decrease. Ver. 39. They who were diminished and brought
down by the oppression of suffering and sorrow. — Ver. 40. He
poureth contempt upon princes, and causes them to wander in a

psalm cvii. ver. 33 — 42. 295
pathless desert. Ver. 41. And lifteth the needy out of suffering,
and maketh families like a flock. Ver. 42. The righteous behold
it and are glad, and all wickedness stops its mouth. — The best
view to take of this strophe, is to consider it as the realization
of " these may praise to the Lord his mercy," which runs
throughout the preceding parts of the Psalm, as tho song with
which the Lord is honoured in the assembly of the people, and
praised on the seat of the elders, so that we should read it as if
it were divided by marks of quotation from the conclusion of
the preceding verse. — " The verbs of this paragraph, partly
futures, partly futures with the Vau Con., and partly participles,
are most naturally taken in a present sense." Still we should
everywhere consider as added : as we see it before our eyes.
What the Lord does generally is represented on the ground of
what he is now doing. This is clear from the relation of the
present strophe to the one which precedes it, and also from the
very manifest references to present times, especially in the 36th
(comp. ver. 4 and 7) and the following verses.— First, in ver.
33-35, the Lord, as is obvious from the figure, causes the waters
of worldly prosperity and happiness to sink into the ground
(the Qt^i in ver. 35, in its reference to the one in ver. 33),
and those of the church to flow copiously; or, Babylon is
drained, and the land of the Lord is watered. — Ver. 33 and 34
are usually referred to Israel and his misery. But this is not
suitable ; and the fundamental passages render it obvious that
the whole passage refers to Babylon, the representative of the
world at enmity with the kingdom of God, which had recently
been destroyed. On comparing Is. xliv. 26, 27, we find the same
two contrasted objects occurring in an inverted order: "Who saith
to Jerusalem, she shall be inhabited, and to the cities of Judah,
they shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places there
of; that saith to the deep, be dry and I will dry up thy rivers."
In Isaiah 1. 2, we read, " Behold at my rebuke, I dry up the sea,
I change the rivers into a wilderness." In Is. xxi. 1, Babylon is
called " the wilderness of the sea" (see the Christol. ii., p. 98) ;
in Jer. 1. 38, " a drought is upon her waters, they shall be dried
up, for it is the land of graven images ;" li. 36, " And I dry up
her sea, and make her springs dry." As the sea is the image
of masses of people, the water of streams and of fountains re
presents happiness, prosperity, and fortune; comp. the Treatise

296 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
on Baalam, at Numb. xxiv. 6, 7. The streams in ver. 33 com
prehend the surrounding country. On the second clause, comp^
Deut viii. 15, Is. xxxv. 7, to the latter of which passages allu
sion is made. It is there said of Zion: "the parched ground
shall become a pool." The state of matters in the world is being
reversed. — Ver. 34 alludes to the great type of all the judgments
upon the ungodly world, the destruction of Sodom and Gomor
rah, the change of its fruitful territory into a salt sea, and a salt
soil oh which nothing grows. Comp. Deut. xxix. 22, and Ezek.
xlvii. where Sodom and Gomorrah appear as a type of the
world throughout the whole of the symbolical picture, Babylon
had already undergone the beginning of a great change, the
completion of which was discerned by the eye of faith as revealed
in the sure word of prophecy; comp., for example, Is. xiii. 19,
"And Babylon, the beauty of kingdoms, the haughty ornament
of the Chaldeans, shall be destroyed by God like Sodom and
Gomorrah."— Ver. 35 is literally from Is. xli. 18: "I will made
the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of
water;" comp. xxxv. 7, "And the parched ground shall become
a pool, and the thirsty land springsof water;" xliii 20, and, in
opposition, the world, xlii: 15, "I will make the rivers islands,
and I will dry up the pools." Allusion is made to the water
whicli the Lord sent to his people in the wilderness, a type of
the fountain of salvation which he opens at all times in the
wilderness of misery. It is obvious, from what follows, that the
wilderness here denotes the then miserable condition of Canaan,
— The second portion of the strophe, which, when added tb the
preceding one, makes up seven verses, refers wholly to the pros
perous change which had recently taken place in favour of the
people of the Lord, or it continues the description which had been
begun at the end of the first. — On ver. 36, comp. ver. 4, 5, 7. —
The ;myy in ver. 37 is to make, comp, Ps. lx. 1 2. The increase is
the year's harvest, comp. Lev. xxv. 16, — The j-q-^ in ver. 38 is
not only to increase, in reference to the number of the people,
but also to improve, to prosper, Deut. xxx. 16, comp. also ver.
41. The to^E'-i is frorh Lev. xxvi. 22. — In whatever way we
may construe the future with Van in ver. 39, it is, at all events,
certain that- this verse refers to the mournful past, and, by
pointing to it, leads to a deeped consciousness of the prosperity
of the present, and to more lively gratitude. The best way to

psalm cvii. ver. 33 — 42. 297
translate is: and they were diminished, instead of they, the
diminished and the sunk. — The first clanse of ver. 40 is from
Job xii. 21 — the borrowing is ascertained by the circumstance
that the participle there stands in a string of participles, while
here it is the only one that occurs in the whole strophe ; — the
second clause is from ver. 24 of the same chapter. The wander
ing in the desert without a way denotes, according to the funda
mental passage, helpless embarrassment. Some expositors have
erroneously applied to Israel what was intended for Babylon ; and
as the penalty of this mistake, they cannot understand why
they should begin with the participle. Our verse corresponds
to ver. 33, 34; and the opposite, the salvation of Zion, follows
in ver. 41 . The concluding verse, the 42d, exhibits the impres
sion which this great turn of things, this change of condition, .
makes on both parties. — The expression, " like a flock," or
" like sheep," ver. 41, denotes great multitudes; comp. Job xxi.
11, "They send forth their children like sheep." Whoever
comes out of great misery is thankful even for such beginnings
of salvation, as may be, for the first time, seen in the above
description. — Israel is meant by the righteous in ver. 42 ; comp.
at Ps. xxxiii. 1. The second clause is from Job v. 16. The
wickedness here is heathen wickedness, wicked Babylon, with its
associates, the sons of Edom, Ps. cxxxvii. 7. Overtaken herself
by misery, she now shuts that mouth with which she had so
long insulted God and his chosen ones.
. In ver. 43 we have the conclusion of the whole. — He who is
wise understands this; and may men observe the mercies of the
Lord! An expressive nota bene! Heartfelt thanks for the
past favours of the Lord form the indispensable condition of the
continuance of these favours. He who does not give thanks is
a fool, for he brings it about that clouds of wrath again collect
over his head.1
Upon the cycle of ten and the cycle of seven Psalms there
follows now one of twelve, introduced as in the preceding case
by a Davidic trilogy, to which there are then added nine new
Psalms. 1 Galvin: "By a question he indirectly condemns a false opinion which prevails
throughout the world to a great extent, while the most audacioua despiser of God
fancies himself very wise, as if he said that all the fools will be detected who do not
exercise discernment in this matter."

298 TnE BOOK OF PSALMS.

PSALM CVIII.

The Psalmist, or rather the church of the Lord in whose name
he speaks, expresses her firm confidence in her God, and praises
him because of the fulness of his mercy and truth, ver. 2-6;
entreats him to impart his salvation, and founds this prayer upon
the firm ground of the word and promise of God by which Israel
is assured of perpetual possession of his land, and victory over
the neighbouring nations, ver. 7-10; and expresses, in looking
at this promise, the hope that the expedition against Edom,
about to be undertaken, may be brought to a prosperous ter
mination, ver. 11-14.
The Psalm falls into three strophes, each of four verses, ver.
1-4, 6-9, 10-13, containing thus among them the significant
number twelve. With the addition of the title and the doxo
logy, whicli terminates the first strophe, ver. 5, there are in all
fourteen verses. The name of God occurs in all seven times,
and the seven is divided by a three and a four; in the first, or
introductory part, Jehovah is between Elohim on each side, and
in the second part Elohim occurs four times.
The first strophe is borrowed with alterations from Ps. Ivii.
7-11, and the second and third from Ps. lx. 5-J2. That these
constituent portions of two Psalms are not put together as on
equal footing, but that we have before us rather a variation of
the 60th Psalm of which the introduction is taken from another
Psalm, is evident from the fact that the number of verses, and
also of strophes of four verses each which distinguished the 60th
Psalm, is retained here. The title and the doxology in ver. 5
here correspond to the title of the 60th Psalm, which consists of
two verses.
That this variation of the 60th Psalm proceeded from David
is manifest from the title, " A Song of Praise, a Psalm of
David," the originality of which is manifest from its connection
with i" will sing and play, ver. 1, from its being necessary to the
formal organization of the Psalm, its addition being required to
make the number of verses the same as that of Psalm lx. Be
sides, we have to add the analogy of all the other doubled
Psalms; comp. at Ps. xiv., xviii, xl., lxx. In addition, it may
be observed, that while all the variations bear the marks of

PSALM CVIII. VER. 1—5. 299
design, there does not occur a single one which could have been
intended to adapt the Psalm to the relations of later times.
The object for which David made this variation may be as
certained from the most significant of the alterations, one
around which the rest are merely clustered as associates. In
room of the introductory strophe in the 60th Psalm, containing
the acknowledgment of the deliverance already imparted, Da
vid desired to substitute the words with which he had, on an
other occasion, on the most mournful event of his life, given
expression to his confidence and joy in the time of Saul, be
cause these words, so gloriously verified in their consequences,
came from his heart; all the feelings which had belonged to
that time were along with these words transferred to the
present occasion.
David employed this variation of the 60th Psalm as an intro
duction to a trilogy which should represent the contest and the
victory of Israel, and as immediately connected therewith, of
his own family. In this connection the Psalm loses its original
special reference : Edom becomes the type of the enemies of the
kingdom of God and of David. Allusion is made to this dis
junction of the Psalm from its immediate historical occasion by
the omission of the title of Ps. lx., which announces the occa
sion at length and exactly.
This Davidic Psalm must have been very consolatory and
elevating to the church at its return from the Babylonish cap
tivity, when still weak and only in partial possession of the
land, that, too, merely as a servant, and generally in a very de
pressed state in reference to the world around.

Title. — Ver. 5. — Title. A song of praise, a Psalm of David.
Ver. 1. Firm is my heart, 0 God, I will sing praise and play,
even my glory. Ver. 2. Wake up, harp and psaltery, I will
awaken the morning. Ver. 3. I will praise thee among the na
tions, 0 Lord, and play to thee among the people. Ver. 4. For
great from heaven is thy mercy, and even to the clouds thy truth.
Ver. 5. Praise to thee, 0 God, in the heaven, and upon the whole
earth glory to thee. — In ver. 1, the second " my heart is fixed,"
of Ps. Ivii. is left out. A skipping expression of joyful con
fidence like this was suitable only in connection with what went
before. Even my glory shall sing praise to thee, not only the

300 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
mouth, but also the soul, whose praise is acceptable to God, be
cause it is glory, comp. Ps. xxx. 12, ciii. 1,5. In Ps. Ivii.,
" wake up my glory." Those translations which differ from tho
above, are to be rejected on the ground that they are removed
from the fundamental passage. — In ver. 4 there is a designed
variation: instead of "even to heaVen" in Ps. Ivii, we have
" down from heaven," in reference to " praise to thee in heaven,"
of ver. 5. The ^sy denotes there the place where the Lord
should be praised. He shall be praised in the heaven and upon
the earth, because his mercy is made known down from heaven,
v2?tt' desuper, upon the children of men.
The expression of confidence grounded upon all that the
church had hitherto experienced of the mercy of her God, is
followed by the prayer, ver. 6-9, for the communication of sal
vation, founded upon the glorious promises which God had given
her. Ver. 6. In order that thy beloved may be delivered, help
with thy right hand, and hear me. Ver. 7. God has spoken in his
holiness, therefore will I shout for joy, divide Shechem and mea
sure out ihe valley of Succoth. Ver. 8. Gilead is mine, Manasseh
is mine, and Ephraim the strength of my head, Judah my lawgiver.
Ver. 9. Moab is my washing pot, on Edom I cast my shoe, over
Philistia I shall rejoice.— In ver. 6, instead of " hear us," in Ps.
lx., there stands, " hear me." It is the church of the Lord that
speaks; both expressions, therefore, are in reality the same. —
in the eighth verse the 60th Psalm has vj«|, and min el— -In
verse 9th the 60th Psalm has: Philistia rejoice at me. The
expression here is not an explanation but a variation. The one
flows from the other!
In the third strophe, ver. 10-13, we have the hope of assist
ance against Edom, grounded on the divine promises, and the
prayer for the same. Ver. 1 0. Who will bring me to the strong
city, who conduct me to Edom? Ver. 11. Wilt not thou, O God,
who didst cast us off, and "goest not forth, O God, am&jg our
armies." Ver. 12. Give us help against the enemy ; and deceitful
is human help. Ver. i3. In God we will do valiantly, and lie
will tread down our enemies. — In ver. 10 we have the usual -i^T*1
instead of the rare 'T)2Q- — In ver. 1 1 the 'nn^ is left out : {will)
not God {do it); and then there is the sudden transition to the
address.

PSALM CIX. 301

PSALM CIX.

The formal arrangement of this Psalm is very simple. It
consists of three strophes, each of ten verses, and a concluding
verse which gives the sum of the whole. " The Lord stands at
the right hand of the needy man that he may deliver him from
those who condemn his soul." The ten is, according to the
common rule, divided by a five.
In the first half of the first strophe, the Psalmist, after a
short prayer, depicts the wickedness of his enemy; in the
second half he prays that the appropriate punishment may fall
upon him, in regard to his life, and in regard to his children.
The first half of the second strophe invokes the divine anni
hilating energy upon his goods and his honour; the second
half, corresponding to the first strophe, turns to the cause of
this misery invoked upon him, and describes this as rooted in
the divine justice, which recompenses like with like. As the
two first strophes are occupied with judgments upon the wicked,
with a formula at the end, formally shutting up the subject, the
third is occupied with the deliverance of the miserable. The
first half represents the greatness of his misery, and the second
brings into view the divine assistance.
The situation is that of one who is in danger of losing his
life by false accusations, one whom wicked enemies perse
cute to death by means of an unrighteous judgment; comp.
especially ver. 1 6, 20, and the conclusion, ver. 31, which exactly
describes the situation.
This situation, at the basis of which lie the relations of David, .
in the time of Saul, is strictly retained ; comp. at Ps. lviii. It
constitutes the individual physiognomy of the Psalm; and to
destroy it would require much more attention to be paid to the
exposition than has hitherto been done. Still it is to be admit
ted, if not in a figurative yet in an individualizing sense. The
Psalm belongs, as is manifest from its destination to the public
worship of God {to the chief musician), to those also whose lives
are exposed to dangers arising from other causes.
The subject of the Psalm is the suffering righteous man;
comp. ver. 31. The Psalm may be applied directly to every in
dividual in this situation. But that it may be referred, even

302 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
according to the view of the Psalmist, also to the circumstances
of the people, is obvious from its connection with Ps. cviii, in
which the people of God are introduced speaking. That the
Psalmist had before his eyes at the same time the Davidic
family, and especially Him in whom that family was destined
to reach its summit, that the Psalm, as it proceeds from David
as situated in the time of Saul, has him also for its object (as
he existed in his seed), can admit of no doubt, if we compare
the last verse of the Psalm with the first, and also with the fifth
of Ps. ex. The points of contact are of such a kind that they
leave no doubt as to the originality of the connection with each
other of both Psalms, and moreover as to the fact that we have
here before us, as in Ps. ci-ciii, a Davidic trilogy of Psalms.
Here we have the help of the Lord imparted to his anointed in
trouble, and there it is the glory of the Lord made known after
deliverance: here he stands at his right hand to deliver him
from those who condemn his soul, there his address is, " Sit thou
at my right hand."
This threefold reference of the Psalm has only the character
of three rays, proceeding from the centre of the righteous man.
The undeniable existence of this reference here throws a vivid
light upon the other Psalms of David which describe the suf
fering righteous man; comp. at Ps. Ixix., lxx., lxxi. The cii.
Psalm in the preceding Davidic trilogy is analogous; for at first
sight it seems destined only for the private use of the suffering
righteous man; but in reality it serves another purpose.
The originality of the title which ascribes the Psalm to David,
is confirmed by the corresponding titles of the two Psalms, be-
, tween which the Psalm before us stands, and with which it is
connected; by the brevity of the first verse, unexampled in the
whole Psalms if the title be removed; by the number seven
of the words of the first verse, corresponding to the seven divi
sions into which the Psalm falls, (six half strophes and a con
clusion), divided as usually into a three and a four; the name
Jehovah also, it may be noticed, occurs, in like manner, seven
times, three times in the first (ver. 1-20), and four times in the
second part. In favour of David being the author of the Psalm
may be mentioned, besides the dependence of the Psalm upon
the personal experience of David in the time of Saul, the view
taken of the avenging justice of God, so characteristic of David,

PSALM CIX. 303
and also the fact, that the Psalm thoroughout is nearly con
nected with the other Davidic Psalms, which refer to the suffer
ing righteous man, and that it comes into contact also in indi
vidual expressions with the Davidic Psalms, and only with such
(comp. the exposition), and also in ver. 1 7, With one expression
of David's, as ascertained from the historical books.
. The reasons which have been adduced against the Davidic
authorship are of no force. A great deal of weight has been
laid upon the "exaggerated imprecations," "history does not
represent David as a man of this turn of mind, but rather of a
magnanimous character." But it has been repeatedly shown
(last in the Introduction to Psalm Ixix.), that the history re
presents David as also a person possessed of energetic faith in
the avenging justice of God, and of lively desires for its execu
tion; his magnanimity is so far from standing in opposition to
this, that it is in this faith alone that it has its root. The
assertion, that the poetry is " too heavy and insipid for David,"
proceeds partly from a dislike to its contents, transferred to the
form whicli these contents assume, and partly from the imper
fection of the exegetical efforts that have been made in inter
preting the Psalm. Sentence of condemnation has been passed,
while no reason existed on which that sentence could rest. A
more correct verdict on the poetical character of the Psalm is
to be found in Amyraldus".1
The assertion of Grotius, " that there is nothing like this in
the Gospels or in the Acts of the Apostles," overlooks the cir
cumstance, that alongside of the prayer, " Father, forgive them,
for they know not what they do," which does not stand in the
least in contradiction to our Psalm (for it is with consummated
wickedness that the Psalmist has to do"), there stands, in the
preceding context, the oft-repeated woe which the Lord de-
1 " I make bold, besides, to affirm, that the poet here exerted himself to the
uttermost to compose a poem which should be the most eloquent of its kind. For
he varies those his imprecations to such a great extent; some of them he sets forth
under such a variety of forms, and with such different degrees of intensity; others
he exhibita at such length and with such accuracy; he runs with care through all
the topics which could furnish him with anything bearing upon hia purpose; finally,
he considers in such a variety of ways the curae of God, lest there should be, as it
were, any one form of it which he does not imprecate upon bis abandoned foe, that
I have no doubt whatever he took very particular pains to render his poem, in this
respect, altogether perfect." -

304 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
nounced against the Pharisees, and also the threatening of the
dreadful judgments upon Judas and Judah, which contain in
them a wish as assuredly as the will of Christ is in accordance
with the will of God ; it overlooks also the expressions of Paul,
" The Lord smite thee, thou whited wall," Acts xxiii. 3 ; and
" Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil, the Lord reward
him according to his deeds," 2 Tim. iv. 14.
Several expositors, giving up the justification of the. Psalm,
have in vain endeavoured to find out some defence. The Psalm
is either edifying or it is injurious in its tendency; it is either
holy or abominable. We hold decidedly by the former alterna
tive, after the example of the Apostle who found in this Psalm
a prophecy of Christ, Acts i 20. The man who considers the
view which lies at the basis of our Psalm as objectionable, robs
suffering righteousness of one of the chief fountains of consola
tion, and takes away from wickedness the bit and the bridle:
the use of our Psalm even in this point of view is usually over
looked. That what has a holy meaning may be made an un
holy use of cannot be brought as a ground of charge against
it.1

Title. — Ver. 10.— Title. To the Chief Musician, of David,
a Psalm. — Ver. 1 . God my praise be not silent. Ver. 2. For
they have opened the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of deceit
against me, they speak with me with the tongue of ties. Ver, 3.
And with words cf hatred they surround me, and fight against me
without cause. Ver. 4. For my love they are my enemies and I
am prayer. Ver. 5. And they show me evil for good, and hatred
for my love. Ver. 6. Place thou a wicked man over him, and let
the enemy stand at his right hand. Ver. 7. When he shall be
judged may he be found wicked, and may his prayer become sin.
1 Calvin: " Now as David did not speak except by the impul.-e of the Spirit,
these imprecations are to be considered as if they were spoken by the voice of God
from heaven. Thus, on the one hand, in denouncing vengeance, he wounds
and restrains all our wicked desires of injuring others, and, on the other,
moderates our grief by administering that consolation which will enable us to bear
injuries. And because it is not yet given us to distinguish between the elect and
the reprobate, let ua leatn to pray for all who trouble ua, to wish salvation to the
whole human race, anxious even for individuals. Meanwhile this need not hinder
ua, provided our minds are pure and calm, from freely appealing to the judgment
of God, in order that all the desperate may be destroyed."

PSALM CIX. VER. 1 — 10. 305
Ver. 8. May his days be few, may another take Ms office. Ver. 9.
May his children become orphans, and his wife a widow. Ver. 10.
May his children wander about and beg, and seek out of their ruins.
— " God, my praise, be not silent," in ver. 1, is: thou who hast
always given me abundant occasion to praise thee, be not now
silent, that I may have here also a similar opportunity ; comp.
ver. 30, " I shall praise the Lord exceedingly with my mouth,
and in the midst of many I shall extol him." The praise de
notes here the object of the praise, as it does in the fundamental
passage, Deut. x. 21, " He is thy praise, and thy God who has
done with thee this great and terrible thing which thine eyes
behold ;" comp. Ps. xxii. 3, 26, xliv. 8, and the dependant pas
sage, Jer. xvii. 14, where it is recorded as the foundation of
confidence of divine deliverance, "for thou art my praise."
The representation of all that the Lord has already done for us,
and the appeal to it, form a sure ground of answer, and a mighty
quickening of hope. He cannot be unlike himself. On " be
not silent," comp. Ps. xxviii. 1, xxxv. 22, God is here called upon
not to be silent in view of the words of the enemies threatening-
destruction. — The subject in ver. 2 is, as always in what follows,
" the enemies," " the wicked." It will not do to make the
mouth the subject, because nDD *s always transitive. The mouth
is that of wickedness, because their aim is, by their words to
destroy the miserable ; and it is that of deceit, because, for the
attainment of this object, they make use of false accusations,
fictitious charges, to which also the expression " they speak with
the tongue of lies," refers. The situation in Matt. xxvi. 59 corres
ponds exactly : " The high priests, ' and the elders, and the
whole council sought false witness against Jesus that they
might put him to death." — The words of hatred, in ver. 3, are
malignant accusations. The txhl wi^1 the accusative, only
here, is to contend with. The swords with which they fight are
their tongues; comp. Ps. Iv. 21, Ivii. 4. The language used in the
Psalm refers only to false accusations, not to deeds. On " with
out a cause," comp. Ps. xxxv. 7, 19. — "For my love they are
enemies to me," ver. 4, found its full truth in Christ. As the
Psalmist in the whole paragraph describes how he is treated,
not how he feels, the expression, " I am prayer," cannot mean,
" I am content with it," " I do nothing else than pray," but only,
" they treat me so wickedly, or matters have come to that ex-
VOL. III. X

306 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. ':
tremity with me, that I am wholly prayer" (comp. " I am peace,"
Ps. cxx. 7) " I cry wholly for help ;" comp. on n^Dfl at Ps- xc-
1, and Ps. Ixix. 13); David was wholly prayer when he went
forth over the. Mount of Olives weeping, and with his head
covered, 2 Sam. xv. 30. On the whole verse, and on ver. 5,
comp. Ps. xxxviii. 20, xxxv. 12, 13. — The singular in ver. 6-19
refers, as it always does in similar cases, to the. ideal person of
the wicked. Place over him (comp. "¦ppQj-j with btS> Gen. xxxix.
5, xli. 34), as his superior, and judicial authority for the right
eous punishment of the shameful abuse of his judicial powers,
his JTTpS], ver. 8 ; comp. Is. lx. 1 7, 2 Chron. xxiv. 1 1 ; — comp.
Ps. xli. 1 , 2, where we find promised, deliverance in the day of
distress from him who acts cunningly against the miserable,
protection against the rage of enemies. The right hand comes
into notice here not as the place which belongs to the accuser
in a trial (comp. against this the Chris, p. ii. on Zech. iii. 1),
but because, being the organ of action, it is the most suitable
place for one to occupy, who is determined perseveringly to hinder
or to assist another; comp. ver. 31, where the Lord stands at
the right hand of the needy man. Ps. ex. 5 shows that the by
VTy^h (Zech. iii. 1, Job xxx. 12) is here not what oppresses, what
hinders the right hand from every exertion, paralyzes all efforts
of the man laid hold of, but that it in reality resembles the V<iyh
in ver. 31, the only difference being that the -wyi denotes here,
as it often does, the right side. That the passage before us is
the one from which the name of Satan, first used in Job, has
been derived (the name in the Pentateuch is Asasel, — comp.
Egypt and the Books of Moses) is evident from the literal
reference in which the verse before us stands to the second
fundamental passage of Satan, Zech. iii. ] ; the enemy of our
Psalm, a Psalm in which Wty occurs more frequently than it
does anywhere else, is the worthy representative; the visible
emblem of the Evil One. Many expositors (Luther : And may
Satan stand at his right hand) perceiving the connection of our
Psalm with Job i and Zech. iii. 1, but not understanding the
manner and way of that connection, consider the f^f here as
a proper name of the Evil One. But Satan is not elsewhere intro
duced in the Psalms ; and a reference to him here could therefore
be adopted only on forced grounds. On the other hand we have
lo urge the want of the article which cannot occur in the very

PSALM CIX. VER. 1 — 10. 307
¦ first passage which makes mention of Satan, and which occurs
only in the last passage of the Old Testament in which Satan is
spoken of, 1 Chron, xxi. ; — terms which were originally appella
tives, come only in the course of time to be used as proper names.
The reference to what precedes leads to the idea of a human ene
my; the Psalmist had suffered by human wickedness*, ver. 2, and
by human enmity, ver. 4, and the punishment therefore should
come in the same way. The TpDn shows, especially when the
impD i» ver- 8 is compared, that by the wicked and the enemies
are to be understood the superiors set over. — The connection
with ver. 6 shows that the language in ver. 7 refers to a human
judgment (comp. Ps. xxxvii. 33, and the second clause); or if
to a divine judgment, yet to such a one as is executed through
the medium of the wicked and of the enemy, the unjust human
judges ; God's way is to punish the wicked by means of the
wicked, and unjust decisions are as really under his control as
just ones. We must supply: he who has condemned me un
justly, has condemned my soul without a cause ; comp. ver. 31.
May he go forth, — out of the trial. May his prayer be sin, — in
its results, namely, increase his misery instead of granting him
the deserved help ; this is not a " shocking imprecation," but a
prayer according to the will of God ; for the prayer of the wicked
uttered without faith and repentance can have no other effect
than this, it originates in sin, and therefore it can come to no
thing but sin ; comp. Prov. xxviii. 9, " he that turneth away his
ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination,"
Is. i. 15, Ps. Ixvi. 17, and the passages quoted there. — In the
expression, " may his days be few," in ver. 8 (QiHjfta is not an
adjective but a substantive, fewnesses), we have expressed as a
wish what in Ps. Iv. 23, " the men of blood and of deceit do not
live out half their days," is expressed as a fact. We must suppose
added : as he intended to have shortened my days. The mpD-
always oversight, smunowii, Acts i. 20, is the usual term for a su
perior office ; and that this is the sense which it bears here is
evident from the reference to *n*lpQ iu ver. 6 : the individual in
office who abused his office for wickedness, shall by a wicked
superior be punished in body and life, and shall thus lose his
office. We have in the whole half strophe a regular progression
of thought : the wicked man is set over him, ver. 6, he is con
demned, ver 7, sentence is put in execution, and another sue-

308 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
eeeds to his office, ver. 8, then farther still, the punishment de
scends to his children, ver. 9, 1 0. The translation, " his property"
passes into the territory of the next strophe.- — On " may his sons
wander up and down," ver. 10, comp. Ps. lix. 11, " let them wan
der by thy strength," i: e., in their children; put to death
themselves there also. On " and beg," compare Ps. xxxvii. 25.
The object of the verb " seek" is easily supplied. Out of their
ruins, where there is nothing but hunger and sorrow.
Ver. 11-20. — Ver. 11. May the creditor lie in wait for all that
he hath, and may strangers plunder his labour. Ver. 12. May he
have no one who may show him mercy, and may no one have com
passion upon his orphans. Ver. 13. May his posterity be rooted
out, and in the following generation may their name be blotted
out. Ver. 14. Let ihe iniquity of his father be remembered by
the Lord, and may ihe sins of his mother not be blotted out. Ver.
15. May they be continually before the Lord, and may he root
out from the earth their remembrance. — Ver. 16. Because he re
membered not to show mercy, and persecuted the poor and needy
man, and the heart-broken, that he might put him to death. Ver.
17. And he loved cursing, and it comes upon him, and he had
no pleasure in blessing, and therefore it is far from him. Ver.
18. And he puts on cursing like a garment, and therefore it
comes like water into his inwards, and like oil into his bones.
Ver. 19. May it be to him like the clothing which he has on, and
a girdle which is always round him. Ver. 20. This is the re
ward of those who are enemies to me, from the Lord, and speak
evil against my soul. — In the half strophe, ver. 11-15, the Psal
mist turns from the life of the wicked, and from his children,
to his property, ver. 1], 12, and to his name and memorial,
ver. 13-15. The prayers and wishes rest upon the living con
viction that the divine justice is a fire which does not rest
until it has completely and entirely consumed what it has seized
upon. The Pi of typj in ver. 11 occurs in Ps. xxxviii. 12, in
the sense of to lay snares, to lie in wait for. The strangers are
in opposition to the members of the family, Deut. xxv. 5.
The ¦"¦rt^E in ver. 12, as in Ps. xxxvi. 10, Ixxxv. 5, is to draw,
'to draw out to a length, to extend. According to the connec
tion and the parallel, the extending of mercy is specially the
respite granted to the debtor. The *nn, to be compassionate, in
Ps. xxxvii. 21, in connection with giving, Prov. xxviii. 8, i^n

PSALM CIX. VER. 1 1 — 20. 309
Q**"*TT> is one who has pity in a way of charity upon the poor.
The first clause of ver. 13, according to the parallel passages,
Ps. xxxvii. 37, for a futurity has the man of peace, and ver. 38,
the futurity of the wicked is cut off — comp. on ]-yHnN> never
posterity, always end, at the passage — must be explained " may
his futurity be rooted out, may he be violently robbed of futu
rity, to the extinction of his family and his name." The second
clause depends upon Deut. xxix. 20, and the Lord shall blot
out his name from under heaven," comp. Ps. ix. 8. The blotting
out of the name follows the extinction of the family, comp.
Deut. xxv. 6. In another generation, after it has existed in
the first generation among hunger and ruin, comp. ver. 10.
In the " their name," there lies a concealed plurality behind the
unity. The not being blotted out of the 14th verse is the cause
of the being blotted out of the 13th. The 15th verse renders
it evident that it comes into notice only in this point of view,
and that the Psalmist still goes on to speak of the extinction
of the name and the remembrance. On the visiting of the
guilt of the fathers on the children (of similar character)
comp. the Beitr. 3, p. 544, ss. The fundamental passage is
Ex. xx. 5. The unusual j-iVP hte — ^23^ occurs in Num. x.
9; -jj2 in ver. 15 of the Psalm before us. — On ver. 15 comp. Ps.
ix. 6, xxxiv. 16. Luther: " Remembrance in Scripiure does not
imply that one is remembered, otherwise Judas, Pilate, and
Herod would be always held in remembrance, but that one is ex
tolled, praised, that there is a good report of him." — The -^ ^H
in ver. 16 stands in reference to the -^p of ver. 14. He perse
cuted the miserable man, not " the poet and such as him," for
everywhere in the Psalms the miserable is only one indivi
dual, but me the miserable one. The Psalmist strips off person
ality. The misery is not what is caused by others, but what is
caused by the wicked. This is their guilt, that they will not
cease by the sight of the misery of tlieir victim, but are rather
thereby instigated to complete their work; comp. at Ps. Ixix.
26. The HND2 is the Part- Niph. of nND* to be struck down,
which root occurs also in Ps. x. 8, 10; it is allied to ^2> to be
struck, comp. at Ps. xxxv. 15. — In ver. 17, several translate,
" may it come," and " may it be far from him," and refer to
the optatives in ver. 19. But this reason is not quite decisive.
Declarations and wishes are much more intimately connected

310*. THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
than the common exposition assumes that they are, which sees
here nothing else than arbitrary imprecations: the wish depends
upon the existing state of matters, and grows out of it. And in
this half strophe, which, as is manifest from the first verse, is in'
tended to point out'the judgments called down upon the wicked
in his extremity, it is much more suitable that the form of de
claration should be the prevailing one, and not that of wish. The
optative construction, moreover, is grammatically altogether in
admissible. The fut. with the Vau Conv. never is, and cannot
be, used as an optative. By "the curse" several understand
the curse which strikes the wicked himself: the wicked loved
this, inasmuch as he loved sin, which necessarily draws the
curse after it; comp. Prov. viii. 36, "those who hate me love
death." Others by the curse understand the curses which' he
utters against the miserable man. The 28th verse is decisive
in favour of this latter .view, "they curse, do thou bless;" so is
2 Sam. xvi. 12, where David, when Shimei curses him, says,
" Perhaps the Lord will look upon my evil (the evil which has be
fallen me), and will requite me good for my cursing." The same
remark may be made of the blessing. — In the second clause of
ver. 1 8, allusion is made to the waters of cursing, which were
given to those accused of adultery to drink, for the purpose of
symbolizing the thoroughly pervading power of the curse; Num.
v. 22, " And this water that causeth the curse shall go into thy
bowels," comp. ver. 24, 27. The figure employed there depends
upon the symbol made use of here. Water, internally, stands
in direct opposition to the garment surrounding the body exter
nally; oil applied to the exterior, and also operating internally,
stands as it were in the middle. — The point of resemblance be
tween the curse and the clothing in ver. 19, is, as the -fiJ2]-| of the
second clause shows, the continuance of it; and is thus different
from that of the garment of ver. 1 8. — Ver. 20 contains the epipho-
neme; comp. Is. xvii. 14, liv. 1 7. On " of those who are enemies to
me," comp. ver. 4; on "who speak wickedness," ver. 2, 3. Against
my soul, — who wish to take me, comp. " to put me to death," in
ver. 16, 31, and the recompense in ver. 8, Ps. xxxi. 13, xl. J 4, liv.
4, therefore those who seek to murder me by wicked accusations.
Ver. 21-31. — Ver. 21. And do thou, Jehovah, Lord, for me
for thy name's sake; because thy mercy is good, deliver thou me.
Ver. 22. For I am miserable and poor, and my heart is pierced

PSALM CIX. VI5R. 21—31. 311
within me. Ver. 23. I must go hence like the shadow when it
declineth, I am carried away like ihe locust. Ver. 24. My knees
are weak through fasting, and my flesh deceives from want of
oil. Ver. 25. I am become a reproach to them, they see me, they
shake the head.— -Ver. 26. Help me, 0 Lord my God, deliver mc
according to thy mercy. Ver. 27. And may it be known that
this is thy hand, thou, Lord, hast done it. Ver. 28. They curse
bless thou; they rise up, may they be ashamed; but may thy ser
vant rejoice. Ver. 29. May my adversaries be clothed with
shame, and may they be covered in their own disgrace as in a
mantle. Ver. 30. / will praise the Lord very much with my
mouth, and in the midst of many I will sing praises to him.
Ver. 31. For he stands at the right hand of the needy man, that
he may deliver him from those who condemn his soul. — And do
thou, ver. 21, — My only helper against those who speak against
my soul. At "do to me," the object is wanting: — several
falsely: "act towards me," — j-jt^ only means to make, to do,
never, to act; it is to be supplied here as in 1 Sam. xiv. 6,
" perhaps the Lord will do to us," from the common phrases
"to do mercy," or "to do good to any one :" this may be done
much more easily here than in 1 Sam. xiv. 6, because the thing
to be supplied is in reality contained in the clause, " for thy
name's sake:" — do to me for thy name's sake what is suitable
to thy name, to thy historically manifested mercy. Ps. cxix. 1 24
is exactly similar, " do to thy servant (mercy) for thy mercy's
sake;" and Jer. xiv. 7, " though our sins testify against us, do
thou, Lord, for thy name's sake (the work of thy name)." On
the second clause comp. Ps. Ixiii. 3, and especially Ps. Ixix. 16.
The prayer here, reversing the order in the first clause pre
cedes its basis: "because good is thy mercy," being an expla
nation of "thy name's sake." — The first clause of ver. 22 is
literally from Ps. xl. 17, comp. Ixix. 29. My heart is pierced
within me, — by the sword of pain; comp. ver. 16, Ps. Iv. 4,
" my heart trembles within me," in deep pain, sore anguish. —
On the first clause of ver. 23 comp. Ps. cii. 11, " My days arc
like a shadow that declineth," like one about to disappear.
The declining shadow occurs only in these two passages. The
Niph. of ^^n (a verb which properly has no Niph.) which occurs
only in this passage, denotes a suffering, a forced going. The
locusts, when the wind seizes them, are irresistibly carried off.

312 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
and disappear without leaving a trace behind ; comp. Ex. x. 19,
Joel ii. 20, Nah. iii. 17. Such comparisons of the sufferer to
small helpless creatures are peculiarly characteristic of David ;
comp. here Ps. cii. 7, xi. J, lvi. 1. The fasting in ver. 24 is never
used of that want of eating which proceeds from want of appe
tite (as Maurer here: inedia ex aegritudine), but always of the
exercise of penitence as practised by men when overwhelmed or
when threatened with severe sufferings; comp. Gesen. in the
Thes., and at Ps. Ixix. 10, xxxv. 13. The Psalmist had already,
in his deep and long-continued misery, fasted himself thin
and weak. The flesh deceives, inasmuch as it is as if it were
not there, it becomes invisible = not shining, not through
emaciation, but because it is not attended to. The expression
is similar to upuvifyuei ru vposmroi, &vr£>v, they make their faces
invisible, not ¦ shining, Matt. vi. 1 6. Comp. ^3, to lie, used of
waters that sink into the ground in Is. lviii. 11, and ~\%y to
be faithless, applied to a brook dried up, Job vi. 15. The yq
in ¦fls'iiflD is not to be construed in a privative but in a causal
sense, as is obvious from the corresponding word qi^- The
expression "from oil" is an abrupt expression instead of " from
want of oil." The fasting makes the knees weak by its pre
sence, and the oil makes the flesh not like what it should be by
its absence. The common translation is, " my flesh is deficient
in fatness;": Gesenius : " deficit a pinguedine, contabescit, ema-
ciatur." But against this we may urge, (1.) the Yry$} always
means oil, ointment, even in Is. x. 27, never fatness, as Gousset
has acknowledged, on wrpr, it occurs in the sense of oil, oint
ment, in ver. 18; and a special reason for taking it in this sense
in the passage before us arises from the usual contrast between
the anointing with oil (comp. Deut. xxviii. 20, and Mich. vi.
15) and mourning and fasting; comp. 2 Sam. xiv. 2, "Mourn,
and put on thy mourning apparel, and anoint not thyself with
oil," 2 Sam. xii. 20, "And David rose up from the earth, and
washed himself, and anointed himself," and also the 1 6th verse
of the same chapter, " And David sought God because of the
child, and David fasted, Matt. vi. 16, 17." 2. The tUTD never
signifies to take away, to become lean, but always to deceive; Job
xvi. 8, the only passage to which an appeal has been made, is
not to be translated " my leanness rises against me," but my
deceit, the hypocrisy of which by my sufferings I am apparently

PSALM ex. VBU. 1—7. 313
convicted. 3. The *p in p1^ must be taken causally in ac
cordance with OT^ft. On the first clause of ver. 25, comp. Ps.
xxii. 6, xxxi. 11. And I, — in this miserable condition, who
ought rather to be an object of sympathy. On the second
clause, comp. Ps. xxii. 7. The shaking of the head is there,
as it is here, a denial of the existence of the sufferer, a declara
tion that his state is completely desperate. — On ver. 27, comp.
Ps. lix. 13, " Annihilate them that they may no longer exist,
and that it may be known that God is ruler in Jacob even to
the ends of the earth." Men may know (and thus learn to fear
thee) that this my deliverance is thy hand, a work of thy
hand, which exhibits the stupidity of the ungodly strengthened,
as it is in them by their exemption from punishment, as feeble
ness. — That in ver. 28 we cannot translate, " may they curse,"
but only " they curse," = " though they curse," is manifest from
the -\f2p. On " thy servant," compare. Ps. xix. 1 1, xxvii. 9. —
On ver. 29 compare Ps. lxxi. 13. It is a resumption from ver.
18 for the purpose of placing it alongside of the salvation of the
servant of God with which alone this strophe is concerned.
The comparison of the garment— b^72 a l°ng r°be, vodiipri? ac
cording to Josephus — intimates that they are to be covered with ¦
shame from head to foot.— On ver. 30, compare Ps. vii. 17 (also
the conclusion of the Psalm), ix. 1, xxxiv. 1, Ixix. 30. On the
second clause Ps. xxii. 22. The preceding prayers rise on the
ground of the confidence. The promise of thanks is very ap
propriately added to these. — On ver. 31 comp. ver. 6, Ps. xvi.
8. On "his soul," ver. 20.

PSALM CX.
Luther calls this Psalm " the true high main Psalm of our
beloved Lord Jesus Christ;" our Lord himself attests that it
was composed in the Holy Ghost; and there is no other pas
sage of the Old Testament so frequently quoted or echoed in
the New.

Title. Of David a Psalm. Ver. 1. The Lord says to my
Lord: sit at my right hand, till I make thy enemies thy foot
stool. Ver. 2. TheLord shall send thy powerful rod out of Zion;

314 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
rule in the midst of thine enemies. — Ver. 3. Thy people free
will gifts in thy day of might, in holy beauty; out of the womb
of the morning-heaven, to thee thy youth-dew. Ver. 4. The
Lord has sworn and will not repent: thou art a priest for ever
after the order of Melchisedec. — Ver. 5. The Lord at thy right
hand smites kings in the day of his wrath. Ver. 6. He shall
judge among the heathen, fill with dead bodies, smite heads on
the wide earth. Ver. 7. From the brook he shall drink in the
way, therefore he shall lift up the head.
The seven verses of the Psalm fall into two strophes, consist
ing, according to the usual division of the seven in the Psalms,
the one of four and the other of three verses. The first strophe
represents the foundation of the victory of the Anointed; and
falls into two members, each of two verses. The offspring of
David sits at the right hand of the Lord, partner of the might
and the dominion of the Almighty, therefore he will make easy
work with his enemies, ver. 1, 2; the offspring of David has a
people which offers itself willingly to the Lord; a holy people
to whom victory cannot be wanting is given him from above;
for he is, according to the sure divine purpose, not only king
but also a priest for ever, according to the order of Melchisedec,
and as such purifies his people from their sins. A double
ground of hope is hence furnished to us. The first is the sit
ting of the Anointed at the right hand of God; the second, the
people of the Anointed: this last, however, is not a human but
a divine ground of hope. For the people is only what it is
through the true priest which God has given it; the proper
foundation, therefore, of the victory next to the true kingly
power of the Anointed to whom all power in earth and heaven
has been given, is his true priesthood. — As the first strophe de
scribes the foundation of the victory, the second describes the
victory itself. We see how the Lord by his Anointed, and the
Anointed with the help of the Lord, overthrows the enemies
with irresistible power.
At the beginning of ver. 1, and at the end, ver. 6 and 7,
David speaks of the Anointed ; and in the middle he speaks to
him. In the first strophe the verses have a festive length ; in the
second the description of the victory moves on in short clauses,
like the rapid victory itself.
The Psalm was sung by David when the seat of govern-

PSALM CX. VER. 1 — 7. 315
ment and the ark of the covenant were already on Mount Zion.
This is evident from ver. 2, according to which the Lord ex
tends the kingdom of his Anointed from Zion, and from the
mention of Melchisedec, the royal priest of Salem, as the type
of the union of royalty and the priesthood in the Anointed, in
ver. 4. David, further, must already have been in possession
of the promise made to him according to 2 Sam. vii. by Nathan,
of the eternal duration of his seed; for this forms the basis of
the Psalm. The Psalm finally presupposes the triumphant ter
mination of the wars of David, particularly the severest of
them all, the Aramean-Edomitic and the Ammonitic-Aramean;
for these victories form the terminating point of the Psalm.
The expectations and claims made by the servants of the
true and living God are from the beginning wide and all-com
prehensive. The servants of the true God are not at all satis
fied with a limited part ; but they claim for their God and his
kingdom, just because he is the true God, God in the full sense,
the Creator and Lord of the whole world, the whole earth in its
remotest extent; and they make this claim with a decision and
hold it with a tenacity, which must surprise all who do not
know their real reasons. Abraham even in the days of old had
the nations of the whole earth in his eye, and the blessing to
be brought to them by his seed formed the centre of his hopes.
Jacob saw Shiloh coming from the tribe of Judah, whom the
nations obey. Everywhere onward, wherever there is living-
faith, we find also claims to the dominion of the world.' Dur
ing the preceding and at the beginning of the present century
it was one of the most mournful signs of the decay of the Church
that believers were contented if they were only not disturbed in
their own little corner. Expectations, claims, and efforts, wide as
the world, arose along with the revival of faith. It was thus that
David, notwithstanding his glorious victories and the elevation
of the people of God above what had ever been known in for
mer days, was not content with this corner-dominion. It served
only to give a new impetus to his world-wide claims and expec
tations. But at the same time he perceived that there could
be no fulfilment of these hopes in the ordinary way. Even
with the mighty help of her Lord, a King like himself could
have no prospect of ever being able completely to subjugate the
power of the world, which like a wall of brass opposed the pro-

316 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
gress of the kingdom of God; this must be reserved for a King*
whose throne was withdrawn from earth to heaven, and who
participated in divine omnipotence. A people, moreover, such
as that of David, was not fitted to bring the holy war against
the world to a thorough termination; it wanted the spirit of
entire devotedness and surrender to the Lord ; it wanted the
holy dress necessary for the soldiers of the Lord; and David
and any one like him were not able to give this : its root lies in
reconciliation and the forgiveness of sin, which one sinner cannot
impart to another. Still, David was not wrong in his hopes
because of these apparently insuperable difficulties which op
posed their fulfilment. He had received from God the sure
promise of the eternal dominion of his race ; he who was a pro
phet, Acts ii. 30, by whom, as he himself says in 2 Sam. xxiii:
2, the Spirit of the Lord spake, and on whose tongue the word
of the Lord was, knew that this promise would reach its height
in the Messiah, of whom there had beeii spread abroad some
dark information from a remote antiquity. When he now drew
near to God, at the holy moment to which our Psalm owes its
origin, with "receive the prayer of our distress," it was revealed
to him in Spirit — for he speaks here in the spirit, according to
the express declaration of our Lord — that in this his offspring,
who at the same time is his Lord, these difficulties would come
to an end. He shall sit at the right hand of Omnipotence and
be a priest for ever, and therefore shall raise his people to the
sovereignty of the world.
It may well fill us with deep shame when we see how be
lievers under the Old Testament prepared for themselves, out
of what the Lord had already done, ladders, on which they rose
freshly and joyfully to comprehensive hopes (we are too much
inclined to despise small beginnings), how David simply brought
all his doubts to God, and how he laid hold of the word of God
with triumphant joy and immovable firmness, — he who was
sent entirely alone to this word, while the Scheblimini and the
" Thou art a priest for ever" have been verified to us for eighteen
hundred years. " He clings to it," says Luther, " with such
firm faith, what he does not see he apprehends with such power
of mind, and it is so sure to him, that he speaks of it as if he
saw it already fulfilled before his eyes, and thus talks of it with
a joyful rejoicing spirit, while his heart burns and overflows with

PSALM CX. VEIL 1 — 7. 317
joy towards the Lord Christ." Who is the man, who, with such
an example before his eyes, ought not to feel ashamed of doubts,
mourning, and lamentations when the billows of the world again
break with power against the rocks of the church !
In accordance with the special point from which the Psalm
sets out, the Psalm treats of only one view of the announce
ment of the Messiah, Christ, as ruler over his enemies; and, in
like manner, this point exerts its influence upon the form in
which the victory of the offspring of David over his enemies is
celebrated, — a form which occurs elsewhere even in the New
Testament, in the Apocalypse. It is a matter of indifference to
us how far David recognised this form as such. It is not pos
sible to suppose him to have been completely ignorant of it; for
a king who is at the same time a high priest, who reconciles his
people, and who is followed by his people to the battle in holy
attire, can be no common warrior. Full explanations of the form
were unnecessary; it was enough in the first instance to know
that it Was to be ; history must tell how.

The address of God, the revelation in ver. 1, is only in point
of form directed to David's Lord — it is David himself who re
ceives it. Jo. Arnd: "I, says the prophet David, heard God
our heavenly father speak with his dear Son, and because it
was a glorious royal speech which I would fain all the world
shouldhear, I have recorded it in this Psalm." David calls his off
spring his Lord, not merely in his own name, but in that of the
whole church of God; it is as the mouth of the church that he
here speaks, and hence the explanation of the fact that our
Lord in all the three Evangelists says David called him Lord,
-not Ms Lord. This mode of speech leads to the idea, as our
Lord shows in arguing against the Pharisees, that David recog
nised in his offspring something altogether more than human.
Its explanation and basis are to be found in the mighty word
Scheblimini, with wThich, according to Luther's expression,
David leads and lifts Christ once for all from earth above all
heavens. The throne of God, at the right hand of which the
Anointed is to sit, is " the throne high and lifted up" of Isaiah,
ch. vi., to which David in his own troubles, and in those of the
Church, had so often directed his eye, Ps. ix. 7, lxviii. 18, xxix.
10 (comp. Ps. ii. 4, xi. 4), the symbol of his dominion over

318 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
heaven and earth, and everything in them; comp.Ps. ciii. 19, "the
Lord has prepared his throne in heaven, and his kingdom ruleth
over all." The right hand of the Mighty One is the symbol of
his might. Therefore earthly sovereigns allow those whom thej
desire to constitute partakers of their sovereignty, to sit at the
right hand of their throne. Thus Solomon set his mother s**.
his right hand; in her case the participation in sovereignty was
only ideal; she reigned in her son, not next to him or in his
name. This place, however, was occupied altogether in a
peculiar manner, by those who hold an office of great antiquity
in the East, that namely of the representative of royalty, who
was invested with full kingly rank and power. This office was
held by Joseph in Egypt, whom we find Pharaoh thus address
ing: " Thou shalt be over my house, and according to thy word
shall all my people be ruled, only in the throne will I be
greater than thou: behold, I set thee over the whole land of
Egypt: without thee no one shall lift up hand or foot in the
whole land of Egypt," Gen. xli. 40-44: he sits in Pharoah's
chariot, and the proclamation is made before him, Bow the
knee. It was this rank that Salome claimed for one of her sons
in the Redeemer's kingdom of glory, when taking occasion of
the remark of Christ, that the twelve apostles should sit next
his glorious throne, on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes
of Israel, she came to him and said, " Grant that these my two
sons may sit in thy kingdom, the one on thy right hand and
the other on thy left hand," Matt. xix. 28. He who is invested
with this honour by the Lord of heaven and earth, he whom he
calls to sit at the right hand of his throne, and thus proclaims
as his vicegerent and representative, is thereby elevated far
above every human condition, and is invested with full partici
pation in divine power over heaven and earth, as our Lord in
terpreting the Scheblimini declared to be the case with himself
before he left the earth. This Scheblimini is infinitely rich in
consolation for the Church of God at all times; and the man
who lets this one word get into his heart, is removed from all
pain and all sorrow, — it is all one to him whether his enemies
are few or many, he looks with serene smiles upon tlieir tumults
and their vain attempts. He says with Arnd : " I know one
who sits at the right hand of God; and he is strong enough for
my enemies and all my misfortune. He sits on my account at the

PSALM CX. VER. 1—7. 319
right hand of God to protect me." The word is all the more
full of comfort, as Christ not only sits at the right hand of God
for himself, but also raises his people to the same place with
him, even now in time, and more gloriously still in eternity, as
John says in the Apocalypse: " To him that overcometh will I
grant to sit down with me on my throne, as I overcame and
sat down with my father on his throne;" and Paul, 2 Tim. ii
12, " If we suffer, we shall also reign with him." But that sit
ting of Christ at the right hand of God is still a concealed thing.
It is only some one like Stephen, full of the Holy Ghost, who
sees the heaven open and the Son of Man sitting at the right
hand of God. The Scheblimini, first given to the Church by
revelation, can be known to be true, and can be carried home
to the heart only by revelation. He who sits at the right hand
of the Father wields his power unobserved, so that it can be
perceived only by faith. This is the case in order that believers
may be exercised in faith, and that the world in righteous re
tribution for its unbelief towards him may run on to its own
destruction. "What think you," says Luther, "should this
poor, weak, beggar-king do with his miserable, naked, defence
less crowd? His enemies run so full of confidence upon him,
and rage at him with all their power, so that at first it seems as
if they would push him from his throne. But take care of
yourself, — though he seems to be very weak, and God winks at
it, as if he saw and could do nothing. For now he is upon
them, he will destroy them when they are in their best thoughts
and in their highest power; and in the midst of their work he
will cast the dice and turn all things upside down with them,
so that they shall suddenly be found lying on the ground ere
they have time to look around them ; and he will so deal with
them that at the very moment when they are running at him "
and raging at him, they themselves shall run away and fall,
and thus be overwhelmed and made his footstool at the very
moment when they were intending to overthrow him and put
him beneath their feet." — " The Lord shall sit at the right hand
of God until he makes his enemies his footstool," — subjugates
them entirely, not so as if he sat quiet and looked idly on; but, on
the contrary, everything decidedly represents him overthrowing
them himself, clothed with omnipotence. As the possession of
divine omnipotence in " sit at my right hand," is given to the

320 THE BOOK OF PSALMS
king only for the one definite object set before us throughout
the whole Psalm, viz., the contest against the enemies; the " un
til" is to be understood as excluding this. It is deserving of
notice, that, as soon as we hear of Christ in the Old Testament,
we hear also of his enemies, just as in the days of his flesh we see
him everywhere surrounded by enemies, and engaged in contest
with them. This serves as an evidence against those who
would derive all the enmity of the world against Christ from
the conduct of his servants; it shows that we should not feel
surprised if, for the present, we see such hostility growing
stronger and stronger, that we should consider it as quite a
natural thing that we must suffer from this enmity, and that
we can attain to peace only when, after a protracted and severe
struggle, we participate in the victory of Christ, i It is painful
to be engaged in this conflict; but it cannot be otherwise, as the
world "lieth in wickedness." — The second verse merely
develops a consequence from the first. If the Lord has said
to his Anointed, in presence of his enemies, " sit at my right
hand," he must necessarily stretch forth his punishing hand as
far as that enmity extends. This rod is the symbol, not of
government, but of victory over resistance; it is the instrument
by which the adversaries are punished ; it corresponds to the
sharp two-edged sword which, according to Rev. i 16, proceeds
out of the mouth of the Son of Man. The Lord will send this
rod out of Sion, the ancient seat of the royal family of David,
which reached its height in the Anointed, in order that, wielded
by his mighty hand, it might wheel round among the enemies,
and strike them to the ground. The " rule thou " is, in its
connection with ver. 1, an exhortation; but it really contains
in it a prophecy. In the midst of thine enemies, — not at all in
some corner of them; the enemies are round on every side, but
Christ, in the midst of them, rules in every direction! — Ver. 3
and 4 are, like ver. 1 and 2, bound together as one pair. The
comfort which the omnipotent kingdom of the Lord imparts to
the people of God, in view of a hostile, world, is here accom
panied, side by side, by that drawn from his eternal priesthood,
which secures for them the forgiveness of sins, and, as rooted in
this, the spirit of willing surrender and dedication, and the pos
session of holy garments, which are necessary for the holy
contest. While ver 1 contains the ground, and ver. 2 the con-

PSALM CX. VEK. 1 — 7. 321
sequence, the Lord has said, "sit thou at my right hand,"
&c, " therefore the Lord shall send," &c, the order is here
inverted, "thy people, willing gifts," &c, "for the Lord
has sworn." The Psalmist wished to place the people of the
Lord directly over against his enemies. The king has not
only enemies, but he has also subjects, such subjects as,
from their very nature, carry along with them a security for
victory, not in consequence of any innate excellence, but
from a divine cause ; their king is, at the same time, the true
high priest. The people of the king denote his subjects,
not in and for themselves, his warriors. But, in seasons of
danger, all subjects are also warriors; and it is in this view
alone that they come into notice in this warlike Psalm; " he is
a bad servant who dares to stand still when he sees the general
advancing." The j-QTW ^ias onty the sense of free-will gifts;
and it is the usual term for free-will gifts offered to the Lord.
The Lord is also here the receiver; the Anointed is the priest
by whose mediation they are brought to the Lord. Such free
will offerings were brought by Israel to the Lord at the erection
of the tabernacle, which was entirely built out of such gifts.
" Speak," thus said the Lord at that time to Moses, (Ex. xxv.
2), " to the children of Israel, that they bring to me free-will
offerings, from every man whose heart inclines him, ye shall
take my offering." After the erection of the tabernacle, full
opportunity was afforded by the law to grateful spirits to pre
sent such offerings. But while there the gifts consisted of
things which were offered by persons ; in the passage before us,
the persons offer themselves as free-will gifts. They dedicate
and offer themselves to God through tlieir high priest on the
day of battle for life and death without any reserve. This of
fering takes place on the king's day of power. The day of bat
tle — this is what is meant — is at the same time for him the
day of power. The king, who sits at the right hand of God,
and who marches forward at the head of a people who willingly
offer up themselves, must, when he fights, necessarily conquer.
But this people who willingly offer up themselves in the clay of
battle can be known only by the eye of faith; and that faith is
a more difficult thing than faith in the king at the right hand
of God; just as I believe in a holy Catholic church is the most
difficult article of the creed. The matter here is to discover
vol. m. X

322 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
the willing offering of the heart concealed under the surface of
timidity, indolence, and unwillingness, to be able, in confidence
in the eternal High Priest appointed by God, to believe and
hope that the future shall more and more bring to pass what
has been very much wanting in the past, and at the same time
to continue earnest in believing prayer, that the offering up of
the spirit on the part of the people of God may become more
real. — The second half of the verse is to. be explained: the
youthful soldiers of the king resemble in their holy attire the
dew in beauty, like which they unexpectedly present them
selves. Holy attire, — -the priests put on holy attire when they
did duty in the sanctuary, in anticipation of " be ye renewed
in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new man, which
after God is created in righteousness and holiness," Eph. iv.
23, 24, — a maxim intended to ring in the ears of every one who
draws near to the holy God. The combatants are here clothed
in holy attire, because the contest is no ordinary one; it is one
in which it is necessary to put off the old man with his works,
and in which not one thing even can be done by those who go
forward in the spotted garments of the flesh ; " it is a bearing
of the cross, a holy warfare," where tliose only are admitted to
the honour of the battle who go forward in holy garments, the
symbol of holy hearts, the dress suitable to the chosen genera
tion, the royal priesthood, the holy people, Ex. xix. 6, 1 Pet.
ii. 9. In this holy attire the youth-dew of the king appears, his
youthful dew, his youthful soldiery, who in their holy garments
resemble the dew in beauty. The soldiery of the king consists
in part of old grey warriors, but the spirit of youth is common
to them all; and therefore the whole army presents to the
Psalmist a youthful appearance. " Those who wait upon the
Lord renew their strength, they mount up on wings as eagles,
they run without being wearied, they walk without fainting."
It is the service of the Lord alone that guarantees strength.
This youth-dew comes to the king " from the bosom of the
morning-heaven." In this it is implied, to use the words of
Luther, " that it is with the birth of the children of this king
dom as it is with the lovely dew, which falls in spring eveiy
day early in the morning, and no man can say how it is made,
or where it comes from, still it lies there every morning upon the
grass." — The youthful soldiers of the king are indebted for the

PSALM CX. VER. 1 — 7 323
willing spirit and the holy garments to his appointment to be a
priest for ever after the manner of Melchisedec: for theLord
has sworn and, will not repent, thou art not only a king, thou
art also a priest after the manner of Melchisedec, who in days
of old united in Sion the royal and the priestly office. The office
of the high priest consisted in mediating between God and the
people; and this duty is performed agreeably to the condition of
the latter by obtaining the forgiveness of sins through offerings
and intercessions. As the mediation of the high priest consist
ed chiefly in obtaining reconciliation and the forgiveness of sins,
these come particularly into notice in Lev. xvi, where we have
a description of the ceremonies which took place on the great
day of atonement, on which were concentrated the main duties
of the office of high priest. David felt his weakness painfully
on this point. He might indeed by his transgression bring
judgment upon the people (2 Sam. xxiv. 1 7), but he could not
effect reconciliation ; safety, therefore, in the field against enemies
could never be perfect. He knew that even a king at the right
hand of God was not sufficient for the necessities of the people
of God. A holy people might indeed be sufficiently cared for by
him ; but a sinful people can only be sure of victory, if their
king is at the same time also a high priest. The discourse of
the Lord is' in reality addressed to this people, although in
point of forrh to the Anointed. " I swear to you poor sinners"
— thus Jo. Arnd gives correctly the sense — " that for your com
fort I have ordained and given this my Son to be your high
priest, who shall reconcile you and bless you." A people offer
ing themselves freely to the Lord, in holy garments, a king at
their head, who is at the same time a priest set apart by God
himself to that office for all eternity, expiating whatever of sin
cleaves to them, interceding, mediating, procuring the most in
timate communion between them and God, — how is it possible
that victory against the world should fail to be obtained even
though the world rise against them with all its might?
The description of the victory itself follows, in the second
strophe, this allusion to the presence of all the foundations of
victory. The address is in ver. 5, as in the whole Psalm, di
rected to the king and high priest. As surely as he sits at the
right hand of the ford, so surely must the Lord stand at his
right hand in the dgy of the mighty conflict, as his omnipotent

324 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
helper and ally, and so surely must the enemies be destroyed
by him, mighty kings no less than the feeblest and the smallest;
for in view of omnipotence, human might is only a section of
feebleness. " He strikes kings in the day of his wrath," deeply
affected the heart of Luther: "Thus," he says, "as I rather
think from this prophecy, it will be some day with Germany,
so that it shall be said, there lies beloved Germany destroyed
and depopulated. For they will bring it about that God will
act towards them the same part that he acted towards Rome
and Jerusalem. God grant that we and our children may then
be dead and not see this misery." This anticipation was once
fulfilled when they sang: "May the lands depopulated, the
churches destroyed by war and fire, be again restored." God grant
that it maynot be fulfilled a second time. — That we cannot in ver.
6 translate with Luther, " he shall smite him who is the head
over great lands," which many interpreters apply to Antichrist,
but only, " he smites the heads upon the wide earth," is evident,
besides other reasons, from the manifest contrast between smit
ing the head of the enemies, and lifting up that of the king
and high priest. — The figure of the brook out of which the king
shall drink in the way, in the course of the contest and the vic
tory, ver. 7, is explained by the history of Samson. Samson,
after he had slain a thousand Philistines with the« jaw bone of
an ass, was very thirsty, and cried unto the Lord and said :
" Thou hast given this great deliverance unto the hand of thy
servant; and now I shall die for thirst, and fall into the hands
of the uncircumcised : then God clave the hollow place that
was in Lehi, and there • came out water, and he drank, and his
spirit came back, and he revived; wherefore he called the name
of it, The well of him that called, which is at Lehi unto this
day." "Our Samson, the beloved warrior," is not like this
type subject to fatigue, as sure as he sits at the right hand of
Omnipotence : but people drink from the fountain not only to
quench thirst, but also to remain exempt from thirst; and the
service rendered by such a brook is performed for him by that
divine strength always flowing in to him which secures him
against fatigue in the hottest conflict. His servants, however,
and warriors, are often fatigued in the way, and cry out with
Samsonof old, "I shall now die with thirst, and fall into the
hands of these uncircumcised." But the same -fountain which

PSALM CX. VER. 1  7. 325
secures the captain against fatigue, strengthens his soldiers in
the endurance of fatigue, and supports them so that they can
lift up their head along with their captain. What is wanting
to the enemies of the Lord, is the brook in the way, " the well
of him that calleth." But he to whom this well is given cannot
give way to despair, though he may at times be mournful and
hang his head. The clause at the conclusion, "therefore he
shall lift up his head," corresponds to that at the commence
ment, " Sit thou at my right hand." Such a beginning can be
followed only by such an end. The warrior lifts up his head
in triumph after all his enemies have been cast down to the
ground; " and his soldiers shout victory, and proclaim him to
be a hero who keeps field and heart." This shall happen, in
the most glorious manner, when the blessed and joyful day
shall dawn, on which it shall be proclaimed : " The kingdoms of
this world have become the kingdom of our Lord and of his
Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever," Rev. xi. 15.
" But may God help us," — to conclude with the words of
Luther — " to remain with this Lord, and to be found thankful
to him, and to sing this Psalm to him with right faith and joy.
To this our beloved Lord and Saviour alone be praise, glory,
and honour, along with the Father and the Holy Ghost, one
God, for ever. Amen."
Having given this general exposition of the Psalm, we would
now subjoin some explanations and additions on particular
points. First by way of Introduction.
The composition of the Psalm by David is attested by the
title. The attestation is confirmed by the circumstance, that a
Davidic trilogy of Psalms is, with manifest design, placed at the
head of the dodecade, like a commanding citadel; by the con
nection which subsists between the Psalm and the two preced
ing ones attributed in the titles to David; and finally by our
Lord, whose whole train of reasoning grounded upon our Psalm,
Matt. xxii. 41-46, Mark xii. 35-37, Luke xx. 4J-44, depends
upon the fact of the Psalm having been composed by David.
The internal reasons corroborate these external ones. The
courageous, fresh, warlike tone, leads us to the hero David, to
whom alone, of all the authors of the Psalms, this tone is pecu
liar. At the foundation of this Psalm are to be found lying the
relations of David's time, David's wars and victories. Its inti-

326 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
mate connection with Ps. ii. is also in favour of its having been
composed by David. This is denied only by those to whom its
admission would be unpleasant, on account of the resistance
which it makes to their preconceived hypothesis in regard to the
exposition. The attempt to weaken, in part, the testimony of
the title, by translating ^yyj by de Davide, is altogether a vain
one. In the titles of the Psalms this expression can occur only
in one sense.
That the king and high priest of our Psalm is Messiah, was
universally acknowledged among the ancient Jews: their testi
mony in favour of this is a national one. We see this so fully
from the passages quoted above from the New Testament, that
any other proof is altogether unnecessary. The Messianic cha
racter of the Psalm our Lord assumes as a fact universally ad
mitted, and makes it the basis of all his reasonings; and his
opponents never think of denying it for the purpose of evading
the conclusions which he draws. That this national exposition
rests upon a real foundation is clear from the testimony of our
Lord, which, on the ground of the reference of the Psalm to the
Messiah, exhibits the untenable nature of the view then gener
ally held, that the Messiah was to be a mere man. The old
rationalism has in vain made every effort to set aside this testi
mony of our Lord; — compare the enumeration and explanation
of the manifold ancient expedients in Bergmann, comm. in Ps.
ex. Leyden 1819, the only separate work on our Psalm, and a
work which, on account of the careful and almost complete col
lection of materials, is well worthy of notice. In recent times,
Bleek, in his Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews, has
made an attempt of the same kind — the matter is so clear that
it really is not worth while to subject these efforts of mere
prejudice to further scrutiny. It would imply something alto
gether derogatory to our Lord, if we were to suppose that he
could refer a Psalm of merely common import, with so much
decision and confidence, to the Messiah, to himself (comp.' still
further Matt. xxvi. 64), and deduce from it such important con
clusions as he draws. In like manner it presents the apostles
and the authors of the New Testament in a very pitiable light,
and it implies views altogether derogatory to the divine charac
ter of the sacred Scriptures, to suppose that a Psalm, on which
they build so much, on which the whole doctrine of the sitting

* PSALM CX. VER. 1 — 7. 327
of Christ at the right hand of God is founded, really contains
nothing whatever on which to rear such a superstructure; comp.
Acts ii. 34, vii. 55, 56; 1 Pet. iii. 22; Rom. viii. 34; l.Cor. xv.
24, ss.; Eph. i 20-22; Phil. ii. 9-1 J ; Heb. i. 3, 13, 14, viii. 1,
x. 12, 13. It is not necessary, however, in opposition to these
men, to call in authorities which they hold to be of no value.
We are able, independently of these, and entirely on the force
of internal evidence, to show the inadmissibility of every other
reference, so completely, that the existence of such expositions
in our day can be accounted for only by the descent of ration
alistic tradition from a time in whicli all Messianic Psalms had
to be set aside at any cost — a descent which occasions a singular
contrasfc to the interpretation of the prophets. If we are to
have done with all the absurdities of Messianic Psalms, the im
portant question arises, how comes it that nothing is to be
found in the Psalms of what forms the kernel and the star of
prophecy? The internal reasons in favour of the Messianic ex
position are the following: — I. The speaker in ver. ] calls the
Messiah his Lord. Now as, according to the title, David is the
author of the Psalm, the object can be neither himself nor any
other subject, except the Messiah. This argument has been
attempted to be got rid of by the assumption, that David does
not speak in his own name, but in that of the people. The last
author who adopts this view is Hoffmann. Most assuredly
nothing is more frequent in the Psalms than for the Psalmist
to speak in the name of the people; yea, this is the common
case; and that it is the case here is manifest from the connec
tion with Ps. cviii, where, in like manner, the people are intro
duced speaking, and also from the evidence of our Lord, who,
in all tbe three Evangelists, says, David calls the Messiah Lord,
not his Lord. But everywhere in such passages the Psalmist
does not place himself in opposition to the people, but includes
himself in them. The only apparent exceptions in the whole
book of Psalms, xx. xxi, disappear on a closer view. For David
there, along with the whole church, addresses his seed, his pos
terity on the throne.1 II. " Sit at my right hand" is an ex-
1 This objection has been removed in a correct manner by Calvin : " The Jews
have no good ground for objecting that Christ uses a quibble, because David does
not speak in his own name, but in that of the people. For, although it must be
acknowledged that the Paalm was composed for the common use of the church, yet,

328 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
pression whicli excludes David and every other ordinary king.
It denotes the investing with divine omnipotence, or, as our
Lord explains it, the giving all power in heaven and on earth.
The attempts to give to this magnificent expression a sense by
which it can be accommodated to inferior persons, are, from
their very variety, worthy of contempt. They are thereby seen
to be the product of mere prejudice. Hoffmann, Pro. and its
Fulfil., gives the sense thus: he shall receive the seat of honour
in that place where Jehovah sits enthroned on Mount Sion.
But the sitting at the right hand never occurs as merely ex
pressive of honour; it denotes always participation in power
and dominion; and the throne of the Lord cannot be in Sion,
but in heaven; for in Sion, the throne of the Lord was nothing
else than the king's throne; the king sat there, not next the
throne of God, but on it, as his vicegerent in the government of
Israel: comp. 1 Chron. xxviii. 5, "He has chosen Solomon to sit
upon the throne of the kingdom of the Lord aver Israel;" xxix.
23, "And Solomon sat upon the throne of the Lord." III. Ac
cording to ver. 3, the people of the king go forth with him to tho
battle in holy attire. That this expression has occasioned great
embarrassment, is manifest from the fact, that De Wette, on
the ground of a few MSS., proposes, instead of i-nf-Q '° reac'
i-i-lpQ, " on the holy mountains," which in this connection, is
wholly unsuitable, and destroys the point of the comparison, so
necessary, of the dew; while, at the same time, i-nrQ ^s ^e"
fended by the parallel between the holy priestly attire and the
free-will offerings, and by the high-priesthood of the king, who
goes forth at the head of his people in holy priestly garments.
History furnishes no example of the host going out, in common
wars, in sacred garments. IV. The king, according to ver. 4,
is to be a priest for ever after the manner of Melchisedec. It
has been maintained, that the predicate of priestly royalty
might be applied to every one of the Israelitish kings, inasmuch
as they all held the highest authority in ecclesiastical matters,
arranged the festivals, offered sacrifices, &c, more especially
David, who, at the bringing in of the ark of the covenant, 2
Sam. vi., acted entirely as the high priest, was dressed in sa-
inasmuch as David himself was one of the pious, and a member of the bodv under
the head, he could not exempt himself, nay, he could not dictate a Paalm without
pinging it also with hia own voice.''

PSALM CX. VER. 1- — 7. 329
cerdotal garments, offered sacrifices, and blessed the people.
But it is, after all, very singular, that the Israelitish kings are
nowhere else termed priests. Assuredly the kings did exercise
an important influence in religious matters; this was necessary
from the nature of things, and everywhere occurred. Yet the
essentials of the priestly office remained, as formerly, in the ex
clusive possession of the family of Aaron, which alone was
charged with the service of God, — the attempt of Uzziah to
share in this prerogative was punished as a dreadful offence
with leprosy; comp. 2 Chron. xxvi. 16-21, — and which alone
had to do with what formed the peculiar kernel of the priestly
office, the expiating the sins of the people. David assuredly
wore, at the bringing in of the ark, a linen ephod; but this, so
far from being identical with what was peculiar to the high
priest, was in direct opposition to it; it was the dress only of
those who held a subordinate place in the service of God (comp.
the Beitr. iii., p. 67); — so that we have here David himself, by a
matter of fact, declaring that he was not high priest. And
even this subordinate dress David wore only on one extraor
dinary and special occasion. We read, indeed, in 2 Sam. vi. 17.
" And David brought burnt-offerings before the Lord, and peace-
offerings;" but that David offered these himself is about as clear
from this passage, as that he brought himself to Jerusalem the
ark of the covenant, may be proved from ver. 12, or that he
built the altar with his own hands may be proved from 2 Sam.
xxiv. 25. Even in the law, the offering of sacrifices is fre
quently attributed to the people, according to the usage of
speech, quae causae principali omnia etiam ad materialem per-
tinentia tribuit; comp. Beitr. p. 58; and also Jos. viii. 30, ss.
The blessing is, in the law, not confined exclusively to the priests,
but only the priestly form of benediction in Num. vi. David,
though not a priest, blessed the people of God with the same
right with which Moses, the man of God, blessed the children
of Israel before his death, Deut. xxxiii. 1. David's submission
to the revealed will of God was marked by tender regard; no
one who does not completely misunderstand his whole position
in reference to the law could attribute to him the slightest ap
proach to the thought of intruding into the priestly office; and
that he was very far from doing this is evident from the fact of
his acknowledging Zadok and Abiathar as possessing this office.

330 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
Moreover it is altogether impossible for us to conceive that the
priesthood here spoken of is " one which is essentially connected,
with rightly constituted royalty," inasmuch as this pretended
priesthood never has applied to it in the Old Testament such a
name, and the highly expressive language, " the Lord has sworn,
and will not repent," points to something altogether unusual,
and so contrary to the existing state of things, that it required
the strongest possible guarantee ere it could be believed: — what
was a necessary concomitant of royalty did not require to be
the object of a solemn asseveration. This priesthood, moreover,
in so far as it came into notice in this connection, afforded no
security for the willing surrender of the people to God, and for
their holiness, no security for victory in the contest against the
whole world arrayed in hostility. The imaginary priesthood
finally was not after the manner of Melchisedec. For in his
case, the narrative discriminates exactly between him as king
and as priest: as king, he brings to Abraham bread and wine,
and as priest, he imparts to him the sacerdotal blessing, while
Abraham, who himself exercised the duties of the priestly
office in his own family, gave him tithes in acknowledgment of
his sacerdotal functions. Hitzig gets quit of a portion of these
difficulties by the assumption that the reference is to Jonathan
the real high priest. But though, in this case, there exists
what is wanting in the others, there is wanting in it what is to
be found in them: Jonathan was not a king, and therefore can
not be the representative of the sacerdotal king Melchisedec.
Besides, the first and second reasons weigh heavier against this
exposition than they do against the others; and the Psalmist,
who, according to Hitzig's own view, does not utter poetic
phantasies, but divine suggestions, would altogether stand in
need of our compassion for speaking with such ridiculous pathos
of such a man. The remark of Ewald, " King and royalty
appear here on the highest summit of nobility and glory," is
alone sufficient to set aside this thought. There can, however,
be the less difficulty in recognising in the Messiah the high
priest for ever, as even in Is. liii, the Messiah appears not only
as a real offerer of sacrifice, but even as a real high priest: in
the latter office, he sprinkles many nations, Hi. 15, presents a
sin-offering, liii. 10, intercedes for sinners, ver. 12. Zechariah
also, in a prophecy referring to the Psalm before us, ch. vi 9-15,

PSALM CX. VEIL 1 — 7. 33 1
foretells the union in the Messiah of the priestly and kingly
offices (comp. the Christol. ii., p. 69, ss.), and in a passage before
this, ch. iii. 8, represents the Messiah as the true High Priest,
through whom God will forgive the sins of the whole land,
Christol. ii., p. 51. — V. Tlie king is to be a high priest for ever.
The expositions which give to this expression a sense less than
that of absolute eternity cannot be admitted, inasmuch as we
have before us a solemn oath of God, and the " for ever" stands in
manifest reference to the promise given to David regarding- the
eternal duration of his family. Hoffmann translates, " till the
end of his life:" "we have no reason for understanding the
Q~V1J?7 otherwise than at Ps. xxi. 4," but we have special rea
son for understanding the passage before us differently from the
view taken by Hoffmann. Ewald supposes that people always
wish the reign of a good king to be eternal; but we have before
us no wish of the Psalmist, but a declaration of God, accom
panied by a solemn oath. Comp., as to further points connected
with Q~i"|j;, the investigations in Christol, P. ii p. 427, ss.
The reasons against the Messianic view are of no consequence.
It has been said: 1. The Psalmist speaks to the king and high
priest as to a contemporary, to one present; and there is no in
timation whatever as to his appearing at a future day for the
first time. Bleek writes in this strain, p. 183. But if David
calls another king his Lord, he thereby intimates distinctly
enough, that he speaks of a person yet to appear. And if we
must not adopt the poetical-prophetic anticipation of the fu
ture, it will be necessary to return, in regard to Is. ix. 11 and
other Messianic passages, to the now exploded interpretations
which refer them to some subject existing at the time when the
prophet wrote. 2. The idea of a Messiah does not occur in the
time of David or of Solomon. In answer to this we point to 2
Sam. xxiii, Ps. ii., xiv. and lxxii. 3. " Such a Messiah, a war
rior and a priest, never appeared." We answer: he did indeed
appear; but those who adopt this objection " knew him not,"
Matt. xvi. 12. The poetical form in which he is here spoken
of cannot prevent the real fulfilment from being seen, as
Jehovah himself in the Old Testament is frequently spoken of
under the figure of a human warrior; comp., for example, Is.
xiii. 4.
The relation already referred to in our introductory remarks

332 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
at Ps. cix., as subsisting between that Psalm and the one now
before us, was correctly perceived, as to essentials, by the
Christian fathers: they say Ps. cix. contains rd tls xP"*™
itairj/iara, the sufferings of Christ, and the Psalm before us, ra?
ihiTk raZra d6%ag, the glory that should follow; comp. the passages
in Corderius in the Catena, in which, however, they err in in
terpreting Ps. cix. exclusively of the Messiah.

Ver. 1. — The q^], a speech of God, a Revelation, is always used
of an infallible divine revelation, and shows that we have not
to do with a poetic dream; in 2 Sam. xxiii. 2, it follows: " the
Spirit of the Lord speaks by me, and his word is in my tongue." It
occurs in the mouth of David, besides Ps. xxxvi. 1, where the q^;
¦piirP ^s parodied, in 2 Sam. xxiii 1. In that passage the ex
pression is dependant upon Numb. xxiv. 3 (comp. the Treatise
on Balaam, p. 133); and that the passage before us possesses a
similar dependance is evident from the circumstance that here
the discourse opens the piece — a form which, besides the pas
sage before us and 2 Sam. xxiii., occurs only in Prov. xxx. 1 ;
comp. on Balaam. We have already remarked that in reality
the expression, " The Lord says to my Lord," is equivalent to
" The Lord says to me of my Lord." That David obtains this
revelation in name of the church is evident from the fact that
in Ps. cviii. also he speaks in the name of the Lord.— Dan. vii.
13, 14, forms the most ancient commentary upon " Sit thou at
my right hand." There the Son of Man comes on the clouds
of heaven to the Ancient of Days, to the heavenly throne of
God, " and there is given to him dominion, and glory, and
majesty, and all peoples, and nations, and tongues shall serve
him, his dominion is an everlasting dominion, whicli does not
pass away, and his kingdom shall not be destroyed," — a passage
which our Lord, in Matt. xxvi. 24, connects with the one before
us, the real import of which he explains in Matt, xxviii. 18,
" From henceforth ye shall see the Son of Man sitting at the
right hand of Omnipotence, and coming in the clouds of heaven."
Even there the Son of Man rules from heaven over the earth.
It is constantly taken for granted in the New Testament that
the throne of God, at whose right hand the king sits, is only
the heavenly throne; comp. Acts ii. 34, Eph. i 20-22, Heb. i
13, 14. In reference to the right hand, as the seat and sym-

PSALM CX. VER. 1. 333
bol of power and might, comp., for example, Ex. xv. 6, " Thy
right hand, 0 Lord, is glorious in power; thy right hand de
stroys the enemy." Knapp, in his treatise " On Christ sitting
at the right hand of God," maintains, without any good reason,
that the place at the right hand of kings as they sat upon the
throne was given not only to those whom they announced as
sharers in their power, but also to those to whom they wished
to exhibit their glory and friendship. The example of Bath
sheba cannot prove this. She obtained the place at the right
hand of Solomon, according to 1 Kings ii. 19, as "the mother
of the king;" as such she shared, in a certain sense, fully in his
dominion. Even at table, those who sat at the right hand of
Saul were the individuals who shared in his dominion, generally
his son Jonathan, who held under him the place which he would
willingly have held also under David (according to 1 Sam. xxiii.
17, " And he said to David, Fear not, for the hand of Saul my
father shall not find thee, and thou shalt rule over Israel, and
I shall be thy vicegerent, n^t^D^)) anc^ m n*-s absence, Abner;
comp." 1 Sam. xx. 25, and Thenius on the passage: — it was a
totally different thing, however, to sit on the throne. That in.
Ps. xiv. 9, the standing of the consort at the right hand denotes
such participation in dominion as a woman can enjoy, is evident
from ver. 12, " So shall the daughters of Tyre make supplica
tion to thee with gifts," humbly solicit thy favour. Among the
ancient Arabians the vicegerents of the king sat at the king's
right hand, at assembly; comp. Eichorn, monum. p. 220: assidet
a o
^- *ljg, i- e. qui post sequitur, qui secundus a rege est, a dex-
tera ejus, et si in expeditionem cgressus fuerit rex, sedet in
loco ejus et vices ejus gerit. In the passage before us the ex
pression cannot refer to a mere place of honour. For the con
quering power with which the seed of David overthrows all his
enemies appears in the following verses as the consequence of
the sitting at the right hand of God. — That the main emphasis
does not lie on the sitting appears from Acts vii. 55, 56, where
Stephen sees Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and from
Rom. viii. 34, " who is at the right hand of God." Still the
sitting is by no means insignificant; it is the position of one
ruling; sit at my right hand, that is, rejoice in thy kingdom, in
sharing in my omnipotence and government of the world; comp

334 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
on sitting as the proper posture of a reigning sovereign at Ps.
xxix. 10. We are led to this import of the sitting by the foot
stool, as the opposite of the royal throne, and also by ver. 4,
which takes for granted that in the preceding verses the lan
guage used had referred to the royal rank of the seed of David:
thou art not only a king but also a priest for ever after the
order of Melchisedec, who, to the kingly office from which he
had his name, added also the office of priest. Even in repre
sentatives of earthly sovereigns, the sitting at the right hand of
the king announced their rank as that of vicegerents of royalty. —
The explanation of Grotius, "be sure of my assistance," has
been of late renewed by Dleek on the Epistle to the Hebrews.
According to him, the sitting at the right hand. " denotes no
thing more than the immediate shelter and defenpe which shall
be imparted to the king by God." But this translation pro
ceeds entirely from the desire to adapt to the assumed subject
words which generally are not suitable: sitting at the right
hand is never used in this sense. This is rather the sense
which belongs to the entirely different expression standing, or
being at the right hand of any one; comp. Ps. xvi. 8, cxix. 31,
and ver. 5 here.— We have already observed that the -jy is to
be taken exclusively. It is used by Paul in this sense in 1 Cor.
xv. 24, ss. We cannot translate: till I lay thine enemies, but
only: till I make thine enemies. Jo. Arnd: " As this our king
has a glorious throne, so has he also a wonderful footstool; and
as his royal throne imparts to us comfort in the highest degree,
so his footstool also imparts to us joy. How joyful shall his
poor subjects be when they hear that their prince and king has
slain their enemies and delivered them out of their hands! How
did their poor subjects go forward to meet Saul and Jonathan
when these kings had slain the Philistines ! ... In like
manner our king has his enemies under his feet; thus shall he
also bring all our enemies under his feet, for the victory is ours,
God be thanked, who has given us the victory through Christ
our Lord."
Ver. 2. — That we must translate, his-power rod, in the sense
of his powerful mighty rod, is manifest from such passages as
Jerem. xlviii. 17, Ez. xix. 11, 12, 14, in which fy !"TOQ occurs
undoubtedly in the sense ot powerful rod. j-mft never signifies
sceptre, but always rod. In Jer. xlviii. 17, a passage which

PSALM CX. VER. 2. 335
Gesenius, next to the one before us, adduces for this sense, the
parallel t-p^ is decisive the other way; and Ezekiel, in ch. xix.
11, distinguishes between tho rod and the sceptre. The rod is
the instrument of slaughter and punishment; comp. Is. ix. 3, x.
5, 15, xiv: 5, Ez. vii. 10, 11, where Theodoret says, "he called
the Yod the punishment." It is hence more suitable in the
connection, especially in relation to ver. 1 (the entire Psalm has
to do not with the government of the Anointed generally, but
singly and alone with the subjugation of bitter enemies), and
in parallel to rm> which does not mean to reign but to lord it
over. The emblem, therefore, of the rod of the Anointed thus
considered is the rod of Moses, forming as it did the counter
part to the rod which Egypt raised against Israel, — a parallel
ism to which Isaiah, in ch. x. 26 (comp. with ver. 24), refers, the
emblem of the punishing power which the Lord has given to his
church in relation to a hostile world. Next to this passage
there are other two passages deserving of notice, Micah iv. 2,
3, and Is. ii. 3, 4: " And many nations go and say, Come let us
go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of
Jacob, that he may teach us his ways, and we may walk in his
paths, for the law goes out from Sion, and the word of the
Lord from Jerusalem, and he judges among nations, and re
bukes many peoples; and they beat their swords into pruning
hooks." These passages are not exactly parallel; but they par
take so far of the nature of parallel passages, that they give the
opposite view, the peaceful reign of the Lord in his Anointed in
Sion over his faithful subjects, or over those who willingly have
submitted to him. " The royal sceptre was of a twofold sym
bolical nature : on the one hand, it pointed to the staff of the
shepherd ; and, on the other, to the rod of the governor of a
house of correction." — Stier. In the passages now quoted, the
friendly aspect of the sceptre of the Anointed is presented as
it is in Ps. ii. 9, and in the fundamental passage, Num. xxiv. 17,
alongside of the threatening one. Over Sion, as the centre
point of the kingdom of the Anointed, comp. at Ps. ii. 6. On
" rule in the midst of thine enemies," Num. xxiv. 19, ought to
be compared, " And one shall rule out of Jacob, and shall de
stroy him that remaineth of the city," more especially as David,
in 2 Sam. xxiii., undoubtedly refers to the prophecy of Balaam;
comp. the Treatise on Balaam, p. 133. That prophecy received

336 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
its preliminary fulfilment in David, who did rule in the midst
of his enemies; comp. 2 Sam. viii. But David was not satisfied
with this foretaste; his eyes were sharpened to perceive the pro
per fulfilment. Luther: " He gives us no other mark as to
where Christ is to reign, and where we shall find his church,
except in the midst of his enemies."
Ver. 3. — According to the common interpretation, j-fi^-'O
ought to have the sense of " willingness" — thy people is entirely
willing. But it was shown at Ps. liv. 6, that j-q-jj has only one
sense, that of a free-will gift — a gift which the heart prompts
any one to bring. We might look upon the Lord as the giver:
— thy people, gifts, instead of shall be gifted to thee by the Lord —
allusion being made to Ps. lxviii. 9, where jtot; occurs in the
sense ot gifts given by God. But that we are rather to consider the
people themselves as the giver, the receiver being not the
Anointed, but the Lord — thy people give or consecrate themselves
willingly to the Lord — is clear from the constant use of *-*jT*T2
j-pppi^ in the sense ot free-will gifts, whicli are brought to the
Lord ('nili is found only in one passage signifying gifts of God,
and never occurs in the sense of human gifts offered to any
other than to the Lord), from the manifest reference to the free
will offerings at the dedication of the tabernacle, Ex. xxv. 2,
xxxv. 29, xxxvi. 3, from ni!T7 minr*!) *° dedicate one's self
to the Lord, as found in the lips of David, 1 Chron. xxix. 14,
1 7, and from the special use of this phrase as applied to such
as dedicated themselves to the Lord for sacred warfare, in 2
Chron. xvii. 1 6, Ju. v. 2, 9 ; and finally, from ver. 4, according
to which the Anointed is the priest, who can thus not only re
ceive himself the free-will gifts, but through whose mediation
they must be offered. The expression -r^ipj DT1^ ^s usually
translated: in the day of thy host, i. e., in the day when the host
is led out to battle or is mustered. But that ^ifi ought rather
to be taken in its usual sense of strength, might, power (comp.
Ps. xviii. 32, lix. 11, Ixxxiv. 7), is manifest from Ps. lx. 12,
cviii. 1 3, " in God shall we execute might, and he shall tread
down our enemies," to which allusion is here made (by the king
at the right hand of God, the hope there expressed shall be
realized), and from the fundamental passage in the prophecy of
Balaam, Num. xxiv. 18, " Israel executes might," on which 1
Sam. xiv. 48 depends. " In thy power-day" refers, besides, to

PSALM CX. VER. 3. 337
ver. I and 2, where power had been promised to the Anointed
in relation to the enemies, and is equivalent to, in the day of
battle, when thou hast obtained possession of this power grant
ed to thee by the Lord, when " rule thou in the midst of them"
shall be in the act of being fulfilled. Finally, the " power-day"
is parallel to the rod of strength in ver. 2, and to the day of
wrath of the Lord and of his Anointed in ver. 5. — It is evident
from the accents after " in the power-day," that we must con
sider the words, " in holy attire," as belonging to the second
half of the verse ; there is the greatest separation between the
two portions of the verse — comp. Dachsel on the accentuation,
Biblia accentuata. The words announce the point of resem
blance between the common and the figurative dew. It consists
in the beauty which characterises the troops of the king because
of their holy garments, as it does the dew. Those who rob them
selves of this announcement of the point of resemblance, have
recourse to guessing. They take, in most cases, the multitude
as the point of resemblance, and refer to 2 Sam. xvii. 12, where
Hushai said to Absalom, " and we come upon him in one of the
places where he is found, and fall upon him as the dew falleth
upon the earth." In this passage it is exceedingly doubtful
whether it is the multitude that does form the point . of resem
blance ; it is as likely to be the sudden and unexpected sur
prise ; but, at all events, it is only the preceding context that
affords any justification for thinking of the multitude, which is
by no means the most obvious thought. Then, by this view,
the connection with ver. 4 is destroyed; the true priesthood of
the Anointed has no real connection with the mere quantity,
but only with the quality of the people. Some seek the point
of resemblance in -)nt^D Dm& an^ find it only in the idea of
what is unexpected, inexplicable by human causes. But in this
case the connection with ver. 4 is destroyed, which demands that
" from the morning- womb" be considered as limiting only what
stands next to it. "Holy ornaments" is a poetical expression
for the holy garments, <$p-Q r\3y, in which the high priest, ac
cording to Lev. xvi. 4, discharged his duties on the great day
of atonement. The " holy beauty," the i&np rmn> wllich in
Ps. xxix. 2 is attributed to the angels as they adore God in the
heavenly sanctuary, is a corresponding expression. In Rev.
xix. 14, the heavenly host of the contending and conquering
VOL. III. z

338 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
Lamb are seen clothed in pure white linen. In reference to the
reality which corresponds to the holy garments, comp. Col. iii. 9,
. 10; 1 Pet. iii. 3, 4. — -in*ttflD» which occurs only in this passage, is
best taken in the sense of the place of the sun-rising, the eastern
sky; comp. Ewald, § 1 60. Ps. cxxxiii. 3 is to be compared, where
David compares brotherly harmony, as a lovely gift of heavenly
origin, to the dew of Hermon; Mich. v. 7, "a dew from the
Lord which tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of
men ;" Job xxxviii. 28, " hath the rain a father, or who hath
begotten the dew ? " As jvn'yi occurs in the sense of the sea
son of youth in Ec. xi. 9, 10, and as it is doubtful wliether it
can signify " young men," it is better to translate " dew of thy
youth;" " thy youth-dew;" "thy youthful dew;" "thy youth
ful soldiery like the dew in its beauty."
Ver. 4.— In Heb. vii. 21, great stress is properly laid upon the
oath with which God here assures the high priesthood to the seed
of David, and also in ver. 24, 25, upon the expression " for ever,"
which has no natural reference to the historical parallel. On "and
will not repent," comp. Num. xxiii. 19, 1 Sam. xv. 29. The i in
Ti-an hy is the old external mark of the stat. constr., the so-termed
paragogic Jod, which occurs also in other passages in the Psalms
of David ; comp. Ps. ci. 5, ciii. 3, 4. In this case the form is
manifestly in imitation of the preceding Melchisedec. The by
mm means properly " upon the thing of," so that the thing,
the relation of Melchisedec, forms the substratum, the measure
and rule for thine. The Septuagint give xar<i t-jjk rdfyv, which
the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, who follows that
version in most cases— for example in v. 10, vii. 15— explains
xar& riiv 6/j,oi6rjra. The mil h% occurs frequently in Ec, but
in a sense altogether different. That Melchisedec was king
of Jerusalem was shown at Ps. Ixxvi. 2. This is clear also from
the passage before us. For it is as to a type of the king of
Sion, ver. 2, that reference is made to Melchisedec. The oath
is in reality not made to the king at the right hand of God, but
to the trembling believer. Arnd.: "I swear to you poor sin
ners, by my holy and great name, that I have appointed, and
given to you for your comfort, this my Son for a high priest,
who shall atone for you and bless you."
Ver. 5.— That the second strophe begins here is evident, be
sides other reasons, from the reference of " the Lord at thy right

PSALM ex. VER. 5. 339
hand," " to sit at my right hand," and to the conclusion of Ps.
cix. Many ancient expositors suppose that the address is here
directed to God, and consequently that the name 13-j^ is here
applied to the king and high priest. But the reasons adduced
for this view will not stand the test. It has been said, 1st, It
is not to be thought that the Psalmist should place, in such
close juxtaposition, the two clauses, " the king is at the right
hand of Jehovah," and "Jehovah is at the right hand of the king."
But there is no reason why he should not. Assuredly because
the king sits at the right hand of Jehovah, that is, to speak with
out a figure, because all power has been given unto him in hea
ven and in earth, Jehovah is at the right hand of the king,
stands by him with his omnipotence in the conflict against his
enemies. Or, because the king is connected with the right hand
of omnipotence, his right hand must be strengthened by omnipo
tence. 2d, In ver. 7, we add, even in ver. 6, the king is un
deniably the subject. But there occurs a change of subject be
fore this; in ver. 5 we have what the Lord does for the king,
and in ver. 6 and 7 what the king himself does in the Lord.
And, on the other hand, against this interpretation may be
urged the following reasons: — 1. The address throughout the
whole Psalm is directed only to the king and high priest ; 2. In
Ps. cix. 31, to which passage attention is directed back in the
passage before us, theLord stands at the right hand of the needy
man. As there he stands with his omnipotence in aid of the
seed of David in his humiliation, so does he here in his exalta
tion. 3. Were the address directed to God, the name i;-^
would be given to the king, as distinguishing him from Jeho
vah, which is not suitable. — That after " he smites," we should
suppose added, " by thee," is evident, irrespective of ver. 6 and
7, from " at thy right hand," according to which the right hand
of the king is conceived of as in action, and is strengthened
only by the Lord. The assertion of De Wette is very puzzling :
the king sitting enthroned at Jehovah's right hand, that is,
conceived of as in a state of rest, cannot lead on a battle. The
sitting at the right hand of God, on the contrary, is descriptive
of a state of the highest activity, implies that God does nothing
except through the agency of this his vicegerent. On the ex
pression, " in the days of his wrath," comp. Ps. ii. 5. The day
of the wrath of God is also the power-day of the king, ver. 3. ' On

340 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
he strikes kings (Ps. xviii. 38, lxviii. 2J, 23, ii. 10), Luther
" He really threatens such great heads in an- awful manner,
that if they will not hear, and cannot obey, they shall be terri
fied to death. And assuredly he would willingly, by these
means, allure them to repentance, and persuade them to turn,
and to cease from raging against this Lord. But if they will
not, they shall know against whom it is that they go on 
This is our consolation which upholds us, and makes our heart
joyful and glad against the persecution and rage of the world,
that we have such a Lord, who not only delivers us from sin and
eternal death, but also protects us, and delivers us in suffer
ings and temptation, so that we do not sink under them. And
though men rage in a most savage manner against Christians,
yet neither the gospel nor Christianity shall perish : but their
heads shall be destroyed against it. For if their persecutions,
were to go on unceasingly, Christianity could not remain.
Wherefore he gives them a time, and says he will connive at
them for a while, but not longer than till the hour comes which
he here calls the day of wrath. And if they will not now cease
in the name of God, they must then cease in the name of the
devil." Ver. 6. — Several suppose that Jehovah is here still the subject,
and that the king, for the first time, is the subject in ver. 7.
But against this there is the consideration that " he drinks from
the brook," presupposes a hot contest, and appears unsuitable if
no contest is supposed to be spoken of in the preceding clauses.
We must, therefore, take it for granted that the change of sub
ject goes on from this verse. As the ^D even with the Zere
occurs undeniably in a transitive sense, and signifies to fill (comp.
Gesen. in his Thes.), there is no reason to assume a change of
subject : it shall be full of dead bodies. The place to be filled
is to be supplied from the clause " upon the wide earth." That
the iy^ is used in its proper sense and cannot be translated :
a head over great lands, is clear not from the ^y— against
the assertion that it must necessarily have been w^ ty^-i
Hl*-\ comp. Ps. xlvii 2 — but from the clause, "he shall raise
the head." in ver. 7, and from the parallel passage, Ps. lxviii.
21, " God smites the head of his enemies, the hairy head of him
who walketh in his sins," and Hab. iii. 13, — comp. ver. 14, wppa
t#N-! occurs in like manner in the sense of a breaker of heads.

PSALM CX. VER. 7. 341
On our verse we should compare the expanded description in
Rev. xix. 11 ss.; comp. xvi. 1, ss.
Ver. 7. — That the ¦"¦p-Q is not to be connected with ^TMt2> "ue
shall drink of the brook in the way," but that we mUst trans
late, " from the brook he shall drink on the way," is evident
from the accents (comp. Dachsel) and the parallel passage, "Ps.
cii. 23, "He has weakened in the way my strength." The
occurrence in the life of Samson is certainly well fitted to ex
plain the figure. And in all probability allusion is distinctly
made to it, as in Is. ix. 3, x. 26, allusion is made to the victory
over Midian by Gideon, and also in Ps. lxxxiii. 11, and in Ps.
lxviii, to the song of Deborah, and in our Psalm to Melchisedec.
The occurrence lying 'within the period of the Judges, immorta
lized by the name of the place, could not be unknown to David
and" to those for whom he wrote in the first instance ; so that
the allusion would in so far be understood. The Fathers and
the old expositors understand by the brook partly the sufferings
of Christ themselves, partly the revival of spirit which he ex
perienced during these sufferings, without observing that the
Psalm has to do throughout only with Christ exalted, and, with*-
out any good reason, going back to the subject of Ps. cix.
According to several, the drinking out of the brook denotes the
hardiness of the king: "without stopping or having any royal
self-indulgence, he drinks out of the brook in the way. Such
a king must conquer." But against this there is the fact that,
according to this translation, the word of greatest importance,
the " only," is wanting, and that water in the east is never
reckoned as a drink of inferior description, but in Scripture is
employed as an emblem of what revives ; comp., for example,
Ps. xxxvi. 8, Jer. xxxi. 9. We cannot refer to Jud. vi. 5, 6, as
favouring this interpretation. The test which Gideon there
made use of, refers only to the manner of drinking. All, the
zealous and the effeminate alike, drink of the brook in the way :
— according to* the interpretation, **p*Tl is falsely connected
with ^*r*Q. On, "he shall lift up the head," that is, he shall
triumph, Luther: "that is, shall be glorious, and shall power
fully rule over all," Ps. iii. 3, xxvii. 6. That the words indi
cate an enduring, a final triumph, not a momentary strenthen-
ing, appears from the opposition to the smiting of the head of
the enemies. It is also only when thus understood that they

342 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
are suitable as a conclusion, as is evident from the fact that this '
feeble interpretation has led many to the idea that the Psalm
is only a fragment.
To the Davidic trilogy there is now added in Ps. cxi-cxiii,
a new trilogy. For that these three Psalms are connected to
gether, appears from the following reasons : 1. All the three
have the common object to strengthen the suffering and con
flicting church by praising God ; Ps. cxi. does this by the praise
of God on account of his glorious deeds in the past, which
guarantee glorious help for the future; Ps. cxii., by the praise
of God as the faithful recompenser; and Ps cxiii, by the praise
of God as the helper of the needy and of the miserable. 2.
While Ps. cxi. and cxii have the hallelujah only at the be
ginning, Ps. cxiii. has it at the beginning and at the end, and
thus announces itself, as does Ps. cvi., in relation to Ps. civ. and
cv., as the conclusion which binds together the whole trilogy. 3.
In connection with this there is the fact that, of the significant
number twelve of Jehovah in the three Psalms, six belong to
the first Psalm, and six to the two last. As in Ps. cxi, Jehovah
occurs four times, and in Ps. cxii. twice, so it occurs in Ps. cxiii.
in the first strophe four times, and in the second twice. 4. As
the 113th Psalm forms the conclusion of a trilogy, the fact that
the Psalm is, in point of form, entirely ruled by the number
three, is thereby illustrated.

PSALM CXI.
The Psalm praises the Lord because of his great works, parti
cularly the redemption out of Egypt, ver. 9 ; the supply of food
in the wilderness, ver. 5 ; the placing of Israel in the inheri
tance of the heathen, ver. 6 ; thus the great resplendent deeds
of kindness which he showed to his people, and whicli for them
had a similar import to what the deeds of the redemption
through Christ have for the church of the New Testament.
The design of the Psalm, as the conclusion shows, is to coun
teract that pusillanimity which is so injurious to all zeal in
walking in the commandments of God, that despair as to the
power and willingness of God to help his people, to which their

PSALM CXI. 343
tr»ournful condition was so apt to give rise. The mighty deeds
of the past come into notice in the case of the Psalmist as the
ground of hope for the future, as matter-of-fact prophecies, as
affording a pledge that the misery of the present can be only
transitory. The Psalm proceeds on the supposition that the condition of
the people of God at the time was a mournful one. For it is
only when we are in such a condition that we take refuge in
the past from the present. That the Psalm was not composed
before the end of the Babylonish captivity is clear from the
hallelujah, which occurs for the first time in a Psalm of this
date, Ps. civ. 35. We are brought into times after the captivity
by the position of the Psalm, after Ps. cvii, which celebrates
that good deed of the Lord. We shall be able to determine
particulars more fully only from materials furnished by the fol
lowing Psalms of the cycle.
The circumstances of the new colony were poor and mourn
ful, and fell very much below the expectations which had been
raised by the declarations of the prophets ; comp. the descrip
tion of these circumstances in the Intro, to Zechariah, Christol.
In room of the shout of joy arising from the deliverance, which
had been heard at the beginning, there soon succeeded a state
of dejection. People at that period did no longer compare the
present, as they had done in the beginning, with what immedi
ately preceded it, but with the more remote period preceding
the captivity, and with the prospects which had been opened
up by the prophets. The sacred Psalmists, no less than the
prophets, had sufficient reason to cry out to the people : lift up
the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees.
The whole object was to get the trembling people again to set
their heart upon their God. The Psalmist sought to gain this
end, by enlisting the people along with himself in the work of
praising God.
The formal arrangement is exactly the same as in Ps. cxi.
and in Ps. cxii, a sure proof of the connection subsisting among
these Psalms. The whole is complete, both times in the num
ber ten. The individual clauses of the verses begin with the
letters of the alphabet. The first eight verses contain each two
clauses ; the two last three, — a circumstance to be explained
from the desire of the Psalmist not to go beyond the number

344 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
ten, which is also in other passages not unfrequently connected
with the alphabetical arrangement, because both of these, the
number ten and the alphabet, are the signature of perfection,
of what is complete in itself. In consequence of the constraint
demanded by the alphabetical arrangement, the mighty deeds
of God are not recounted in chronological order.
If we look at the Introductory Davidic trilogy, it becomes
manifest that ver. 6, " the strength of his works he showed to
his people, giving to them the inheritance of the heathen," must
be considered as the middle point of the Psalm. The inversion
of the relations of Israel to the heathen world — the people of
the Lord to whom dominion over the world had been promised,
serving them in their own land — was what especially filled
men's minds with pain. Hence it is exactly at this verse that
we must fix the turning point of the Psalm. The ten is divided
by five. The first half has ten, the second twelve members.
Ver. 1. Hallelujah. I will praise the Lord with the whole
heart, in the confidential assembly of the upright and the congrega
tion. Ver. 2. Great are ihe works of the Lord, enquired after
according to all their wishes. Ver. 3. Majesty and glory is his
work, and his righteousness endureth for ever. Ver. 4. A memo
rial he has erected for his wonders, gracious and compassionate is
the Lord. Ver. 5. Nourishment he gave to those who fear him-,. lie
remembers always his covenant. — Ver. 6. The strength of Ms
works he showed to his people, giving to them the inheritance of the
heathen. Ver. 7. The works of his hands are truth and justice,
to be depended upon are all his commandments. Ver. 8. Firm
always and for ever, wrought in truth and righteousness. Ver, 9.
Redemption he sent to his people, . he arranged for eternity his
covenant, holy and dreadful is Ms name. Ver. 10. The beginning
of wisdom is the fear of the Lord, good understanding have- all
they who practice them ; his praise endureth for ever.
Ver, 1. The circumstance that the Hallelujah stands out of
the alphabetical arrangement is sufficient to show that it ought
to be considered merely as the key note of the Psalm. Berieb.:
" It shows that this is a Psalm which incites to the praise of
God." Luther : " It is just as much as when we wish to begin
to praise God, we exhort and stir up each other. It is thus
that we Germans do when we are in the church ; or when one

PSALM CXI. VER. 1—10. 345
among us begins and says, let us praise God; or when the
preacher gives out the first line of the hymn to be sung. Thus
David (?) here says to his people, let us praise the Lord, and in
particular thus, i" thank the Lord with my whole heart." The first
clause is a repetition from Ps. cix. 30. In the second clause it is
impossible to find a distinction between privately and publicly,
for the whole cycle of Psalms was manifestly designed for use
in the public worship of God, comp. especially Ps.. cxv. 8. The
public assembly of the righteous (comp. at Ps. cvii 42) is at the
same time a confidence, an intimacy, a meeting of intimate friends
(comp. at Ps. lxiv. 2, lxxxiii. 4), because the world is shut out
from it, the congregation of the Lord is a community by itself.
Thus Luther: " I thank the Lord here in this public assembly,
where we are in a peculiar manner by ourselves, as it were in
secret council, and no heathen or stranger must be beside us." —
The praise of the Lord, announced in ver. 1, begins with ver. 2.
The works of the Lord pointed out in the first clause as the ob
jects of this praise (comp. Deut. iv. 34, xxix. 2, Rev. xv. 3), are
those, according to the connection with ver. I, which he has
especially done for the righteous, for his church. In the second
clause the QnSSn cannot be the plural of t^fTi the adjective,
for this retains its Zere in the stat. constr. ; comp. xl. 1 4. It
can only be the plural of VQn- ^l"3 word signifies always
pleasure, satisfaction, desire, even in Prov. viii. 11, "wisdom
is better than pearls, and all wishes come not near it," never
beauty, preciousness, loveliness, (hence we must reject all such
translations, " to be searched into in regard to all their beau
ties," a translation, moreover, which takes QHlim**! in an ar
bitrary sense), and the suffix does not denote the object of tlie
desire, but it refers to those who desire. The suffix thus
can only refer to the righteous, (comp. i*23ri"7D7 according to
his every wish, 1 Kings ix. 11); and the translation is, must be
enquired after according to tlieir every wish, so that they, when
the deeds of the Lord are enquired after or searched into, (comp.
the ^p-fl in Ps. cxix. 45, 94, 155), find a complete answer and
satisfaction, there is everywhere a response, there are no questions
to be evaded.— On " majesty and glory" in ver. 3, comp. at Ps.
civ. 1. The righteousness of God is the property by which he
gives to every one his own, to the righteous salvation, comp. Ps.
Ixxxix. 14, 16, ciii. 6, 17. — In ver. 4, "he hath erected a me-

346 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
morial," points to the wonderful magnitude of the deeds of the
Lord. Thus Calvin: "to perform things worthy of being re
membered, and whose fame may never perish." The second
clause depends upon Ex. xxxiv. 6. — The irpE in ver. 5 denotes
properly the booty of wild beasts, and' is used only as a poetical
term for human nourishment. The food of Israel in the wilder
ness, is what is meant, the manna, and the quails. At the
second clause we are to suppose added : as this wonderful pro
vision for his people shows, or as faith draws from this its firm
conclusion. This ascent from the individual to the general,
stands in accordance with the object of the Psalm, which uni
versally considers the past only as a looking-glass for the fu
ture, the temporal doings of God as the type of his eternal pro
vidence. — The y\$n, to show, in ver. 6, contested by Hitzig, is
justified by this, that the doings of God appear to the Psalmist
as a matter-of-fact intelligence or proclamation. We are not
to translate, " in order to give," but "giving to them;" comp.
Ewald, § 280. For the matter-of-fact proclamation is here
more exactly- described, by which God makes known to his
people the strength of his works. The Psalmist refers to the
putting of the Israelites into the possessions of the numerous
and warlike nations who occupied Canaan, in which he sees a
type of the future possession by Israel of the dominion over the
whole world; comp. Is. lx. 14. — The works of the Lord, in
ver. 7, are, as in ver. 2, his deeds; it is with these that the
whole Psalm has professedly to do. The commandments of
God (properly his commissions) are made mention of in the
second clause (which depends upon Ps. xix. 7, 8), only in a
subordinate sense, only in so far as light falls upon them from
the quality of the works; his commandments are thus to be
depended upon, for he who acts in this way cannot lead his
people on the ice in regard to his commandments. The com
mandments comprehend here, at the same time, the promises
which are connected with obedience to them; yea, it is these
promises that are here brought chiefly before the mind. The
oppressed people thought that they felt themselves here on
apparently insecure ground, and in this way their zeal was
paralysed. The prophet strengthens the feeble hands, inas
much as he intimates that the Lawgiver has gloriously vindi
cated his claim to obedience by his deeds of omnipotence and

PSALM CXI. VER. 1 — 10. 3 1-7
love.— In ver. 8, the first clause refers to the commandments,
and the second to the works. For it is clear as day that we can
not translate " to fulfil with faithfulness and honour," against
the sense of the part, pa., the reference of ov^y to ")*i'r>?V'o
and the sense of j-\ON> which only means truth. The praise of
the works of God is thus shut in on both sides by the praise of
the commandments, which is merely associated with it and de
rived from it. The *-p*oD ™ properly propped up, next firm,
and occurs again in Ps. cxii. 8. The -^ is neut. righteous
nature, comp. at Ps. xi. 7. — The redemption, in ver. 9, is the
deliverance out of Egypt. The expression, " he arranged for
eternity his covenant," is the general truth as confirmed by the
special deed; comp. at ver. 5. — Ver. 10 contains the conclusion
drawn from what had gone before; therefore, because the Lord
is so glorious in his works on behalf of his own people, and be
cause his commandments which he has given them are thus so
firm, and so surely to be depended upon, and the reward of
faithful obedience shall thus so certainly be bestowed, this
faithful obedience, the fear of the Lord, is the beginning of
wisdom. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, is
said in opposition to natural reason, which, linked to what is
immediately before the eyes, regards the fear of the Lord,
which appears for the present to bring forth no fruit, as stupi
dity, saying, either in pusillanimous despair, or in open defiance :
" it is in vain to serve God, and what profit is it that we have
kept his ordinances, and that we have walked mournfully be
fore the Lord of hosts? and now we call the proud happy, yea,
they that work wickedness are set up, yea, they that tempt
God are even delivered," Mai. iii. 14, 15; comp. Christol. iii.,
p. 422, ss. We need only to cast our eye upon the historical
personality of God, to dissipate those mists which beset the
mind, and to find arising in our mind the firm conviction, that
in the end it shall be well with the righteous. Thus the fear
of God which, on superficial consideration, appears as stupidity,
because it is disappointed of its reward, shall be seen to consti
tute the highest wisdom. The first clause depends upon the
two passages, Prov. i 7, " the fear of the Lord is the beginning,
rPIZJNT of knowledge," and Prov. ix. 10, " the beginning,
j-^j-j]-1, of wisdom, is the fear of the Lord," on which also Job
xxviii. 28 depends: "and he said to men, behold the fear of

348 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
the Lord, that is wisdom, and departing from evil is under
standing." That the fii^N"****) is the beginning as to time, is
evident from the corresponding term n^Pin- ^ie beginning
of wisdom, however, its A, B, C is also its sum. The fear of
the Lord is childlike, reverential fear, which does not thrust out
perfect love, but goes hand in hand with it. For this alone is
able to call forth " delight in the commandments of God," Ps.
cxii. 1, which appears here as the attendant of the fear of God,
The ^ta by& 's from Prov. iii. 4; comp. chap. xiii. 15. The
plural suffix in orr,"ttJ*y refers to the commandments of the
Lord, ver. 7 and 8, a reference which is all the more natural,
as the fear of the Lord is equivalent to the fulfilling of his
commandments, as is manifest by the reference of ver. 10 to
verses 7 and 8: great are the works of the Lord, to be depended
upon therefore are his commandments, wise therefore is he
who seeks reverently to fulfil his commandments; comp. Deut.
xxviii. 58, where " to do all the works of this law," and " to
fear this holy and dreadful name," are placed together as of
equal import, Ps. cxii. L That fear of the Lord which is in
operative, and makes itself known only in, superficial emotion, is
not considered by Scripture as worthy of the name. That the
suffix in iji^nn refers to the Lord, is manifest from the re
ference to the Hallelujah at the beginning of this and the fol
lowing Psalms. The words bring together, in a short compass,
what had formerly been said as forming the basis of the two
first members; for, such confidence grows up in us out of his
glorious deeds in times past, his praise, his renown, lasteth for
ever, and thus the apparent stupidity of those, who fear him
and do his commandments, is seen to be in the end wisdom;
Israel shall in due season attain to salvation, to dominion over
the worldj as has gloriously been fulfilled in Christ.

PSALM CXII.
This Psalm is a praise of God as the true Recompenser. In
the preceding Psalm, courage had been imparted to those who
failed to observe the recompense, bjr pointing to the glorious
deeds of God in times past; and here the recompense to be ex
pected is described at length. There the basis is assigned to

PSALM CXII. 349
the " ihat " of the recompense, and here to the " how." God
will not be wanting to himself ; — this is the fundamental
thought;— let a man sow faithfully, though it be in tears, in
due season he shall reap in joy.
This Psalm is immediately connected with the last verse of
the preceding one, and may be considered as a commentary on
it. In ver. 3, 4, 8, it stands in verbal reference to it, with a
thoughtful turning round of the thought. The formal arrange
ment in both Psalms is completely the same, — proof enough
that we have before us a pair of Psalms. A third Psalm, cxiii.,
is added, to make up the collection.
Ver. 1. Hallelujah. — Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,
has great pleasure in his commandments. Ver. 2. His seed shall
be a hero on the earth, the generation of the righteous shall be
blessed. Ver. 3. Fulness and riches are in his house, and his
righteousness endureth for ever. Ver. 4. There ariseth in dark
ness light to the upright, who is gracious and compassionate and
just. Ver. 5. Blessed is the man who is compassionate and lend
eth, he careth for Ms affairs with justice. Ver. 6. For through
eternity he shall not be moved, for eternal remembrance he shall be
just. Ver. 7. Before evil intelligence he is not afraid, his heart
is comforted trusting in the Lord. Ver. 8. Firm is his heart, he
is not afraid until he see Ms pleasure on his enemies. Ver. 9. He
scatters abroad, he gives to the poor, Ms righteousness endureth for
ever; his horn is high in honour. Ver. 1 0. The wicked shall see
it, and is angry, gnashes the teeth and melts away: the desire of the
wicked goes to the ground. — The second clause of ver. 1 describes
more exactly the fear of God, which may assure itself of salva
tion, with reference to those who have " Lord, Lord," in their
lips, and in deeds deny him, — a reference which pervades the
whole Psalm. The pleasure in the commandments of God, from
which alone true obedience can come — for mental inclination of
one kind can only be overborne by mental inclination of
another, and the love for what is impure, can only be success
fully counteracted by the pure love of the Lord and of his com
mandments — exists only in those who are in a state of grace ;
comp. at Ps. xix. 7, 1 0. — The " hero on the earth" (comp. at
Ps. Hi. 1, the sense "powerful" is arbitrarily assumed), ver. 2,
is from Gen. x. 8; and even the reference to this passage Shows

350 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
that the v-i^n is not to be translated in the land. His seed,
the posterity of the man of Judah, Is. v. 3. It becomes mani
fest here that the Psalm has a national reference, in accordance
with the preceding Davidic trilogy, and the remaining Psalms
of the cycle. The promise of being a hero suits well th»
whole people, to whom power and blessing for overcoming the
world, is promised in case of their being faithful to the cove
nant (comp. Deut. xxxiii. 29), but not individuals, very few
of whom were ever called to be heroes; with the individual
reference also the limitation of heroism to the posterity is
strange; the "generation of the righteous" is parallel to "his
seed," which, according to Ps. cxi. I, is to be consfdered as a
term denoting Israel. — His righteousness, ver. 3, — bestowed up
on him by God, whose righteousness remains for ever, on the
ground of his eternally abiding subjective righteousness, ver. 9
here, the foundation of salvation, or salvation itself considered
as a matter-of-fact justification ; comp. Is. liv. 1 7, xiv. 24, and
at Ps. xxiv. 5. It is thus manifest that the threefold repetition
of this word in both Psalms is anything rather than " a proof
of the small inventive power of the author," an objection which
rebounds upon the head of the expositor who made it. Berieb.:
"Endureth for ever," just as he pays attention to righteousness,
not for a few hours or days, but for his whole lifetime, Ez.
xviii. 24, 26, Luke i. 75." — In ver. 4, the second clause standing
in opposition to Qiity1) serves to define them more exactly;
this was all the more necessary as " the righteous," on the
ground of Num. xxiii. 10, had become to a certain extent a
proper name of Israel, as is manifest from Ps. cxi. 1. Many ex
positors refer the predicates to the Lord, either: "from the
gracious," or "he is gracious," &c, appealing to the fact that
those predicates always in other passages, and even in Ps. cxi.
1, are applied to the Lord. But this is not altogether decisive.
According to the actual relation of the Psalm before us to Ps.
cxi. we have to expect here not a repetition but a sacred parody,
and it is just because of the common use of these predicates, as
applied to the Lord, that they are transferred in the passage
before us to the righteous among men, who ought to be com
passionate, &c, just as, and because he, their heavenly Father,
is compassionate ; comp. Matt. v. 45, 48. Arnd.: " because a God
fearing heart knows well that all good from above flows from

PSALM CXII. 351
the compassion of God, so meditating upon the compassion of
God makes it also compassionate. For that is the true fear of
God, which endeavours always more and more to imitate God,
and to become like him in his divine perfections." Against
the reference to the Lord we have to urge, that the righteous
require to be more particularly described, that ver. 5 is mani
festly an expansion of ver. 4, particularly that the j^n there
refers manifestly to v^n in ver. 4, and finally that in the parallel
passage, Is. Iviii. 7, the rising of the light is in like manner con
nected with the works of compassion : " Is it not to deal thy
bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast
out to thy house, when thou seest the naked, that thou cover
him, and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh ? then
shall thy light break forth as the morning, &c, and if thou draw
out thy soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then
shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon
day." Ps. xcvii. 1 1 also depends upon this passage of Isaiah.
— In ver. 5, the y\Q, good — prosperous, Is. iii. 10, Jer. xliv. 17,
corresponds to the v^n in ver. I.1 Several translate un
grammatically : " May it go well with the man, he gives and
lends." In this case the article could not be wanting. The be
ing compassionate and lending does not come into notice as a
blessing, in so far as the righteous are provided with the means
of being so (in this case Ps. xxxvii. 21, 26, would have to be
compared, passages from which the expression is most certainly
taken), but as a virtue, comp. Prov. xiv. 21 , " he who is com
passionate towards the poor, salvation to him!" ver. 31. The
b^b^ stands in its usual sense, to nourish, to care for, comp. at
Ps. Iv. 22. The justice here, in opposition to the. manifestations of
love with which it goes hand in hand, is that by which a man
improves his circumstances, keeps them in good condition. The
b$y2 has also the senses of to hold, and to endure, which
are not suitable here; but it has not the sense of disponere
(Vulg. Luther), or moderari, nor that of to maintain or to prop
up. The exposition "he cares for (even by this) his concerns
in the judgment," is inconsistent with the want of the article;
also the tasty'Dl corresponds to the pi-|*tj, as the " is compas
sionate and lends," corresponds to "gracious and merciful." —
1 Ven. : "What a little ago he had expressed metaphorically, he now expresses
literally, when he pronounces the man to be happy."

352 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
Ver. 6 lays down the basis on which rests the declaration of
the happiness of the compassionate and righteous man, inas
much as it describes his salvation. The rjbty """On? corresponds
to the ryjyjfo, the pvy$ to the j^D* #h- Hence " he shall be
just" refers to what befalls him, to the treatment of him, as a
just man. For eternal remembrance is equivalent to for all future
time, so long as men can remember anything. — Before evil intelli
gence, ver. 7, however well-founded it may be. He is not afraid,
he need not be afraid because he has in God the sure ground of
his salvation. On vqj firm— fearless, comp. at Ps. li. 10.1 —
The --paD' properly propped, in ver. 8, refers back to Ps. cxi. 8,
firm is his heart, in reliance upon the firmness of the command
ments of God, and of the promises connected with them for their
faithful observers. On the second clause comp. Ps. liv. 7. Confi
dence in hope ceases when sight enters. The -jy is thus to be ta
ken in an exclusive sense. — On the -yjQ in ver. 9 comp. Prov. xi 24.
It denotes the plentifulness of the giving. On account of the
preterite, and because the expression, his righteousness endureth
for ever, cannot occur a second time in the same sense (comp.
ver. 3), the two first clauses refer to the conduct, and the third
to the recompense. The righteousness is that which gives to
every one his own, to the poor charity. On " his horn shall be
exalted," comp. Ps. Ixxv. 4, xcii. 10. In honour, in spite of all
the attempts of the enemies to cover him with shame. — In ver.
,10, in consequence of the circumstances of the Psalm, we are to
think of heathen wickedness, or the wicked represents heathenism
in hostility to the kingdom of God, the world, compare Ps. cvii.
42, He gnashes with his teeth, Ps. xxxv. 16, xxxvii. 12, in impo
tent rage. And melts away, Ps. lxviii. 2. In the last clause
the desire of the wicked means the object of that desire; comp.
Job viii. 13, Prov. x. 28.

1 Arnd. ; " Look now at the examples, — how Moses says at the Red Sea,
stand still and see, &c. How does Jehosaph stand firm as a wall when a hun
dred thousand men invade the land, and he Blays them all with one song o?
praise! How firmly does David stand when hunted by Saul! How over
whelmed is Saul with despair when hia land ia invaded by the Philistines, and he
seeks advice from a witch ! What firmness is in Daniel when in the lion's den!
What joy in Stephen! How did the holy Basilius say when Caesar Valens
threatened him so dreadfully: such Mormolykia should be' set before children!
Athanasius, when Julian persecuted him : he is a mist that will soon disappear."

PSALM CXIII. VER. 1 — 3. 353

PSALM CXIII.

The glorious name of the Lord shall be praised, ver. 1-3, in
whom condescension is most intimately connected with exalta
tion, ver. 4-6, who lovingly undertakes for the poor and the
miserable, 7-9. Or: first, the glory of the name of the Lord,
then the point in hand, first, generally, next, more particularly.
Jo. Arnd.: "God is particularly to be praised for this, that he
takes compassion upon the miserable, graciously regards the
humble, and undertakes for the forsaken."
The Psalm forming the conclusion of a trilogy is wholly
•ruled by the number three : three strophes each of three verses,
three times praise in ver. 1, three times the name of the Lord
in ver 1-3.
The object is to inspire with courage " the worm Jacob," Is.
xli. 14, the miserable one, exposed to every tempest, Is. liv. 11,
the poor little flock, after the captivity, by lifting up tlieir
heai ts to their heavenly Father, who visits in the loveliest man
ner the smallest dwellings. The Psalm has a prophetic cha
racter; for it points to a time " when the exaltation of the
children of God shall take place, and their glory, which is now
covered over with a bare cross, shall be revealed." Berieb. B.

Ver. 1—3. — Ver. 1. Halleluiah. Praise, ye servants of the
Lord, praise the name of the Lord. Ver. 2. May the name of
the Lord be praised from 'henceforth, even for ever. Ver. 3. From
tie rising of the sun to the going down of the same, glorious is ihe
name of the Lord. — The servants of the Lord are the righteous,
Ps. cxi: 1, those who fear the Lord, ver. 5, his people, ver. 6.
Comp. Ps. xxxiv. 22, Ixix. 36, cxxxvi. 22, Es. v. 11, Neh. i. 10,
" they are thy servants and thy people." The expression can
not, without some addition, be applied exclusively to the Levites.
The appellation has respect to the obligation to praise, whicli
is one of the main forms of the service of the heavenly Lord.
The name of ihe Lord is the Lord according to his historical
character. The people of God have the privilege of having a
God Whose name is the .product of his deeds. The world which
forms a God according to its own fancies, has a nameless God.
-^The removal of every limit of time in reference to the praise
VOL. III. 2 A

354 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
of the Lord in ver. 2, proceeds on the supposition that the Lord
continues for ever to develop his glorious nature, gives through
out eternity always new occasion to praise him. The wishing,
resting as it does on this basis, has at the same time the cha
racter of a prophecy. The responsive cry of praise shall succeed
the cry of the deeds sounding throughout all eternity. — As
bhlTO is always used as an epithet of God, praised = glorious
(comp. at Ps. xviii. 3, xcvi. 4, cxlv. 3, — the Vulg. correctly
laudabile), we cannot in ver. 3 supply " may be" out of ver. 2;
the only word that can be supplied is " is." On " from the
rising of the sun to its going down," comp. Ps. 1.1. " The
Lord who rules over ail quarters with his hands," who has made
known his strength among the nations, Ps. lxxvii. 14, who
crushed Rahab like one slain, Ps. Ixxxix. 10, He, of whom it is
said in Ps. Ixxxix. 11, 12, "thine is the heaven, thine is also
the earth, the earth and its fulness thou hast founded it, the
north and the south thou hast created, Tabor and Hermon re
joice in thy name," makes known his glory not only in one
particular corner of the earth, but as far as the earth itself
extends. Ver. 4-6. — Ver. 4. Exalted above all heathens is the Lord, in
heaven is his glory. Ver. 5. Who is as the Lord our God, who
placeth himself thus high. Ver. 6. And looketh thus down deep,
in heaven and in earth. — Exalted is the Lord above all heathens,
ver. 4 (comp. Ps. xcix. 2), who are so proud and who oppress
Israel so hardly, as the great king over the whole earth, Ps.
xlvii. 2. " Over the heaven," instead of " in the heaven" (comp.
at Ps. Ivii. 5, cxlviii. 13), which itself tells his glory, Ps. xix. 1,
where the sons of God give him glory, Ps. xxix. ], the strong
heroes praise him, Ps. ciii. 20, 21, the Seraphim sing- "holy,
holy, holy," Is. vi. Several falsely : " out over heaven." That
would be out into the empty void. — In ver. 5, 6, the literal
translation is: who exalts himself sitting, humbles himself looking,
compare Ew. § 280. On the Jod parag. at Ps. ciii. 3. The
infiu. with ^ of both verbs, which are always used transitively,
occupies the place of the accusative. The expression, "who
places himself thus high," resumes the contents of ver. 4, in
order to add to it the opposite, the deep humility and the con
descension of God; compare on this at Ps. xviii. 35. Israel
stands alone in all the old world as possessing a knowledge of

PSALM CXIII. VER. 7 — 9. 355
this humility. Its foundation is seen in " I know that I am
dust and ashes," which meets us in tho mouth of Abraham at
the very beginning of the nation. Is. Ivii 1 5 is parallel. Jo.
Arnd.: "All miserable people should keep this for their highest
protection, and should eternally thank God for this grace. For
what enjoyment has the great God in those who are little? The
high and lofty One in those who are low ? The glorious God
in those who are despised? The blessed God in those who are
miserable?" The expression "in heaven and upon the earth,"'
is usually considered as connected with what immediately pre
cedes: who looks deep down upon what is in heaven and upon
the earth. But the connection ought rather to be : who is like
the Lord our God .... in heaven and upon the earth !
For, according to the first view, " the things which are and are
carried on" is arbitrarily supplied; what follows is manifestly
an expansion in particulars of the general thought, — there,
however, the discourse had been only of the care of God for
the miserable upon the earth; the parallel passages are decisive
in favour of the view here adopted: Deut. iii. 24, "who is a
God in heaven and earth who does works like thine, and such
as thy great deeds?" Ps. lxxiii. 25, " whom have I in heaven,
and near thee I desire none upon the earth."
Ver. 7-9. — Ver. 7. He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and
out of ihe dunghill he lifteih the needy man. Ver. 8. That he may
set Mm near to princes, near to ihe princes of his people. Ver. 9.
He malces ihe barren woman of the house to dwell like a joyful
mother of children. Hallelujah. — Ver. 7 and 8 are almost word
for word from the prayer of Hannah, 1 Sam. ii. 8. The transi
tion to the people is all the more natural as Hannah, consider
ing herself at the conclusion as the type of the church with
which every individual among the Israelites felt himself much
more closely entwined than can easily be the case among our
selves, draws out of the salvation imparted to herself joyful pro
spects for the people. That "the poor man" and "the needy
man" is not exactly the people, but only the type and represen
tative of them, is manifest from " with the nobles of the people."
Out of the dust, compare Ps. xliv. 25. At ver. 8, Job xxxvi. 7.
— In ver. 9, at which 1 Sam. ii. 5 is to be compared, " the barren
woman beareth seven, and she that was rich in children hath
waxed feeble," we cannot translate " who maketh the barren

356 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
woman to dwell in the house." For the form of the slat, absol
is always ftyny, and even according to the accents we can only
translate: the barren woman of the house; the ]***y*Q*n caunot
be the accusative, for the language used does not refer to one
who is houseless, in which case Ps. lxviii. 6 would require to be
compared, but to one who is childless, in regard to whom it is
not the that but the how of the dwelling that comes into notice.
The barren woman of the house was, for example, Hannah,
while Peninah was the fruitful one, the type of the world. The
barren woman appears also, in Is. liv. 1-3, as a type of the
church of God in its misery, when the number of its members
appears much diminished. It is all the more natural to con
template the church under this emblem1 as the types of Sarah,
Rebecca, Rachel, the wife of Manoah, Hannah, whose long-con
tinued barrenness was removed by divine interposition, and,
finally, of Mary, who brought forth altogether without the aid
of a man, have manifestly a typical reference to the church.
The trilogy is followed by a, tetralogy which forms along with
it an heptade, so that it, along with the Davidic trilogy, forms
a decade. In the trilogy the Hallelujah occurred four times,
here in the tetralogy three times, at the conclusion of Ps. cxv.,
cxvi, cxvii.; thus in the whole heptade seven times.

PSALM CXIV.
The power of the world in the times immediately after the
return from captivity stood constantly against the Church of
God, like a raging sea, an overflowing river, a high hill, a bare
barren rock. Those who yielded Ho despair in looking at this
view, the Psalmist leads out of the present into the past, when
the earth was compelled to humble itself before the God of
Israel, the sea and Jordan overflowing all its' banks turned back
before him, Sinai moved in its firm foundations, the bare rock
was made to send forth water, as a type of what is repeated in
1 Arnd. : " The barren woman is the poor, forsaken, distressed Christian church,
whom the false church oppresses, defiles, and persecutes, and regards as useless,
miserable, barren, because she herself is greater and more populous, the greatest
fart of the world." ; ' < ,:; :', . , ,

PSALM OXIV. VER. 1, 2. 357
allages, and which faith sees coming again into existence now
when the circumstances are so similar to those of Israel when
they came out of Egypt.
When Israel came out of Egypt the Lord declared them to be
his people by mighty deeds of omnipotence, ver. 1 and 2. The
sea' fled, Jordan gave way, mountains moved, ver. 3 and 4. The
Psalmist addresses the sea, &c, and interrogates it as to the
cause of this singular terror, ver. 5 and 6. He answers the
question himself: the earth trembled before the Lord, who is
the God of Israel, and who caused water to come out from
the rock, salvation from places most unlikely to give salvation
to his people, ver. 7 and 8.
As the preceding Psalm forming the conclusion of the trilogy
is wholly ruled by the number three, so this one opening the
tetralogy and the fourth in the heptade is wholly ruled by the
number four, the signature of the earth, ver. 7. It has four
strophes each of four members. Of the great deeds of the Lord
which are represented in it as pledges of similar deliverance at
the present time, there are four which, along with the three
made mention of in Ps. cxi, which opens the trilogy, make up
seven. The assertion of some recent expositors, that the Psalm be
fore us must be a passover-hymn, rests on no ground. The facts
which are celebrated, the yielding of the sea, &c, are not
directly connected with the passover.

Ver. 1, 2. — Ver. 1. When Israel came out of Egypt, the
house of Jacob from a people of strange language: Ver. 2.
Then was Judah his sanctuary, Israel his dominion. — The de
parture from Egypt in ver. 1 is to be taken in a wide sense ; for
the facts made mention of in what follows go on as far as the
entrance into Canaan. The clause, " from the people of a
strange language," points to the oppressive character of the
previous abode, the beneficent character of the departure ;
comp. at the parallel passage, Ps. lxxxi. 5. As then, so now,
Israel went out from a people of strange language, a people of
whom it was said in Deut. xxviii. 49, " the Lord shall raise up
against thee a people from afar . . . whose language thou
dost not understand." They must now see a similar confirma
tion of their election. — In ver. 2 the discourse is not of an

358 ' THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
elevation of Israel to the rank of children of God taking place
in words, but of one in deeds. This is evident from what
follows, where the manner in whicli this elevation ensues is
more particularly described, viz., by the opening up of the way
through the Red Sea, &c. The verbal declaration took place at
Sinai, where the Lord said to Israel: " ye shall be to me a king
dom of priests and a holy people." We cannot, however, think
of this ; for the passage through the Red Sea had taken place
previously. Judah represents here the whole people, as Joseph
had done in Ps. lxxxi. 5. The whole is denoted from that
branch which at the time was still flourishing, from that part
which was the heir of all ancient reminiscences (comp. at Ps.
Ixxvi. 1), and on which the prophecies concealed in facts were
yet to be fulfilled. The connection of Judah with the feminine
cannot here be explained from the circumstance that the land
is used instead of the people — for Judah had at that time no
land, — but from the frequent personification of communities as
women or as virgins, for example, the daughter of Tyre, in Ps.
xiv. 12, the daughter of Edom, Lam. iv. 21, the daughter of my
people, Is. xxii. 4. As the holiness of God denotes his separ
ation from all created being (comp. at Ps. xxii. 3), the choice of
Israel to be the sanctuary or holy place of God denotes his separ
ation from the world, and his reception into the territory of God;
comp. Deut. vii. 6, Ex. xix. 5, 6, Christol. 3, p. 431. From the
circumstance that the suffixes refer to the Lord, and that the
name of the Lord had not previously been mentioned, it has
been improperly concluded that the Psalm is more closely con
nected than it really is with Ps. cxiii, and that it makes up
along with it, in a certain measure, one whole. He who is
always present to the mind of the godly, does not require on
every occasion to be expressly named. Psalm 87th also begins
with the words: "His (city) founded on the holy mountains."
The position of the bare suffix, however, in the passage before us,
arises from a particular reason. The questions in ver. 5 and 6
would have been anticipated and their appropriateness destroyed,
had the Lord been previously mentioned by name as the cause
of these great deeds. In the plural, his dominions, his slates, it
is implied that no other people enjoyed such a preference. The
rubric, " states of God," was exemplified in Israel alone. The
discourse here is only of the kingdom of grace. " Thus shall

PSALM CXIV. VER. 3—6. 359
Judah even now be anew raised to the dignity of the sanctuary
and of the dominion of the Lord," stands in the back-ground.
Ver. 3, 4. — Ver. 3. The sea saw and fled, Jordan, and
turned back. Ver. 4. The mountains skipped like rams, tlie
hills like lambs. — On ver. 3, comp. Ex. xiv. 21, Jos. iii, 14-16.
" The sea and the Jordan of the heathen world shall in like
manner flow back at the present time," stands in the back
ground. Compare on the sea and rivers as the emblems of the
powers of the world, at Ps. xciii., cvii. 23, ss. — Ver. 4 depends,
as to expression, on Ps. xxix. 6, but as to the reality upon Ex.
xix. 18, " and the whole mountain trembled very much;" comp,
Ps. lxviii. 8, " then the earth moved, the heavens also dropped
before God, it was at Sinai, before the God of Israel," Jud. v. 4,
ss., " 0 Lord, when thou didst march out from Seir, when you
did go forward from the field of Edom, the earth quaked ....
the mountains flowed down before the Lord." The assertion.
" it must be merely taken poetically," is shown to be a ridicul
ous one by these passages. The analogy of the three other
facts is left unnoticed, and the consideration that it is not a
poetic fiction, but only historical facts, that can be appropriate
here, is overlooked; everywhere throughout the Psalm the past
is employed as allegorical of the future. On the mountains, as
symbols of the kingdoms of the world, which the Psalmist sees
move along with Sinai, comp. at Ps. Ixxvi. 4.1 In Zech. iv. 7,
" who art thou, 0 great mountains, before Zerubbabel? Become
a plain .'"the great mountain is the Persian kingdom which
hindered the building of the temple.
Ver. 5, 6. — Ver. 5. What is the matter with thee, thou sea,
that thoufleest, 0 Jordan, that thou turnest back? Ver. 6. Ye
mountains, that ye leap like rams, ye hills like lamhs? — We
cannot translate " what was the matter with thee that thou
didst flee?" The constant use of the future is against this, as
is also the trembling in the seventh verse, which supposes that
the action is not completed. The Psalmist brings the whole
scene out of the past into the present, in which he expects to
see it again repeated.
1 Berieb. : *' Sinai and Horeb, together with the neighbouring mountains, leapt
as it were by the mighty earthquake when the Lord descended to give the law,
and the kingdoms ahall be alao thrown into a mighty movement when the LorJ
shall come to judgment to execute hia law."

3601 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
Ver. 7, 8. — Ver. 7. Before the Lord tremble thou earth, le-
fore the God of Jacob. Ver. 8. Who changes the rock into
water, the hard stone into a fountain of water. — The Psalmist
himself replies to the question addressed to the sea,* &c. : shall
I say so to you? Thou earth with thy sea, &c. We cannot
translate: "before the Lord tremble thou, still more," for in
this case, the question propounded in the previous strophe
would remain unanswered; and the eighth verse is also against
it, for it still refers to the events of Mosaic time. In point of
form." tremble thou earth" refers only to the Mosaic age, but,
in reality, to all ages, — as certainly as the Psalmist considers
the events of the Mosaic age as prophetic of * the future. We
are to comp. at ver. 7 and ver; 4, Ps. xcvii. 4, 5. — -On ver. 8
comp. Ex. xvii. 6, Num. xx. 11, Deut. viii. 15, xxxii. 13. The
words contain a general thought, which, however, is expressed
in language borrowed from the facts of the Mosaic time, and
of which a similar application is made in Is. xli. 18, xliii 2:
who sends continually to his church > water out of the hard rock,
causes salvation to arise in most unfavourable circumstances,
so that the power of the world rises against it in vain.
PSALM CXV.
After an Introduction, ver. 1, in which the Lord' is called upon
to vindicate the honour of his name, which was endangered by
the miserable condition of his people, the Psalmist contrasts
with each other, in ver. 2-4, the God of Israel, who is in heaven,
ahd who does all things according to his own will, and the hea
then deities, silver and gold, the work of men's hands,, and de
scribes at length the nothingness and feebleness of the latter, a
description which applies to their worshippers, in ver. 5-8.
There rises in ver. 9-1 1, on the basis thus laid, the exhortation
addressed to Israel to trust in the Lord his God; and the confi
dent assurance that he will bless the people; ver: 12-15, — He,
who has given the earth to men, and cannot suffer his people
to be rooted out from it, or himself to be deprived of praise,
ver. 16-1.8.
The Psalm falls into a strophe of seven and one of tenverses.
The seven is divided by the three and the four, the ten by the
seven (which again falls into three and four) and the three.

psalm cxv. ver. 1. 361:
Jehovah occurs ten times, Jah twice — in all, therefore, the
names of God twelve times.
The idea that the Psalm was sung by alternate choruses is
without any proper foundation. By the Sept., the Syr., the
Vulg., and in several MSS., the Psalm is, without and against
all reason, joined to the preceding one, so that the two together
form one whole.
The Psalm was composed at a time when the name of God,
the renown of his faithfulness and mercy towards his people,
which he had acquired by his early deeds, was exposed to dan
ger, ver. 1 , when the heathen could say in triumph, " Where is
now their God ?" when, in the relation in which Israel stood to
the heathen, it was only the consideration of the back-ground
whicli was concealed from the fleshly eye that could afford con
solation, ver. 3, ss., when there was still only a small number of
people, when the thought of destruction, as far as could be seen,
was one which was not very remote, and whicli required to be
combated in faith, ver. 1 6-18, but when the Lord still remem
bered his people, ver. 1 2, and by the commencement of deliver
ance which had taken place had given a foundation on which
the hope of complete restoration might rest. All those features
suit exactly the time in which we have placed the whole cycle
of Psalms to which the one before us belongs, the time, viz.,
immediately after the return from captivity. The prominent
position occupied by the priests leads us also to the period after
the captivity. These appear, in every allusion made to them,
as the leaders of the people. The concurrence of priesthood
and royalty has disappeared.

Ver. 1 . Not to us, 0 Lord, not to us, but to thy name give glory,
because of thy mercy, because of thy truth. — The name of God is
his fame, Num. xiv. 15, his praise which he has acquired by his
former deeds, Is. xlviii. 9, and which he cannot now give up.
The mercy and the truth of God, the manifestations of which
form the main ingredients of his name, form the moving and
impelling principle which leads God to give glory to his
name. As the deeds have proceeded from these, the re
membrance of which forms the name, in like manner it is
by them that, those new deeds must be called forth, which pre
vent the dishonouring of the name. Were God not good nor

362 THE BOOK OF PSALM3.
true, there would be no obligation upon him to guard against
a false report. In reference to the name of God, comp. at the
parallel passage, Ps. Ixxix. 9. The " not to us," &c, is equiva
lent to " not to our merits and claims," or " not because of us;"
comp. Dan. ix. 18, " not for our righteousnesses, but for thy
great compassion," Is. xliii. 22-25, " thou hast not honoured
me, 0 Jacob, &c, I, even I, forgive your transgressions for my
own sake," xlviii. 11. The expression is emphatically repeated
for the purpose of conveying the impression that Israel is deeply
sensible that there is nothing in him which can call forth salva
tion.1 On the truth of God at Ps. xxx. 9, liv. 5.
Ver. 2-8. — Ver. 2. Why should the heathen say, where is now
their God? Ver. 3. Our God is in heaven, he does whatever he
pleases. Ver. 4. Their gods are silver and gold, the work of men's
hands. Ver. 4. Mouths have they and they speak not, eyes have
they and they see not. Ver. 5. Ears have they and ihey hear not,
noses have they and they smell not. Ver. 7. Their hands do not
handle, their feet do not walk, they do not speak through their
throat. Ver. 8. Like lo them are those who make such, all who trust
in them. — Ver. 2 is literally from Ps. Ixxix. 10. It is impossible
to doubt that the clause is borrowed, as of the contents of the
verse which ought properly to be provided with inverted commas,
it is only the assertion of the heathen, not the expression " why
should they say so," that is illustrated by the contrast drawn
between the God of Israel and the gods of the heathen — a con
trast which exhibits in all its pitiableness their cry, "Where is
their God?" As the God of Israel is omnipotence and their
idols feebleness, " where is their God" will in due time descend
with terror on their own heads ; and the man in the congrega
tion of the Lord would be stupid indeed who should pay any
regard to it. A God such as Israel's may conceal himself for a
time, and give the world the joy of a fancied victory, but he
must always again come out of his concealment in the full glory
1 Calvin : " This beginning ahewa that the faithful, in caaea of extremity, flee to
God. They do not, however, aay in express words what they wish, but indirectly
insinuate their request. In the meantime they declare, by way of preface, that
they do not adduce any merita of their own, or derive the hope of obtaining what
they want from any other source except from this, that God in delivering them
promotes his own glory . . . They are indeed desirous to obtain consolation
and aid in their misery, but because they find nothing in themselves worthy of the
divine favour, they appeal to him to vindicate his own glory."

PSALM CXV. VER. 2 — 8. 363
of his being. — Our God is in heaven, ver. 3 (comp. at Ps. ii. 4,
xi. 4, ciii. 19), far exalted above the earth, tho place of feeble
ness, above the heathen and their idol trash. On the second
clause, comp. Gen. xviii. 14, where even at the very beginning
of revelation we find uttered, " is anything too hard for the
Lord?" The parallel passage for ver. 4, the basis, and ver. 5, the
development, is Deut. iv. 28, " and ye serve these gods, the work
of men's hands, wood and stone (here silver and gold), which see
not, and eat not, and smell not," and are thus inferior to the
stupid men who trust in them. Our passage is the locus classicus
in the Psalms on the subject of idols, corresponding to the one
in the prophets, viz., Is. xliv. 9-20. It has been maintained
that the place which the Psalmist assigns to the heathen idol-
worship is a false one. " The Jew, accustomed to no image of
the godhead, adopts the error (often intentionally) of consider
ing the idols of the heathen as their gods, whereas they were
only symbols of their gods." But the Psalmist has to do not
with the view which the heathen took of their gods, but with
the thing itself. And in reality, and apart from the vain ima
ginations of their worshippers (seen to be such by their chang
ing character), the heathen gods had no existence beyond that
of the images; compare at Ps. xcv. 3, xcvi. 5. Further, it has
been maintained that the whole description is " feeble by its
oneness of tone." It is only so, however, in so far as we do
not vividly transfer ourselves into the age in which the Psalms
were composed, an age in which, with the exception of one
small corner, the whole world did homage to these miserable
gods, and in which what now appears trivial and self-evident
went in the face of the consent of the whole human race. If
any one will keep in view, throughout the whole description,
the refined worship of the present age, which, in reality, is the
same in substance as the grosser idolatry of ancient times —
whether the idols be formed of silver and gold or of thoughts
and feelings is a matter of indifference — he will find the descrip
tion to be full of life and .interest. — On ver. 5 and 6 compare
the opposite description of Jehovah in Ps. xciv. 9, " He who has
planted the ear," &c. — In ver. 7 the ai-p-p and the o*-ji bin aro
nomin. absol. On fiyr\, to murmur, to whisper, comp. at Ps. xc.
9. The whispering stands opposed to loud and strong discourse;
Michaelis: They cannot even whisper. — Like to them are those

364' THE BOOK OF PSALMS. '
who make them, ver. 8, — just as null and feeble, inasmuch with
out strength they fall from on high and under the. judgment of
omnipotence. Even though it may appear on a superficial view
to be otherwise for a time, yet it remains eternally true* and
shall always.be confirmed anew by the results: every one is,
what his God is ; whoever serves the Omnipotent is omnipotent
with him : whoever exalts feebleness, in stupid delusion, to be,
his god, is feeble along with that god. This is an important
preservative against fear for those who are sure, that they wor
ship the true God. Berieb. : " Are like them, and therefore
richly deserve to be treated with insult, when they have the
heart to scoff at others who desire to trust in God, and to ad
here to him/' The expression, " who make them," refers
naturally not so much to the artificers as to those who get the
images made.
Ver. 9—18. — Ver. 9. Israel, trust thou in the Lord, who is
your help and your shield. Ver. 10. Ye of the house of Aaron,
trust in the Lord, wlio is your help and your shield. Ver. 11. Ye
who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord, who is your help and your
shield. — Ver. 12. The Lord hath been mindful of us, he shall bless,
he shall bless the house of Israel, he shall bless the house of Aaron.
Ver. 13. He shall bless those who fear tlie Lord, the small with
the great. Ver. 14. May the Lord add to you, to you and to your
children. Ver. 15. May ye be blessed of the Lord, the creator of
heaven and earth. — Ver. 16. The heaven is heaven for the Lord,
and the earth he has given to the sons of man. Ver. 17. The dead
praise not the Lord, nor those who go down to silence. Ver. 18.
And we shall praise the Lord from henceforth even for ever. — Ver. 9,
depends upon Ps. xxxiii. 20, " Our soul trusteth in the Lord,
he is our help and our shield." — In ver. 10, the house of Aaron
is specially named, because it was proper that it should go for
ward at the head of the people in the way of trusting in the
Lord. — By " those who fear the Lord," ver. 1 1, we cannot, either
here or in the parallel passages, Ps. cxviii. 4, cxxxv. 20, under
stand either the proselytes, unsuitably referring to the tpo^ob-
jjjtwi rbv kh of the New Testament, or the laity, but only the
whole people. This is evident from ver. 13, where by the great
are manifestly meant, by way of pre-eminence, the priests;
these, therefore, must be included among the fearers of God. ¦
The expression also is used with reference to the whole of Israel

PSALM CXV. VER. 9—18. 365
in Ps. cxii. 1 ; comp. Ps. xxii. 23, where "the fearers of God"
stand parallel to " the seed of Jacob." The particular is thus
enclosed on both sides by the general. The peculiarity, how
ever, of our verse in connection with the 9th, lies in the term
employed to designate the general; in whicli there is indirectly
contained a basis for the exhortation to trust in the Lord. This
trust is intimately connected with child-like fear of God,
reverential awe before him. The man, therefore, who has a
right to bear the name of a fearer of the Lord, who does not
wish to excommunicate himself from the people of the Lord,
must yield obedience to the exhortation of the Psalmist. A
commentary on the short and hurried expression, "he hath been
mindful of us," is furnished by Ps. cxvi. 18, according to which
a great deliverance had just been imparted to the people of the
Lord; comp. Ps. cvii. The cry "remember me, 0 Lord,"
which the church had uttered in captivity, is now about to be
fulfilled. — The small with the great, ver. 13, the low who give
way so easily to despondency no less than the high ; comp. Jer.
xvi. 6, 2 Kings xviii. 24, Rev. xiii. 16, xix. 5, Matt, xviii. 6. —
Ver. 14 depends upon Deut. i. 11 ; " May the Lord God of your
fathers add to you a thousand fold, and bless you as he hath
said unto you." This passage, which again depends upon Gen.
xxx. 24, and to whicli Joab alludes in 2 Sam. xxiv. 3, shows
that we can neither dispense with the optative (and there is the
less reason for this, as behind the wish there is still a prophecy
concealed), nor refer the multiplying to the blessing instead of
the number of the people as Luther does : " the Lord bless yon
more and more." For the church of the Lord now reduced in
numbers (comp. Ps. cxix. 87, "they have almost annihilated
me in the land"); increase of numbers is one of the forms of
blessing. The "you and your children" indicates that the
multiplying shall begin immediately but shall be more glorious
afterwards. It became most glorious in Christ, comp. Is. x. 16.
— Ver. 1 5 alludes to the blessing of Melchisedec upon Abraham,
Gen. xiv. 19, which was uttered upon his posterity in him.
The Creator of heaven and earth, — who, as such, is infinitely
rich in blessing for his people, in assistance in all troubles,
and against all, even the most powerful enemies, — the Psalmist
appending an addition to the expression, " Creator of heaven
and earth," in ver. 16, draws from the fact that God, retain-

366 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
ing only heaven for himself, has given up as a free gift, rich in
love, the earth to the children of men (comp. Gen. i. 28, " And
God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful and
multiply, and replenish the earth and possess it," chap. ix. 1),
a ground of consolation in view of the circumstances which
threatened destruction to the people of God : he cannot there
fore permit it to be robbed of the occupants assigned to it by
him, to be depopulated (comp. Hab. i. 14-17), assuredly not
that the election of the children of men should disappear from
the earth. — He shall rather maintain us, is added in ver. 1 7, 1 8,
because he would otherwise be robbed of the song of praise
which only his church on the earth can give him, — the people
of God cannot die, because the praise of God would die with
them, which would be impossible. In ver. 18, " we shall bless"
is equivalent to " he shall give us the opportunity to do so, in
asmuch as he maintains us in life, blesses us, ver. 12 and 13,
in deeds, in order that thus we may bless him with our lips ;
comp. Ps. cxviii. 17, "I shall not die, but live and make known
the deeds of the Lord." " And we shall" is in reality equiva
lent to " we shall thus." The other constructions of the two
verses, such as that which finds them containing a praise of
" the grace of God which gives the earth to men in opposition
to the miserable inhabitants of the lower world who cannot
praise him," are set aside by the circumstance that the position
that the dead do not praise the Lord is everywhere else repre
sented to the Lord as a reason for him to deliver from death ;
comp. Ps. vi. 5, xxx. 9, lxxxviii. 10-12, Is. xxxviii. 18, 19.
The passage before us can scarcely be separated from these
very striking parallel passages, as it belongs to such a late
author, who is not to be supposed to strike out a path en
tirely new. In reference to the 'nJD'yj) silence, comp. at Ps.
xciv. ] 7. PSALM CXVI.
After an Introduction, ver. 1 and 2, in which the Psalmist
declares his love to the Lord, and his resolution to call upon
him continually because he has been delivered by him out of
great trouble, he describes in the first strophe this deliverance,
ver. 3-9, and in the second his thankfulness. The first strophe

PSALM cxvi. 367
is completed in the number seven, which is divided by a four
and a three: I was near destruction, then the Lord manifested
his compassion and his grace in my deliverance, ver. 3-6, so
that now I am delivered from trouble and death, and have been
brought back to my rest, ver. 7-9.1 The second strophe is complete
in ten, which is divided by a three and a seven, which last is
again divided by a three and a four. I placed in my trouble
my trust in the Lord, and the Lord has given me according to
my faith; how shall I recompense him for his gift? ver. 10-12.
I will offer to him out of a full heart praise and thanks, ver.
13-19, in ver. 13-15 the resolution, ver. 16-19 obviously the
accompaniment of the giving of the offerings.
The 11 7th Psalm, which, on account of its brevity, cannot
with propriety be considered as occupying an entirely inde
pendent position, corresponds, as a Conclusion, to the Introduc
tion, consisting like it of two verses. The whole in this case
has twenty-one verses, three times seven. In Ps. cxvi, Jeho
vah occurs fifteen times, in Ps. cxvii. twice, in both together
therefore we have the important number seventeen. Without
the introduction and conclusion Jehovah occurs fourteen times.
In the first strophe of Ps. cxvi. six times, in the second eight
times. The six is supplemented by the Jehovah of the Intro
duction to seven, the eight by the conclusion, Ps. cxvii. to ten.
After the church of the Lord has raised itself to hope in his
assistance in regard to everything which at present oppresses
her, she comes at the conclusion of the decade with delivered
and lightened mind to her song of thanks for the favour already
imparted, which now for the first time reaches its true earnest
ness when she has cast all her care upon the Lord.
That the Psalm does not belong to the times before the cap
tivity, is manifest from the language, especially from the nxc
and the 'nrfflDil' w'*a *^e meaningless paragoge in ver. 14 and
15, and the Chald. suffix in ver. 12. The danger from which
the Psalmist giving thanks was delivered is repeatedly and
expressly described as one of entire destruction, — a description
in which it is impossible not to recognise a reference to the
Babylonish captivity, more especially as the analogy of all the
other Psalms of the group, as the 15th ver., where the plurality
1 The Septuagint and Vulgate recognised the main division to be after ver. 8;
they have divided the Psalm at ver. 10 into two poems.

368 THE BOOK Oi PiJALMS.
concealed behind the unity comes prominently forward (tlie
speaker is the Man of Judah or the Daughter of Zion, there
fore an ideal person), and as the circumstance 'df the Psalm
which manifestly must receive a historical interpretation, being
without a name (which does not readily occur in individual
Psalms), render it impossible ndt to see the national character
of the Psalm. A special reference to the deliverance from cap
tivity occurs in " thou hast loosed my bonds" of ver. 16; comp.
Ps. cvii. 14. The melancholy character of the joy also, which
it is impossible not to notice, is suitable to the occasion ; we
everywhere see tears in the eyes of the thankful Psalmist;
thanksgiving suppresses lamentation. The Psalm must at all
events have been composed shortly after the deliverance. This is
evident from the circumstance that the deliverance is the object
of the festive presentation df thank-offerings, also from the great
tenderness of feeling, in consequence of which the expressions
are somewhat of a stammering character, and, finally, from the
present j^ityrn'1 *n ver- 6- The mention of the house of the Lord
in ver. 19, does not necessarily bring us down to the'time after
the completion of the building of the temple. For the holy city
got this name before this, comp. Ezra ii. 68, iii. 8. The Psalm,
however, was certainly sung for the first time after the setting
up of public worship, ver. 13, ss., and on an occasion of na
tional thanksgiving, — a!n occasion later than that assigned to
Ps. cvii.; comp. the Introduction to that Psalm. Particulars
will be obtained from Ps. cxviii.

b

Ver. 1 and 2. — Ver. 1. I love, because the Lord hears my voice
And my supplication. Ver. 2. F*or he inclined his ear to me,
therefore I will call upon him as long as I live. — In ver. 1 the
future denotes the general truth, which is to be illustrated by
the special fact (the preterite in ver. 2). The translation
which, after the example of Luther, is commonly given, is: this
is delightful to me that the Lord hears my voice. But in
favour of the translation given aboVe, the beginning of Ps. xviii.
is decisive: "I love thee with my heart, 0 Lord, my strength!"
" For the Lord hears," &c, in the Psalm before us corresponds
to " my strength," in that Psalm, and to the development of
that expression which immediately follows. This conclusion is
all the stronger, as the main division of our Psalm begins with

PSALM OXVI. VER. 3 — 9. 369
the words with which that Psalm opens. Hence it follows,
that, according to our view, the first verse contains the quint
essence of the whole Psalm (comp. the view given above of the
contents), and that the first clause corresponds to the second
half of ver. 2, exactly as the second clause corresponds to the
first half. The abrupt clause, " I love," is altogether appro
priate to the prevailing character of the Psalm; comp. the similar
clause, " I will call," in ver. 2, " the Lord gifts thee," ver. 7,
and also the asyndeton, " my voice, my supplication," in the
verse before us. There appears to be an allusion to Deut. vi.
5, and to the parallel passage, "thou shalt love, j-flPJN' the
Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and
with all thy strength." The Psalmist testifies that, by the
proofs which he had received of the love of God, the fulfilment
of this the first and great commandment had become possible
to him. In reality, " I love," put by the Psalmist into the lips
of the people, has, at the same time, a hortatory character; let
us love him because he has first loved us. — It is manifest from Is.
xxxix. 8, that " in my days," in ver. 2, is to be understood as
equivalent to " my life long." i~ will call upon, giving thanks
for his salvation, ver. 13, and praying in all distresses for his
assistance, ver. 4.
Ver. 3-9. — Ver. 3. The snares of death surrounded me, and
the pains of hell found me, I found distress and sorrow. Ver. 4.
But I called upon the name of the Lord: 0 Lord deliver my
soul! Ver. 5. Gracious is the Lord and upright, and our God
is compassionate. Ver. 6. The Lord defends the simple, I was
in, sorrow and he delivered me. — Ver. 7. Return again, 0 my
soul, to thy rest, for the Lord hath bestowed gifts upon thee. Ver.
8. For thou didst deliver my soul from death, mine eyes from tears,
my foot from sliding. Ver. 9. i" shall walk before the Lord in the
land of tlie living. — Ver. 3 depends upon Ps. xviii. 4, 5. It is
not without design that the church, in the description of her
trouble, connects herself with David. He was her great ex
ample in distress and deliverance. In Ps. xviii. he himself ex
tends his own experience to that of his seed, who, at the time
of the composition of the Psalm before us, was represented by
Zerubbabel (comp. Hag. ii. 23, Zech. iv.), and, in a certain mea
sure, included in him the whole people; for it was intended that
David should, for all eternity, be the soul of the people of God.
VOL. III. 2 B

370 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
— To call upon the name of the Lord, in ver. 4, is a stronger ex
pression than merely to call upon the Lord, and is equivalent to,
to call upon him in his historically manifested glory. — Upright
s the Lord, ver. 5, because he is gracious and compassionate to
wards his own people; comp. Ps. cxii. 4. Allusion is made to the
fundamental definition of the Divine Being in the Law, which
had in this instance been so gloriously verified : the idea meant
to be conveyed is : as the Lord has delivered my soul, and thus
confirmed the truth of his word, which calls him gracious and
compassionate. Instead of narrating historically the conse
quences of the prayer, the Psalmist breaks out into praise of
the grace and mercy of God therein made known. — On ij-\q, in
ver. 6, comp. at Ps. xix. 7. The word denotes, in the first in
stance, a failing, a want, not a virtue (many translate altogether
without good reason: that pure mind towards God which expects
salvation from him alone), yet assuredly this want is more
praiseworthy than the false skill of the world, which always
knows to help itself, because it considers everything to be law
ful.1 The full form, yity-'i;-'!'!, was probably chosen for the pur
pose of alluding to the significant name of the first high priest
of the new colony, Joshua. — The imper. in ver. 7 stands as in
Is. Iv. 1, invites to the enjoyment of the blessings freely fur
nished by God. The xVtSO> properly a place of rest, is never
inward rest and peace (Luther: Be now at peace, 0 my soul)
— the plural is against this — but the outward rest. The nUTtift
in Ps. xxiii. 2 also refers to this, and in Matt. xi. 29 the rest is
the place of rest. The rest for the soul is the land of the Lord,
the temple, the building of which was just begun, the delightful
home, together with everything which it affords for refreshment
to the weary wanderer. Hitherto the soul had been restless
and wandering like Cain, Gen. iv. 12. On bfoi comp. at Ps.
1 The aenae of D^nB was given with perfect accuracy by Calvin : " This word
is frequently taken in a bad sense for inconsiderate and foolish persons who do not
obey right counsel. But now those are called simple who suffer injuries, who are
not too akilful in avoiding injuries, who, in fine, are easily circumvented, whereas
the children of this world are as strong in sagacity aa they are well furnished with
expedients for protecting themselvea. David therefore confeasea himself to be like
a child who cannot adviae himself, and is not able to repel those injuries to which
he is expoaed. The same ia, when believers, in their Bufferings, have neither skill
nor reason to find out means of escape, God's wisdom is used on their behalf, and
the secret guardianship of his providence meets all the dangers which beset their
safety. "

PSALM CXVI. VER. 10—19. 371
vii 4. We may supply " thy rest," or, what is better, " every
thing that is good," comp. ver. 12.1— Ver. 8 and 9 depend
upon Ps. lvi. 13: "For thou didst deliver my soul from death,
my feet from sliding, that I may walk before God in the
light of the living." Even this reference presupposes the cha
racter of David as an exemplar. The inserted clause, " my
eyes from tears," contains a designed and a most significant
allusion to Jer. xxxi. 1 6. The promise there given, as to the
drying up of tears, was now in the way of being fulfilled. In
stead of "in the light of the living," we have here " in the
land" (Ezr. iii. 3); comp. " in the land of the living," in Ps.
xxvii. 13, Iii. 5.
Ver. 10-19. — Ver. 10. i" believed, therefore I did speak, but
I was very much plagued. Ver. 1 1 . I said, in my alarm : all
men lie. Ver. 12. How shall I now recompense the Lord for all
Ms gifts to me? — Ver. 13. / will take the cup of salvation, and
call upon tht name of the Lord. Ver. 14. / will pay my vows to
the Lord, yea, before all his people. Ver. 15. Precious in the
eyes of the Lord is the death of his saints. — Ver. 16. Ah ! Lord, for
I am thy servant, the son of thy handmaid, thou hast loosed my
bonds. Ver. 1 7. 1 will bring thank-offerings to thee, and call upon the
name of the Lord. Ver. 18. 1 will pay my vows to the Lord, yea, be
fore all Ms people. Ver. 19. In the courts of the house of the
Lord, in thee, Jerusalem, Halleluja. — The whole second part is
occupied with the thanks, as the first part is with the salvation.
Ver. 10 and 11 serve only as a preparation for the question in
ver. 12. I believed, ver. 10, after the example of Abraham,
Gen. xv. 6, and of David, in Ps. xxvii. 13. The '¦p'ON'rt is ab
solute, just as it is in Is. vii. 9. The Psalmist, however, has
no intention of boasting of his faith, but of giving glory to the
Lord who had given him according to his faith. For I did speak,
— which is a sure proof of the presence of faith. Confession
and faith are inseparably connected;2 comp. 2 Cor. iv. 13. The
1 The pious Eishop Babylas of Antioch comforted himself with our verse in pro
spect of the martyrdom which he suffered under Decius : " From this we learn
that our soul comes to rest when it is removed by a happy death from this restless
world. "
2 Calvin : " Hence we draw a useful doctrine, that faith cannot exist inoperative
in the heart, but must riae into action. *For the Spirit connecta, by a sacred
bond, faith of the heart with external confession: * what God hath joined together,
let not man put asunder,' "

372 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
Apostle places, after the example of the Septuagint, therefore
instead of for : "I believed, therefore I spake," without any
material alteration of the sense. What the church of the Lord
did speak may be gathered from " I believed " (it was what was
according to the faith), and is particularly described in ver. 11.
The future denotes the past time just as the N2EN iQ ver- & anc*
the NipN in ver- **• " ¦"- was very muc^ plagued," gives the
circumstances in which the faith, and speaking which followed
it, existed; immediately upon this, the substance of what was
said is particularly given in ver. 1 1. According to the construc
tion of the verse, -\y\ here and "y^ in ver. 11 stand in their
usual relation to each other; comp. at Ps. iv. 4.1 This relation
is not attended to in the translation : " I believed although I
said or when I said : I am very much plagued." These senses
of 13, moreover, are nowhere to be found. In Ex. xiii. 17, to
which reference has been made for the sense " although," the
13 is simply " because." That the way through the land of the
Philistines was short, was precisely the reason why Moses did
not choose it. Israel needed a longer preparation. Luther has
committed a mistake in substituting the present throughout in
room of the preterite : I believe, therefore I speak, but I am
very much plagued. — In ver. 11, "in my alarm" (properly "in
my haste," the peculiar expression from Ps. xxxi. 22), resumes
" I was very much afflicted;" I said in my alarm, the alarm in
duced by that severe affliction; and also " I said all men lie,"
that is, disappoint the trust placed in them, leave in the lurch
those who hope in them (comp. Ps. lxii. 9, cviii. 12), resumes,
"I believed for I spoke." From the circumstance that the
speaking here is the expression of the faith, the exact import
of the words spoken becomes apparent; it is obvious that behind
the negative there is concealed the positive : I place my hope
and confidence not in deceitful men, but on my true and faith
ful God ; comp. Ps. cviii. 8, " It is better to trust in the Lord
than to put confidence in men." — In ver. 12, exactly as in ver.
5, the sequence is not expressly mentioned but presupposed:
it happened to me according to my faith, how then shall I ? — In
ver. 1 3 the cup of salvation (the plural denotes the fulness and
1 Gesen. on the word lai: " For 13T ia rarely so placed aa that we find the
words which are reported as spoken following immediately, and have to supply
IDub mentally.''

PSALM CXVII. 373
the variety of the salvation), is a figurative representation of
the salvation which had been imparted to the Psalmist. He
will with this, laying it to heart, come before God, and after the
example of Abraham, who did so after every great instance of
deliverance, call upon the name of the Lord, the only recom
pense which poor man can render to God. The cup is a fre
quent figurative representation of what is allotted to each man,
his fortune, good fortune, Ps. xvi. 5, xxiii. 5, and bad fortune,
Ps. xi. 6, Ixxv. 8, and at Ps. lx. 3. No reference whatever can
be understood as made to the cup of thanksgiving at the thank-
offering, or to the sacrificial feast connected with it. For this
cup is a mere fiction. — On the ^ in ver. 14, comp. Ewald, §
246. It is here also a particle expressive of wish, and contains
in it "my soul forget not." — Ver. 15 points to the ground why
the Psalmist considers himself laid under a sacred obligation to
give thanks : for dear to the Lord — this he has shown by my
deliverance from death — is the death of his saints (instead of
he regards it as important); hence the obligation to bring him
praise and thanks. The words depend upon Ps. lxxii. 14.1 —
The niN in ver. 1 6 is very tender, 0 yet, Ew. § 262. He prays
for permission to give thanks, and considers such permission a
great favour, which God, however, imparts to his people along
with their election and their deliverance. God must surely
permit his servant and his redeemed to give him thanks, he
has himself given him this privilege, and in point of fact, by
his deeds, has exhorted him to do so. On "the son of the
handmaid" comp. at Ps. Ixxxvi. 16.

PSALM CXVII.
COMPARE THE INTRODUCTION TO PS. CXVI.
Ver. 1. Praise the Lord, all ye heathens, praise him all ye na
tions. Ver. 2- For his mercy over us was great, and the truth
of the Lord endureth for ever Hallelujah. — On exhortations
1 Calvin: " When we are brought into danger by the permission of God, the
thought steals upon us that we are neglected like vile slaves, and that our life is
regarded as nothing."

374 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
addressed to the heathen to praise the Lord on account of his
great deeds on behalf of Israel, comp. at Ps. xlvii. 1, Ixvi 8,
xcviii. 4. His truth endureth for ever — as the present instance
shows. The emphatic way in which the salvation of the Lord
is here spoken of, takes for granted that a full description of
that salvation had preceded.

PSALM CXVIII.
The exhortation to praise the Lord because of his mercy
towards Israel, ver. 1-4, is followed by a reference to that good
deed which had led on to this praise (the Lord has delivered
his people out of great trouble), and there is then annexed the
expression of unlimited confidence in him, ver. 6-14, who, with
the same omnipotent mercy with which he has at the present
time come to the help of his people when threatened with de
struction, will lead them on to full victory over the heathen
world, which still continues to oppress them. After a new in
troduction in ver. 1 5-1 8, which praises the deliverance which
the Lord has imparted to his people ip prospect of death, there
follow, in ver. 19-28, the exhortation to open to the people the
doors of the sanctuary, in order that they may there give him
thanks for his deliverance, a joyful song of triumph for the sal
vation which has been obtained, and the prayer to the Lord
that he would impart his blessing on the important undertak
ing which gave occasion to the Psalm.
The Psalm falls into two strophes, each of fourteen verses,
and a concluding verse, in which the end turns back to the be
ginning. The fourteen fall both times into an introduction of
four verses, and a main division divided by the five. The con
cluding verses of both strophes, fourteen and twenty-eight,
depend upon Exod. xv. 2. The word Jehovah occurs twenty-
two times, according to the number of the letters of the alpha
bet; ten times in the first part and twelve times in the second.
That the Psalm has a national reference is put beyond a
doubt by ver. 1-4. According to that passage, the singular in
ver. 5, and also in the following verses, can refer only to the
ideal person of the people. For verse 5th gives the reason why

PSALM cxviii. 375
Israel ought to praise the Lord. And this reason can be found
only in a salvation granted to Israel.
That the deliverance for which the Psalm gives thanks is the
deliverance from the Babylonish captivity, there can be no
doubt. That the Psalm was composed immediately after this
deliverance is evident from the fervour of the thanks, which
renders it impossible for us to conceive of the time being that
of Nehemiah, as several expositors have done. The destina
tion of the Psalm for use at some important national undertak
ing, is evident from 0 Lord help, 0 Lord cause us to prosper, in
ver. 25, according to which the destination of the Psalm,
assumed by some, without any tenable ground, for general use
at the feast of Tabernacles, is altogether excluded. Ver. 22
makes it apparent that this undertaking was the laying of the
foundation-stone of the temple in the second year after the re
turn from captivity.
So far we are led on by the Psalm itself. We are brought,
however, to a more definite result by the passage, Ezr. iii. 10,
II: " And the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the
Lord, and they set the priests in their apparel with the trum
pets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals to praise
the Lord according to the arrangement1 of David the king of
Israel: and they responded (in so far as each expression of
thanks was a response to the good deeds of the Lord) with
praise and thanks to theLord that he is good, because his mercy
is for ever over Israel, and the whole people shouted with a
great shout, praising the Lord because of the laying of the
foundation of the house of the Lord." 1 . The expression, " with
thanks to the Lord," &c, indicates that at the laying of the foun
dation-stone of the temple a song was sung, the kernel of which
consisted of those words which begin and end the Psalm before
us. The recollection of this was so fresh that even the author
of Chronicles describes with similar words the contents of the
songs which were sung at the dedication of the first temple, 2
Chron. v. 13, vii. 3. We are here decidedly directed to the
Psalm before us, as the contents of Psalm cvi, cvii, and
1 The T bff, where it is used of persona, signifies always " upon the hands of
any one," so that his hands, his deeds, thereby form the foundation; according to
the arrangement; comp. Geaen. in the Thesaur., and especially De Dieu in the Crit.
Sacr. on Jer v. 31.

376 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
cxxxvi, prevent us from thinking of them. 2. The expression,
" according to the arrangement of David," contains surprising
light as soon as we assume that our Psalm, along with the
whole dodecade to which it belongs,1 was sung at the laying of
the foundation-stone of the temple. The dodecade is opened
by three Psalms of David's ; and these give the tone for the
rest. 3. The division also of the priests (and Levites) and the
people in praising the Lord, is mentioned in precisely a similar
way in the book of Ezra, as it is here in ver. 1-4 ; comp. Ps.
cxv. 9-1 L 4. The joyful shout of the whole people, and the
weeping of those who had seen the first temple, the singular
mixture of lamentation and joy, Ezra iii. 12, 13, give the
key to the character of the dodecade before us, in which we
cannot fail to observe, on the one hand, a sound of melancholy
and anguish, and, on the other, a shout of joy over the salva
tion already wrought out by the Lord.
The common idea that the Psalm was sung by alternate
choruses is not confirmed by the narrative in the book of Ezra.
That narrative merely assigns the first part in the singing to the
priests and Levites, while the people fall in. Even the Psalm
itself contains nothing that can justify or even favour this view.
Luther : "This is my Psalm, the one which I love. Although
the whole Psalter, and indeed the whole sacred volume, is dear
to me as that which is my only consolation and my life, yet I
am particularly pleased with this Psalm, so that it must be
called and must be mine, for it has often served me well, and
has helped me out of many great troubles."

Ver. 1-4. — Ver. 1 . Praise the Lord, for he is good, for Ms
mercy endureth for ever. Ver. 2. Let Israel still say: for Ms
mercy endureth for ever. Ver. 3. Let the house of Aaron still
say : for his mercy endureth for ever. Ver. 4. Let those who
fear the Lord still say: for his mercy endureth for ever. — The
" praise the Lord, &c," in ver. 1, is literally from Ps. cvi. 1.
The passage there is the original one ; the expression is first
1 That it is impossible to isolate our Paalm is evident, for example, from ver.
1-4, compared with cxv. 9-11, from the 1S!!3 here in ver. 5, and Ps, cxvi. 3, used
elsewhere only in the single passage, Lam. i. 3, from the M3K in ver. 25, compared
with Ps. cxvi. 16, and the WlIT m ver. 13, compared with the "niO in Pa.
cxvi. 8.

PSALM CXVIII. VER. 5 — 14. 377
borrowed in Ps. cvii. 1. It depends on Ps. c. 4, 5, where all
the constituent parts are to be found. On the threefold
division in ver. 2-4, comp. at Ps. cxv. 9-1 1 .
Ver. 5—14. — Ver. 5. In the straitness I called upon the Lord,
the Lord answered me in the wide place. Ver. 6. The Lord is
mine, I am not afraid: what can men do to me ? Ver. 7. The
Lord is among those who help me, I shall see my pleasure on those
who hate me. Ver. 8. It is better to trust in the Lord than to
put confidence in men. Ver. 9. It is better to trust in the Lord
than to put confidence in princes. — Ver. 10. All the heathen sur
round me, in the name of the Lord I shall cut them down. Ver.
1 1 . They surround me, they surround me, in the name of the Lord
I shall cut them down. Ver. 12. They surround me like bees,
they are extinguished like fire of thorns, in the name of the Lord I
shall cut' them down. Ver. 13. Thou didst push at me that I
might fall, but the Lord helped me. Ver. 14. My strength and
my Psalm is the Lord, and he has been my salvation. — At the
beginning, ver. 5, and at the end, ver. 13 and 14, we have the
salvation already imparted to the church of the Lord, the
deliverance from impending destruction; and in the middle,
in seven verses, (which are divided by the four and the three),
we have the confident expectation, rising on this ground, of the
completion of the salvation, of the exaltation from the dust of
humilation in which Israel was still lying, and of victory over
the heathen world by whicli they were still surrounded on all
sides. — On the second clause of ver. 5, comp. Ps. iv. 1, xviii.
39, xxxi. 8. The ^mftl is n°t "into a wide place," but " in
a wide place." The matter-of-fact answer of the Lord was
imparted to the church there. She cried out of the narrow
place and the straitness, and she obtained the answer in the
wide place.1 — Ver. 6 is from Ps. lvi. 4, 11, with this difference,
that instead of " I trust in God " there, we have here, " the
Lord is to me," from the 9th verse of the same Psalm. — The first
1 Luther : " Let him learn here who can, and every one shall become even a fal
con who may mount on high in such trouble. It is said : I called upon the Lord.
Thou must learn to call and not to Bit there by thyself, and lie on the bench,
hang and shake the head, and bite and devour thyself with thy thoughts, but
come on, thou indolent knave, down upon thy knees, up with thy hands and eyes
to heaven, take a Paalm or a prayer, and set forth thy distreas with tears before
God."

378 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
clause of ver. 7 is from Ps. liv. 4, comp. on the ^ at that
passage. On the second clause comp. Ps. liv. 7. In the con
test of David with Saul, the church truly beheld an allegory of
her contest with the world. — On ver. 8 and 9 comp. Ps. lxii. 8, 9
On nDn a* Ps. ii. 12. The princes are the possessors of the .
power of the world (comp. Ps. cxlvi. 3), on whom the heathen
placed tlieir trust, and to whom Israel stood in opposition. If
we realize the condition of Israel at the time immediately after
the return from captivity, the small, poor, disorganised, little
mass, in view of a whole hostile world, we shall find in the
clause before us an expression of real heroic faith, well fitted to
put us to shame. — We must not change " all the heathens" in
ver. 10, into "heathens of all kinds." The whole surrounding
power of the world was hostile to Israel.1 In these parts fear
and faith beheld the whole. In the name of the Z on*?,— through
his power which has been rendered glorious by the illustration
of his deeds, comp. at Ps. xxxiii. 21, Iii. 9, liv. 1. The 13 is to
be taken in the sense of " that : " — it is that I shall cut them
down, — an emphatic expression, instead of I shall cut them
down; comp. Is. vii. 7, and Drechsler on the passage. The war
like cry, " I shall cut them down," is an echo to Ps. ex. It was
only in connection with an entirely new state of things, such
as that which was to be introduced by the Messiah, that such
hopes, thoroughly foolish in a human point of view, could be
realized. The br\0> with the single exception of Ps. xc. 6,
where the Pil. occurs in the sense of to cut, has always the sense
of to circumcise ; and this sense is assuredly to be retained here.
Victory over the heathen, the " uncircumcised," appears under
the image of a forced circumcision ; comp. similar allusions to
circumcision in Gal. v. 12; Phil. iii. 2; Ps. lviii. 7; Is. i 22;
perhaps with reference to the practical irony in 1 Sam. xviii. 25,
2 Sam. iii. 14. — In reference to the relation of the ly^yo and
the iJOlD in veri * 1' comP- a* Ps- xviii. 5. — " As bees," in ver.
12, is from Deut. i. 44. " They are extinguished" (Luther
falsely: they smoke), is a pret. oi faith. Fire of thorns, —
which quickly blazes up, but is soon extinguished. — In ver. 13,
1 Luther moat significantly points to the real ground of this hostility : Men . can
put up with all other doctrines and all other gods, so that no nation and no coun
try will aet itself in hostility ; but when the word of God cornea, then the whole
world is up, then, tumults and animosities rise on all aidea."

PSALM CXVIII. VER. 15 — IS. 379
where the Psalmist returns to the facts of the past, which afford
security for what is to take place in the future, the address is
directed to the enemy. — Ver. 1 4 is, like Is. xii. 2, taken from
the song of Moses, the servant of God, Ex. xv. 2, the first of
the church's songs of thanksgiving, and which forms the foun
dation for all the later songs till the end of time; comp. Rev.
xv. 3. That the Psalmist drew from the fountain, and not from
Is. xii. 2, is clear from the circumstance, that the concluding
verse of the second main division depends upon the second half
of Ex. xv. 2. The first half of the verse before us denotes the
constantly abiding relation (my strength and my song, the object
of the same, i. e., my mighty and glorious helper), the second
the consequence which proceeded from that relation. As there
is not one single well ascertained instance of the suffix having
to be supplied from the preceding clauses (the instances adduced
by Ewald, § 329, are not tenable), we must have recourse to
the supposition, that the Jod of the suffix in jyyffi is rejected
on account of the j-ji which follows, after the Syrian fashion,
according to which the Jod is merely written, not pronounced.
Ver. 15-18. — Ver. 15. The voice of rejoicing and salvation
(resounds) in the tabernacles of the. righteous : the right hand of
the Lord doeth valiantly. Ver. 16. The right hand of the
Lord exalts, the right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly. Ver.
17. I shall not die, but live and make , known the works of the
Lord. Ver. 18. The Lord afflicted me sorely, but he did not
give me over to death. — The voice of salvation in ver. 15 is the
voice which praises the salvation, that already wrought out
and that still hoped for. Tabernacles is repeatedly used as a
poetic term for habitations generally, Ps. Ixxviii. 55, xci. 10.
In all probability, a part of the people at that time, the second
year after the return, still dwelt in tents; at all events, the
chief habitation of Israel still consisted of a tent. On Qip'HJji
righteous, as a name of the Israelites, comp. at Ps. xxxiii. 1.
"Does valiantly" alludes to Ps. cviii. 12, comp. Ps. lx. 12. —
The n'DD'V'V ver- 16, is not the partic. of Oft-***), but the Pil. of
Fjy^, to exalt, Ps. xxxvii 34, in accordance with " it does vali
antly," according to which we are led to expect here a descrip
tion of what the Lord's right hand does, not of what it is. — " I
shall not die," in ver. 1 7, shows that, as far as could be seen, the
thought of death to the church was very near; comp. Ps. Ixxi.

380 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
20, Hab. i. 12, Ps. cxvi. 15. She conquers this thought, how
ever, while looking at the deliverance from death which she
had just experienced; I shall not die, because he has not left
me to die. The works of the Lord are the glorious deeds by
which he shall protect and deliver his people.
Ver. 19-28. — Ver. 19. Open unto me ihe gates of righteous
ness, I will go in and praise the Lord. Ver. 20. This is the
gate of the Lord, the righteous enter in by it. Ver. 21 . I praise
thee that thou didst hear me and hast been my salvation. Ver.
22. The stone which the builders rejected has become the corner
stone. Ver. 23. This has happened from the Lord, it is wonder
ful in our eyes. — Ver. 24. This is the day which the Lord hath
made, let us rejoice and be glad in it. Ver. 25. 0 Lord, help
now, 0 Lord, cause us to prosper. Ver. 26. Blessed be he who
cometh, in the name of the Lord, we bless you from the house of
the Lord. Ver. 27. The Lord is God, and he hath enlightened
us, bind the sacrifice with cords unto the horns of the altars.
Ver. 28. Thou art my God, and I will praise thee, my God,
I will exalt thee. — The gates, in ver. 19, are the gates of the
provisional sanctuary. Almost immediately after the return
from captivity, the site of the old sanctuary was undoubtedly
enclosed, and as had been the case on a former occasion in the
days of David, a tabernacle was erected previous to the com
mencement of the celebration of public worship, Ezr. iii. 1, ss.
The gates of the sanctuary are called the gates of righteousness,
because the fountain of righteousness, i.e., of matter-of-fact jus
tification, or of salvation, for Israel was there, comp. ver. 26. —
The righteous go in by it, ver. 20, for the purpose, namely, an
nounced in ver. 19, of praising and giving thanks. The Lord, by
his righteousness, their matter-of-fact justification, such as Israel
has now experienced, gives them opportunity to praise him in
the sanctuary. — The second clause of ver. 21 alludes again to
Ex. xv. 2, comp. at ver. 1 4. — The figure in ver. 22 becomes clear,
as soon as we acknowledge the national reference of the Psalm,
and ascertain correctly the occasion for which it was written.
The whole Psalm is taken up with the happy- change which
had taken place in the circumstances of the people of God. It
is this that is treated of in the three verses immediately pre
ceding. The sense, therefore, can only be: the people of God
whom earthly potentates have despised, have been exalted by

PSALM CXVIII. VER. 19—28. 381
the influence of their God to the rank of a people that shall
reign over the world. Jer. li. 26 is parallel when it is said of
Babylon, the exact counterpart of Israel, the representative of
the power of the world : " they shall not take of thee a stone
for a corner, nor a stone for a foundation," for the building of
the edifice of universal dominion. What happened in the type
to Israel happened in the antitype to Christ; eomp. Matt. xxi.
42, Acts iv. 11, passages which led the older expositors to
apply directly the whole Psalm to Christ — an application, the
untenable nature of whicli is clear as day. The expression
"has become" belongs to the view taken by faith, which in
this weak beginning, the deliverance of Israel from captivity,
sees the glorious end, dominion over the world, just as the
external corner stone, the sight of which suggested the figure,
was at the time a corner stone only in idea: there elapsed
many a long year, and the work went on through many pain
ful hindrances before the temple was ended, and the corner
stone became such in reality. Perhaps at bottom there is an
allusion to a contest which had taken place between the build
ers of the temple (comp. Ezr. iii. 10, " And the builders laid
the foundation of the temple,") and the priests, in reference to
the choice of the corner stone, and in which the theological
principles of the latter had gained the victory over the worldly
views of the former. Tft£T\ *^N^» the (figurative) head of the
corner, the main stone of the corner, is always the stone usually
termed by us the corner stone (comp. Job xxxviii. 6) which is
also in other passages used as a figure of royalty, comp. the
Christol. at Zech. x. 4. The scriptures know nothing of a top-
stone. Zech. x. 4 is to be translated, " Who art thou, 0 great
mountain, before Zerubbabel? Become a plain! And he has
brought out (at the laying the foundation stone of the temple,
as the following context shows), the main-stone under the re
peated shouting (of angels) : grace, grace to it !" — The lifting
up of the church from the dust of humiliation to dominion over
all the nations of the world, ver. 23, is infinitely more wonder
ful than any wonders usually so called, which occupy the fore
ground only for the blind. — The Lord has made the day, ver. 24,
because by his salvation he has given occasion to this festive
meeting, has brought about the possibility of laying the foun
dation-stone of the temple. — It is evident from Neh. i 1 1, that

382 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
we have before us in ver. 25 the formula made use of in im
ploring the divine blessing on important undertakings. In
later times, this formula was undoubtedly made use of at the
Feast of Tabernacles. But no inference can be drawn from
this later use as to the origin of the expression. — In ver. 26
the connection usually adopted is, " blessed is he who cometh
in the name of the Lord," i. e., under the protecting care of
him who has rendered himself glorious by his deeds. But
that the connection ought rather to be " blessed in the name
of the Lord is he who cometh" is evident, besides the ac
cents (comp. on these Dachsel in the Bibl. accent.), from the
corresponding expression " from the house of the Lord," " the
house of righteousness," ver. 19, the fountain and the treasury
of all blessing, but above all from the phrase, " to bless in the
name of the Lord" — the name of the Lord, his historically
manifested glory, the fountain of blessing — a phrase which is
one of constant occurrence, comp. Deut. xxi. 5, Num. vi. 27,
2 Sam. vi. 1 8, Ps. cxxix. 8. The expression " who cometh,"1
needs no epithet or additional clause. It refers to ver. 1 9 and
20, where the discourse had been simply of coming. There is.
not the least necessity in the verse before us to apply it to a
separate chorus of priests. The priests and the Levites had
the first part in all the singing; and such formulae of blessing
were then uttered also by the people, comp. Ps. cxxix. 8, Ruth
ii. 4; the Israelites were far less high-church than is generally
imagined. — The sense of the 27th verse is this : " Jehovah is
God in the full sense of the word, and he has really shown this
by bestowing salvation upon us his people, let us therefore do
our part and show our gratitude to him by our offerings." The
relation of the two clauses to each other is precisely the same
as that of " thou art my God," and " I will praise thee (there
fore I will)" in ver. 28. The expression " he shone," or " he
enlightened us," does not allude to the Mosaic blessing, Num.
vi. 25 — in this case the "countenance" would not be wanting
— but to Ex. xiii. 21 : " and the Lord went before them in a
pillar of cloud to guide them in the way, and by night in a
pillar of fire tb shine or to shine upon them," QTlh "PNilS)
comp. xiv. 20, Neh. ix. 12). The expression, therefore, is equi-
1 The designation of the Messiah S Igxlfiertis was not taken from the passage
before us, but from Mai. iii. 1, compare the Christol. 3, p. 468.

PSALM CXVIII. VER. 19 — 28. 383
valent to " he hath shone upon us during the night of our
misery, as he did formerly during the natural night in the
march through the wilderness. In the second clause the
" feast " stands instead of the " feast-offering." The jpi is
used in this way of the sacrifices of feast in Ex. xxiii. 18, "to
eat the feast," in 2 Chron. xxx. 22, -j-yi*^, is used instead of " the
flesh of the feast-offering." In Deut. xvi. 2, the " passover "
denotes the " sacrifice of the passover;" and in the New Testa
ment, " to eat the passover," is used of the eating not merely of
the paschal lamb, but also of the other paschal offerings, Jo. xviii.
28. " To the horns of the altar," is " till they be sacrificed.''
The horns of the altar are named because they were sprinkled
with the blood of the sacrifices. Luther's translation, " adorn
the feast with green boughs even to the horns of the altar,"
has found defenders even in recent times. But it must be
rejected for the following reasons. 1. The qij-qjj never signi
fies " boughs." This sense has been altogether incorrectly as
sumed in Ez. xix. 11, xxxi 3, 10, 14; comp. against this view
the Christol. 3, p. 305, and Havernick on his commentary.
2. The whole phrase qij-QJH "IDN occurs in Jud. xv. 13, xvi.
11, Ez. iii. 25, in the sense of "to bind with cords." 3. The
horns of the altar, in whicli the altar as it were culminated, as
the horn of the beast is strength and ornament, are constantly
mentioned in connection with the blood of the victims sprinkled
upon them. 4. The " I will praise and I will exalt," in ver, 28,
stands in the same relation to " bind, &c," exactly as in Ps.
cxvi. 17, "I will call upon the name of the Lord," does to " I
will bring to thee offerings of praise," " I will pay my vows to
the Lord," Ps. cxvi. 18 is exactly parallel to the second clause.
— Ver. 28 is from Ex. xv. 2, comp. at ver. 14.
Ver. 29. Praise the Lord, because he is good, for Ms mercy
endureth for ever. — Luther : " Thus it is that we are wont to
begin again good songs after we have sung them through,
especially if we have sung them with pleasure and love."
Our Psalm concludes what is usually called the great Hallel,
which consists of Ps. cxiii. -cxviii, and which was sung at all
the feasts, especially, at the Passover and the feast of Taber
nacles; — a practice which appears to have been followed by our
Lord with his disciples, Matt. xxvi. 30, and which testifies to
the deep impression which these Psalms must have made on the

384 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
people at the time when they were originally composed. This
practice is deserving of our notice in so far as it must have been
based upon a perception of the connection subsisting among
these Psalms,

PSALM CXIX.
The chief song of the feast, the proper dedication song, fol
lowed the decade which served as it were as an Introduction to
it. A children's sermon forms the conclusion of the dodecade,
(comp. ver. 9), an instruction with which the people were dis
missed, as they entered upon this new period of their history.
Every misfortune, under which they were in part still sighing,
had proceeded from their departure from the word of God;
faithfulness, therefore, towards the word of God, in deed and
in hope, is exhibited as the royal road of salvation.
According to the remark of the Massorites, ver. 122 is the
only one in which no mention whatever is made of any one of
the names of the word of God. The praise of this word, the
assertion that it is the infinitely sure way of salvation, and the
only comfort in suffering, the determination to be faithful to
God's word and law, prayer for the spiritual understanding of
the law and for strength to fulfil it, and supplications for the
salvation promised in it, form the contents of this Psalm.
That the Psalm consists of a collection of individual sayings,
and that there is no room for attempting to discover any con
nection, or to trace any consecutive train of thought, is evident
a priori from the formal arrangement. This is strictly alpha
betical throughout; so much so, that to each of the twenty-two
letters of the alphabet there are assigned eight verses, each of
which begins with the same letter. In accordance with this
division into twenty-two parts, the name Jehovah occurs
twenty-two times, — exactly the same number as in the preced
ing Psalm. The Psalm, according to this its arrangement, is
not intended to be read straight forward; if this be done, its want
of connection will scarcely fail to be irksome, even to those
whose heart is in its right place in regard to the word of God,
as praised by the Psalmist; it ought to be used something in
the same way in which we use the portions and the doctrinal
texts from the Moravian Brethren.

PSALM CXIX. 385
The national reference of the Psalm (comp. at Ps. cxii.
2), appears from ver. 23, 46, 161, according to which princes
take counsel against the Psalmist and persecute him, and he
is resolved to speak before kings of the testimonies of God;
from ver. 87th, where he complains that he is nearly destroyed
in the land, comp. Ps. cxv. 14; from ver. 44th, where he pro
mises that he will always and eternally observe the law of
God. The manifold references, also, which it contains to the
great national deliverances of ancient times, for example ver.
52, lead us to look upon it as bearing a national character. — If
we regard the national import of the Psalm as fixed, we must
also consider large portions of it which appear, at first sight,
to be declarative, viz., the oft-repeated affirmations about zeal
in following the law, to bear in reality a hortatory character.
The situation is entirely the same as that in the eight preced
ing Psalms. The beginning of deliverance is already present,
ver. 26, 32, 50, 65, 93, still it is only the beginning: the
Psalmist always finds himself still in death; comp. for example,
ver. 17, 25, 40. The church of God is still few in number,
ver. 87, it is still severely oppressed by " the proud," the haughty
heathen world, for example, ver. 50, and the reproach whicli
lies upon it is dreadful, ver. 39. The tone of the Psalm, like
the situation, is common to it with the eight preceding Psalms.
It is that of soft quiet melancholy comforted by God.
The Psalm may be recognised, throughout its extent, as being
the conclusion of one great whole. It not only possesses the al
phabetical arrangement in common with the Introduction of the
Collection, Ps. cxi. cxii, but it is also nearly related to it in
thought. In that Introduction, also, praise is bestowed upon
the salvation of those who observe the commandments of God.
There are, besides, several points of contact, in individual ex
pressions, with Ps. cxi-cxviii.
A characteristic feature of our Psalm is the deep conviction
that we have nothing to do with human strength in keeping
the commandments of God, but that God alone must create
the will and the power to perform. The church of God had
been convinced of this from the beginning; comp. for example,
Ps. xc, xix., li. And the circumstances of the people explain
the fact that such efforts are made to bring it prominently for
ward in this Psalm. A sense of need of external deliverance
VOL. III. 2 c

386 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
is accompanied, in the case of the well-disposed, by a sense of
need ot internal salvation; the one goes hand in hand with the
other: the cross is the teacher of humility.

Ver. 1-8. — Ver. 1. Blessed are they who live blamelessly, who
walk in the law of the Lord. Ver. 2. Blessed are they who keep
his testimonies, who seek Mm with the whole heart. Ver. 3. Who
also do no unrighteousness, walk in his ways. Ver. 4. Thou hast
appointed thy commandments, that we may keep them carefully.
Ver. 5. Oh that my ways were confirmed to observe thy com
mandments. Ver. 6. Then shall I not be ashamed when I regard
all thine ordinances. Ver. 7. I will praise thee in uprightness
of heart, when I learn the laws of thy righteousness. Ver. 8.
Thy commandments I will keep; forsake me not too much. — In
reference to " confirmed," in ver. 5, comp. at Ps. li. 10, Ixxviii.
37. — " To be ashamed," in ver. 6, is to be disappointed in the
hope of salvation. — In ver. 7, the sense is: I will praise thee
not superficially, or like the hypocrites, but from the bottom of
my heart, when I learn by thy grace thy law, comp. " teach me
thy commandments," in ver. 12, 26. — Before the second clause
of ver. 8 we are to suppose a "therefore" put in. The prayer
is that of one who finds himself in a very desolate condition.
In the case of the man who faithfully follows the command
ments of God such a condition cannot be ajpermanent one.
Ver. 9—16. — Ver. 9. By what shall a young man keep clean
his way ? By conducting himself according to thy word. Ver.
] 0. With my whole heart I seek thee, let me not wander from
thy ordinances. Ver. 11. In my heart I keep thy word, in order
that I may not sin against thee. Ver. 12. Blessed be thou, 0
Lord, teach me thy commandments. Ver. 13. With my lips I
recount all the judgments of thy mouth. Ver. 14. / rejoice in
the way of thy testimonies more than in all riches. Ver. 15. I
will meditate upon thy commandments and look to thy ways.
Ver. 16. / delight in thy commandments; forget not thy word. —
The keeping clean in ver. 9 stands opposed to the pollution of sin,
which covers those young men who give themselves up to their
lusts. At the -ifttt? we must supply " way," when he takes heed
to it; or it stands absolutely in the sense of " to take heed to
himself." — On ver. 11, Amyr.: "For this is the only antidote
by which we can protect ourselves against the corruption of

PSALM CXIX. VER. 17—24. 387
our nature." — The antecedent doxology in ver. 12 contains the
basis of the following prayer: 0 Lord, thou who art so abun
dant in power and in grace towards thine own.— On ver. 13
comp. Deut. vi. 7. Where the word of God is really in the
heart it will also he found on the lips. — The way of thy testi
monies, in ver. 14, is, according to ver. 27, the manner of life
prescribed by the commandments of God. — Thy paths, ver. 15,
those prescribed by thee and well-pleasing to thee.
Ver. 17-24. — Ver. 17. Give life to thy servant, so will I keep
thy words. Ver. 18. Open my eyes that I may see the wonders
in thy law. Ver. 19. / am a stranger on the earth, hide not
from me thy commandments. Ver. 20. My soul is broken from
longing after thy judgments at all times. Ver. 21. Thou dost
rebuke the proud, the accursed ones, who wander from thy
ordinances. Ver. 22. Turn away from me reproach and con
tempt, because I keep thy testimonies. Ver. 23. Princes also
sit; they speak against me; thy servant meditateth upon thy
commandments. Ver. 24. Thy testimonies are ever my delight,
my counsellors. — As the bl2%> ver- ^ ?, 01dj signifies " to give as
a gift," (comp. at Ps. vii. 4), the i-fUN must be the thing given,
and must stand as a noun : I may live = life. It is the pre
servation of the national existence of the people that is meant,
comp. ver. 25, 77. — "The wonders out of thy law," ver. 18, are
those proceeding out of it for the enlightened eye, those
which it perceives in it. Even the simple practical truths of
the law are wonders; and it is on these assuredly that the
Psalmist, in the first instance, thinks, according to the whole
simply practical import of the Psalm. Even these lie beyond
the sphere of natural intellect, which cannot be considered as
their birth-place, for example, " Thou shalt love the Lord with
all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and
thy neighbour as thyself." — On ver. 19 Luther is short and
good : " I have no inheritance except thy word, therefore for
sake me not." Pilgrimage is a figurative term, denoting help
lessness and misery, comp., for example, Ps., xxxix. 12. The
following of the commandment is for Israel, in these circum
stances, the only means of deliverance. — That, in ver. 20,
D^tODXWD 1S n°t judgments in the sense of the commandments
of God, but his righteous deeds (comp. ver. 39, and especially
ver. 52), is evident from the connection with what follows.

388 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
Even the being broken, which leads to the idea of a very pain
ful desire after a distant good, does not suit the commandments.
— Ver. 21 refers to the judgments of God in ancient times upon
the proud heathen world, for example upon Pharaoh; comp.
Ps. ix. 5. Under " Thou dost rebuke," there lies concealed a
" rebuke them now," comp. ver. 22. The accursed — whoever
does not obey the law of God stands under the curse, comp.
Deut. xxvii. 26, Gal. iii. 10.— That the ^ in ver. 22, is the
imperat. of ^^, to roll away, is obvious from the literal allusion
to Jos. v. 9: as was once the reproach of Egypt. — Thy servant
meditates upon thy commandments, ver. 23, and has in that
love to them to which salvation is promised a firm shield against
all the assaults of the whole world. The princes are the chief
tains of the neighbouring nations wLo published abroad every
thing to injure Israel. — The " even, in ver. 24, is appended to
" meditates." They are my counsellors, — they stand to me in
the place of counsellors, I am better advised by them than if I
had the best counsellors and allies, — in opposition to the de
liberations of the princes in ver. 23.
Ver. 25-32. — Ver. 25. My soul cleaveth to the dust; quicken me
according to thy word. Ver. 26. / have detailed my ways, and
thou didst hear me, teach me thy precepts. Ver. 27. Teach me the
way of thy commandments, and I will meditate upon thy wonders.
Ver. 28. My soul weeps for grief ; raise me up according to thy
word. Ver. 29. The, way of lies remove far from me, and grant
me graciously thy law. Ver. 30. The way of faithfulness I have
chosen, thy judgments I lay before me. Ver. 31. I adhere to thy
testimonies, 0 Lord, let me not be put to shame. Ver. 32. The
way of thy commandments I will run, for thou enlargest my
heart. — The first clause of ver. 25 is from Ps. xliv. 25. — The
sense of ver. 26 is, as is manifest on comparing ver. 32: I
brought my trouble to thee, and thou didst hear me (comp. Ps.
cxviii. 5 : " Out of my distress I cried unto the Lord, the Lord
answered me in a wide place," ver. 21), teach me now thy com
mandments, in order that, by my obedience, I may show my
gratitude. The ways are the concerns, the case. — The prayer
and the promise, in ver. 27, depend upon the common ground
of the most profound reverence for the divine law and of the
desire hence arising to penetrate into its depths. The way of
the commandments of God is the manner of life prescribed by

PSALM CXIX. VER. 33— -40. 389
them. On " thy wonders" comp. ver. 18. — For grief, ver. 28,
on account of the many sufferings to which I am exposed in
spite of my sincere adherence to thy law. According to thy
word, — the promise which thou hast given to thy own people.
— The way of lies, in ver. 29, is, as is evident from its opposite,
the way of faithfulness, the way of faithless apostacy and co
venant-breaking. Eor the people of the Lord, who have vowed
faithfulness to him, every act of apostacy is a lie. The opposite
is expressed in the second clause: "and give me thy law."
The -ppi with a double accusative is: to favour any one with
anything, to give him anything. — The rr^TQS^j ver- '^; ^s always
faithfulness, never truth. Thy judgments I have laid down, — as
the mark and rule of all my actions. — The sense of ver. 32 is:
thankful for thy deliverance, I will be careful to follow thy com
mandments; comp., as really parallel, ver. 26. Thou erilargest
my heart is, " Thou makest me glad by thy salvation" (comp.
Ps. cxviii. 5, and ver. 45 here), in opposition to the former
straitness and trouble, Ps. cxvi. 3.
Ver. 33-40. — Ver. 33. Teach me, 0 Lord, the way of thy com
mandments, and I shall keep them even to the end. Ver. 34.
Instruct me and I shall keep thy law, and observe it with my
whole heart. Ver. 35. Guide me in the path of thy precepts, for
I delight in it. Ver. 36. Incline my heart to thy testimonies and
not to gain. Ver. 37. Turn thou away my eyes that I may not
see deceit, quicken me in thy way. Ver. 38. Fulfil to thy servant
thy word which is to thy fear. Ver. 39. Turn away my reproach
which I fear, for thy judgments are good. Ver. 40. Behold I
long after thy commandments, through thy righteousness quicken
me. — In ver. 33 and 34, the relation of the prayers and the
resolutions is the same as in ver. 27. The ypy stands adverb-
ally as in ver. 112. — Ver. 36: and mayest thou not incline it, —
as thou dost to the ungodly, whom thou givest over to the power
of their passions as a punishment for sinful indulgence (comp.
Rom. i 24), — to gain.- — Deceit, ver. 37, is all that in which
salvation is sought apart from God, idols, human power, &c;
comp. Ps. lx. 11, xxxi. 6, xl. 4, lxii. 9. May all this make as
little impression upon the Psalmist as if he saw it not. He is
determined to obtain salvation only in the ways of God, by faith
fulness to his commandment. Quicken me, out of the death of
misery to which I am still given over; comp. ver. ] 7, 25, 40, 50,

390 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
Ps. cxvi. 3. — Which is to thy fear, i. e., which is to those who
fear thee; comp. Gen. xviii. 19; 1 Kings ii. 4, viii. 25. — Tne
reproach is the object of the/ear, ver. 39, in so far as, by its great
ness, it filled the Psalmist with the apprehension that he would
come to a bad end ; comp. Job ix. 28. For thy judgments are
good, not evil, and the time must therefore be at hand when
they shall be turned away from thy church and turned upon
the world. — " Therefore" is to be understood before the second
clause of ver. 40. The desire after the commandments of God
is the distinguishing mark of the righteous, and the pledge of
salvation. Ver. 41-48. — Ver. 41. May thy tender mercies come to me,
0 Lord, thy salvation according to thy word. Ver. 42. Give me
an answer for those who reproach me, for I trust in thy word.
Ver. 43. And take not true discourse altogether away from my
mouth, for I wait on thy judgments. Ver. 44. And 1 will ob
serve thy law continually, always, and eternally. Ver. 45. And
I shall walk in a wide space, for I seek thy commandments.
Ver. 46. And I will speak of thy testimonies before kings, and
not be ashamed. Ver. 47. And I delight in thy commandments
which I love. Ver. 48. And I lift up my hands to thy precepts
which I love; and I meditate upon thy law. — God, by his gift
of salvation, gives an answer for those who reproach; for the
want of salvation is the object of the reproach. — True discourse,
ver. 43, a well-grounded answer to the reproaching foes. God
takes this away when he does not permit his salvation to fail to
appear. — The lifting up of the hands, ver. 48, symbolizes the
lifting up of the heart; comp. at Ps. xxviii. 2.
Ver. 49-56. — Ver. 49. Remember to thy servant thy word, be
cause thou hast caused me to hope. Ver. 50. This is my con
solation in my misery, that thy word hath quickened me. Ver.
51. The proud hold me greatly in derision, I turn not aside from
thy law. Ver. 52. I remember thy judgments from eternity, 0
Lord, and shall be comforted. Ver. 53. Wrath seizes me because
of the wicked who forsake thy law. Ver. 54. Thy laws are my
song in the house of my pilgrimage. Ver. 55. I remember thy
name during the night, 0 Lord, and observe thy law. Ver. 56.
This I have, that I observe thy precepts. The -yy\ -^f, in ver.
49, is exactly the same as our phrase to keep one's word. The
TlPN h$> in the sense of " because," occurs in Deut. xxix. 24,

PSALM CXIX. VER. 57—64. 391
2 Sam. iii. 30. The translation, " on which thou hast caused
me to hope," has long since been set aside by the remark that,
in this case, the words would have been y,^ -*ty'N- — I*1 ver-
50, the quickening is, as always in our Psalm, to be understood
of external restoration. And as, according to other passages,
the beginning of the quickening and of the salvation was al
ready present, ver. 93, 26, 32, 65, there is no reason for trans
lating " he shall quicken," instead of " has quickened." What
the word has already done, is to the miserable a pledge of what it
shall yet do. — The object of the contempt of the proud, ver. 51,
that is, of the haughty heathen world surrounding Israel, is the
contrast between the reality and the idea, the apparently utterly
visionary and foolish expectation of the judgment and of the
gracious interposition, with which the souls of the Israelites
were filled; comp. ver. 42. The Israelites, however, did not
permit themselves to be driven away by this reproach, however
well-grounded to natural reason it might appear to be, from
their faith and their God ; they were not seduced to turn aside
from his law. — Israel takes refuge in the past from the present,
ver. 52. The glorious judgments of God during the entire long-
course of history, which are just as many gracious interpositions,
afford him a pledge that his God, at his own time, will again
come out of his concealment, and that the proper relation of the
kingdom of God to the world shall be restored. On nD}?7T>
violent anger, in ver. 53, comp. at Ps. xi. 6. — Thy command
ments, ver. 54, with the promises annexed in them to obedience,
are my song, the object of joyful praise, such as is found in the
Psalm before us, in the house of my pilgrimage, the house where
I as a pilgrim dwell, i. e., in the condition of helplessness and
misery in which I at present find myself; comp. on the figure
of pilgrimage Ps. xxxix. 12. — I remember during the night, ver.
55, to which the pain is nearly allied, and in which it feels itself
in its element, and reaches its greatest height, thy name, thy
glorious deeds in the past, ver. 52, and observe thy law, full of
hope that thy name shall again flourish. — This is to me, ver.
56, this I have, and in it the hope of salvation ; comp. Deut.
vi. 25.
Ver. 57-64. — Ver. 57. The Lord is my portion, I say that I
will keep, thy words. Ver. 58. i" entreat thee with my whole heart:
be gracious to me according to thy word. Ver. 59. / considered

3,92 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
my ways, and turned my. feet to thy testimonies, Ver. 60. / make
haste and delay not to keep thy precepts. Ver. 61. The snares of
the wicked surround me, I forget not thy law. Ver. 62. At mid
night I rise to praise thee because of the judgments of thy righteous
ness. Ver. 63. / am a companion to those who fear thee and keep
thy commandments. Ver. 64. The earth is full of thy mercy,
0 Lord, teach me thy commandments. — That we must translate,
in ver. 57, "the Lord is my portion," or even "0 Lord my
portion," (not: I say, 0 Lord, this shall be my portion that I
keep thy commandments), is evident, besides the accents (comp.
Dachsel in the Bibl. accent.), from Ps. xvi 5, lxxiii. 26; it is
also evident, from comparing these passages, that the sense is :
the Lord is my helper and the author of my salvation. This
conviction forms an important reason for resolving to keep the
commandments of God. On qijej ft^n* t° supplicate, ver. 58,
comp. at Ps. xiv. 12. — On ver. 59 comp. ver. 26, 67. The
punishment of the captivity led the people to repentance. — At
midnight, ver. 62, when the Lord went out among the Egyptians,
Ex. xi. 4, xii. 29, to which passages also Job xxxiv. 20 alludes.
The QitOQ^ft is not as in ver. 7, but as in ver. 20, 52. — A com
panion, ver. 63, a sharer with them in their efforts, comp. Ps.
xvi. 3. All who fear thee, viz., the pious men who lived in
past ages, Mai. iii. 4. At ver. 64, comp. ver. 1 2, &c. Do thou
of whose mercy the earth is full, show mercy to me, &c.
Ver. 65-72. — Ver. 65. Thou didst good to thy servant, 0 Lord,
according to thy word. Ver. 66. Teach me good understanding
and insight, for I believe in thy commandments. Ver. 67. Before
I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep thy word. Ver. 68.
Thou art good and dost good, teach me thy commandments. Ver.
69. The proud devise lies against me, I observe with my whole
heart thy commandments. Ver. 70. Their heart is coarse as fat,
I delight in thy law. Ver. 71. It is good for me that I have
been humbled, so that I may learn thy commandments. Ver. 72.
The law of thy mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and
silver. — The good done in ver. 65, is the deliverance from cap
tivity, comp. ver. 26, 32, 50. — On y^, good, comp. at Ps. xxvii
13, xxxi. 19. We are to suppose added at "teach me:" by
disclosing to me thy law, and writing it on my heart; comp.
ver. 12, 64, 68, where the corresponding expression is: teach
me thy commandments. — Ver. 67 refers to the revolution which

PSALM CXIX. VER. 73—80. 393
had taken place in the minds of the people, in consequence of
the captivity, comp. ver. 71, 75, and at the ijyiy, Ps. cxvi. 10.
The )TV2N was used of the commandments at ver. 11. — On ver.
68 comp. ver. 12, 64. — Lies, ver. 69, such as the charges of
sedition mentioned in Ezr. iv. The keeping of the command
ments of God, is introduced as the protection against the in
jurious consequences of slander. More than fat, ver. 70, as a
description of spiritual insensibility, hardness, and stupidity,
comp. at Ps. xvii. 10, lxxiii. 7. On tho second clause comp.
ver. 16, 47.
Ver. 73-80. — Ver. 73. Thy hands have made me and fashion
ed me, teach me, so that I learn thy commandments. Ver. 74.
Those who fear thee shall see me and rejoice, for I wait upon thy word.
Ver. 75. / know, O Lord, that thy judgments are right, and that
in faithfulness thou hast afflicted me. Ver. 76. Let thy mercy
comfort me, according to thy word to thy servant. Ver. 77. Lei
thy compassion come to me, so that I may live, for thy law is my
joy. Ver. 78. May the proud be ashamed, for with lie's they
afflict me, 1 meditate upon thy commandments. Ver. 79. Those
who fear thee shall return to me, and those who know thy testi
monies. Ver. 80. May my heart be blameless in thy command
ments, that I may not be ashamed. — On ver. 73 compare the
fundamental passage, Deut. xxxii. 6. Israel is indebted to
God for his whole external and internal existence, as it were
for his body and soul. — The sense of ver. 74, is, as appears from
comparing the parallel passages, Ps. v. 11, xxxiv. 2, Iii 6, "may
those who fear thee obtain occasion for joy by my prosperous
fortune." For I wait upon thy word, and therefore cannot be
put to shame. — Ver. 75 alludes to Deut. xxxii. 4 (comp. ver.
73), where God is designated as faithful even in reference to
the sufferings of his people. Hence n21CK *s the nomin. " as
faithfulness," that is, without in the smallest degree violating
faithfulness. The knowledge which the church here expresses
depends upon conviction of sin. The divine government in
reference to Israel's sufferings is in Deut. xxxii. based upon
Israel's sinfulness. — On ver. 77 comp. ver. J 7. — At ver. 78 w%e
are to suppose added: and cannot therefore be put to shame,
have therein the assurance of salvation, comp. ver. 80. — Those
who fear thee shall return to me, ver. 79, like the friends of Job,
who had been perplexed at him, and returned to him when

394 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
God restored him. The offence which the fate of the church
had caused to the fear of God shall disappear on the return of
the church's salvation. — In thy commandments, ver. 80, in re
ference to them. So that I may not be ashamed, disappointed
in my hope of salvation.
Ver. 81-88. — Ver. 81. My soul thirsteth for thy word, I wait
for thy salvation. Ver. 82. Mine eyes long after thy word, and
I say: when wilt thou comfort me. Ver. 83. For I am like a
bottle in the smoke, I forget not thy commandments. Ver. 84.
How many are the days of thy servant? when wilt thou execute
judgment upon my persecutors? Ver. 85. The proud have dug
pits for me, who are not according to thy law. Ver. 86. All thy
commandments are faithfulness, with lies they persecute me, help
me. Ver. 87. They have almost destroyed me in the land, and I
forsake not thy precepts. Ver. 88. A ccording to thy mercy quicken
me, I will keep the testimony of thy mouth. — After thy word, ver.
82, after the fulfilment of thy promise. What the smoke is for
the bottle, which is hung in the smoke, an unsuitable position
for it, and by which it is destroyed and rendered useless, that suf
fering is for the church. Being completely exhausted by it, she
may well hope that the Lord will soon have mercy upon her,
when the condition of salvation, zeal in obeying the law, exists
in her, and has not been removed, but has been advanced by her
sufferings. — In ver. 84 the prayer for judgment upon the ene
mies, is grounded upon the brevity of the space that is left for
the divine recompense, comp. Ps. xxxix. 13. How narrow are
the boundaries by which the existence of an individual, of a
generation is shut up ! — In ver. 86, the commandments come
into notice in reference to those promises appended to them,
which never deceive.— They have almost destroyed me in the land,
ver. 87, as Israel, of whom only a very small remnant now is
left, formerly destroyed the Canaanites, 2 Chron. viii. 8. The
translation, " to the ground," arose merely from not observing
the national reference. The y^S is just as in ver. 19.
Ver. 89-96. — Ver. 89. Eternal art thou, 0 Lord, thy word
stands in heaven. Ver. 90. From generation to generation thy
faithfulness endures, thou didst establish the earth and it stood.
Ver. 91. For thy judgments they still stand to-day, for everything
must serve thee. Ver. 92. If thy law were not my joy I would
have perished in my affliction. Ver. 93. / shall not forget thy

PSALM CXIX. VER. 97 — 104. 395
commandments for ever, for by them thou didst quicken me. Ver.
94. I am thine, help me, for I seek thy commandments. 'Ver. 95.
The wicked wait upon me to annihilate me, I observe thy testimonies.
Ver. 9 6. / see an end of all perfection, thy commandment is ex
ceedingly broad. — Thy word stands, as it were in heaven, ver. 89, is
equally eternal with it, which was erected by thee, and received
an unchangeable existence, comp. Ps. Ixxxix. 2. — And it stood,
ver. 90, comp. Ps. xxxiii. 9, in proof of thy glory, and, at the
same time, of thy eternal faithfulness. — The subject in ver. 91,
a. is the heavens, ver. 89, and the earth, ver. 90. They stand
for the judgments of God, ready to execute these, as obedient
servants; as in the days of old fire frequently came down from
heaven, which consumed the adversaries, and hail which slew
the enemies of Israel and destroyed their produce. The trans
lation, "to thy arrangements, subject to them, they stand even
to-day," has against it the standing use of Eiiant^Q in the Psalm
before us, which always means judgments. The translation " thy
arrangements stand even to-day," does not know how to begin
with the second clause. — Thy law, ver. 92, — with the promises
which are connected with true obedience. — By them, ver. 93,
in consequence of the promise appended to them. On " thou
didst quicken me," comp. ver. 26, 32, 50, 65. — In reference to i^j
Tip) ver. 95, comp. at Ps. lvi. 6. — Exceedingly broad, ver. 96,
in opposition to the narrow limits within which human perfec
tion is confined. The opposite " broad," shows that in the first
clause it is not an end as to time, but an end as to space that
is meant.
Ver. 97-104. — Ver. 97. How I love thy law. It is my medi
tation all the day. Ver. 98. Thy commandments make me wiser
than my enemies, for they remain eternally with me. Ver. 99. /
have more understanding than all my teachers, for thy testimonies
are my meditation. Ver. 100. I understand more than the an
cients, for I observe thy precepts. Ver. 101. I keep my feet from
all wicked ways, so that I keep thy words. Ver. 102. / deviate
not from thy judgments, because thou teachest me. Ver. 103. How
pleasant are thy words to my taste, more than honey to my mouth.
Ver. 1 04. From thy precepts I shall get understanding, therefore
I hate every lying way. — Than my enemies, ver. 98, — with all
their carnal sagacity and cunning, of which, in my simplicity, I
am destitute, Ps. cxvi. 6. They never find, with it all, the

396 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
way of salvation, to which obedience to the commandments of
God alone furnishes access. The commandments form one
complete whole ; thy commandments = thy law j-nin > bence
the explanation of the singular of the verb and the i^ij-f. For
they are eternally with me, and thus the pre-eminence in wisdom
over my enemies is secured to me. — The teachers in ver. 99, and
the ancients in ver. 1 00, appear as the depositories of natural
knowledge. The man who possesses this in the highest degree
stands infinitely below him to whom, in divine revelation, there
has been laid open the fountain of true knowledge. Luther:
" Antiquity is no help against stupidity, where it does not ac
cord with the commandments of God." — The teaching in ver.
102 is inward in its character, comp. ver. 33. — The discourse,
ver. 103, comprehends a series of individual precepts: hence
the explanation of the plural of the verb. It is evident from
ver. 147, and the fundamental passage, Ps. cxix. 10, that the
language does not refer to the promises but to the precepts,
comp. ver. 67.- — On " the way of lies," ver. 104, comp. at ver. 29.
Ver. 1 05-112. — -Ver. 105. Thy word is a lamp to my foot, and
a light to my way. Ver. 106. I did swear, and I will do it, to
observe the judgments of 'thy righteousness. Ver. 107. I am severely
humbled; 0 Lord, quicken me according to thy word. Ver. 108.
Let the free-will offerings of my mouth please thee, 0 Lord, and
teach me thy judgments. Ver. 109. My soul is continually in my
hand, and I forget not thy law. Ver. 1 10. The wicked lay snares
for me, but I deviate not from thy precepts. Ver. 111. Thy testi
monies I appropriate to myself for ever, for they are the joy of my
heart. Ver. 112. I incline my heart to do thy commandments,
eternally and without end. — I did swear, ver. 106, at Sinai and
in the fields of Moab. — The fountain for the oft-repeated,
" quicken me according to thy word," ver. 107, is, as appears
specially, Lev. xviii. 5 (comp. Deut. vi. 24), where life is pro
mised to the people if they would observe the commandments
and judgments of the Lord. — The prayers in ver. 108 are re
presented as spiritual prayer-offerings. Comp. Ps. 1. 14, 5. —
My soul is my hand, ver. ] 09, —we put into our hands what
we are resolved to give away (comp. Jud. xii. 3^ 1 Sam. xix. 5)
— therefore, my life is continually in danger. — The "^pj^ iQ ver-
111 is to take into possession. There is a reference to the passage
of the law, where the ^rft is use(l of occupancy of Canaan, for

PSALM CXIX. VER. 113 — 128. 397
example, Ex. xxiii. 30. The law is a possession of no less value
than the land flowing with milk and honey.
Ver. 113-120. — Ver. 113. I hate doubtful men, and I love thy
law. Ver. 1 14. My hiding place and my shield art thou, I wait
upon thy word. Ver. 115. Depart from me, ye evil doers, I will
keep the commandments of my God. Ver. 116. Uphold me accord
ing to thy word, that I may live, and let me not be ashamed of my
hope. Ver. 117. Stand by me, so that I shall be delivered, thus
shall I look continually to thy commandments. Ver. 118. Thou
easiest down all who wander from thy commandments, for lie is
their deceit. Ver. 119. As dross thou dost annihilate all the
tricked of the earth, therefore I love thy testimonies. Ver. 120. I
am afraid before thee, so that my skin shivers, and I dread thy
judgments. — Doubters, ver. 113, the n^Q a divided man, di%
hi-lv/jn, Ja. 1. 8. — Depart from me, ver. 115, is, " you can do
nothing with me because," &c, compare at Ps. vi. 8. — Lie is
their deceit, ver. 118, all their cunning and deceit, with which
they seek to destroy the godly, leads to nothing. — The judg
ments, in ver. 120, are the great judgments of the Lord in past
ages, comp. Hab. iii. 2: 0 Lord, I heard thy call (the call of
thy great judgments in the days of old), I was afraid." Joyful
hope goes hand in hand with fear.
Ver. 121—128. — Ver. 121. 1 practise justice and righteousness,
thou shalt not give me up to my oppressors. Ver. 122. Be surety
for thy servant, so that it may be well with him, let not the proud
oppress me. Ver. 123. Mine eyes long after thy salvation, and
after the word of thy righteousness. Ver. 124. Deal with thy
servant according to thy mercy, and teach me thy commandments.
Ver. 125. I am thy servant, instruct me and let me knoiothy testi
monies. Ver. 1 26. It is time for the Lord to do it, they break thy
law. Ver. 127. Therefore I love thy commandments more than
gold and fine gold. Ver. 128. Therefore I approve of every one
of thy commandments, I hate every way of lies. — For good, ver.
122, so that it may be well with him, comp. Deut. vi. 24, x. 13,
xxx. 9. — After the word of thy righteousness, ver. 123, the ful
filment of thy promise, which Thou, the Righteous One, who
givest to every one his own, salvation to him to whom it has
been promised, hast given. — Deal with thy servant, ver. 124:
" What ought to be done" lies concealed in " according to thy
mercy," comp. at Ps. cix. 21.— In ver. 126 the common transla-

398 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
tion is: it is time for the Lord to work. But this sense is not
ascertained. What the Lord has to do is left out. " They
break, thy law," by no means compels us to think of " the rebel
lious Jews." In Is. xxiv. 5, the transgression of the law and of
the commandments of God is laid to the charge of the inhabit
ants of the world, and represented as the ground of the judg
ments executed upon them, comp. Rom. ii. 12, ss. The law
has a general human basis; the book of Job makes it manifest
that this was clearly acknowledged under the Old Testament.
Here we are especially to think of the violation of the righteous
ness and love, commanded by God, in the conduct of the heathen
towards Israel. — Ver. 127 depends upon Ps. xix. 10. There
fore, because of the glory of thy law which had been so much
praised in the preceding parts of the Psalm. This general re
ference is more suitable to the character of the Psalm than the
special one to the preceding verse. — Ver. 128 is literally, " all
the precepts upon everything," or whatever they may concern,
all without exception, comp. Ez. xliv. 30, and also Num. viii. 16.
The connection makes it abundantly evident that the language
refers to the commandments of God. The expression rejects
eclecticism of every kind in reference to the word of God, in
accordance with Matt. v. 17-19.
Ver. 129-136. — Ver. 129. Thy testimonies are wonderful,
therefore my soul keeps them. Ver. 130. The opening up of thy
word gives light, it instructs the simple. Ver. 131. / open my
mouth, and pine, for I long after thy commandments. Ver. 132.
Turn to me and be gracious to me, as it is right for those who love
thy name. Ver. 133. Strengthen my footsteps by thy words, and
let no iniquity obtain dominion over me. , Ver. 1 34. Deliver me
from the Oppression of men, so will I keep thy commandments.
Ver. 135. .Let thy face shine upon thy servant, and teach me thy
commandments. Ver. 136. Mime eyes become brooks of water, be
cause they keep not thy law. — The opening up of the word of God,
ver. 130, is the explanation of the sense of the word imparted
by God through his Spirit, of which the Psalmist speaks so
often and so impressively. To the natural man the doors of the
word of God are shut. Those who love the name of God, God
in his historical glory, have a right to the manifestations of his
grace, ver. 1 32, not a human but a divine right, resting upon
the nature of God, as it is revealed in his word. It is evident

PSALM CXIX. VER. 137 — 144. 399
from ver. 134 a. that the language in ver. 133 b. refers to the
external dominion of unrighteousness, the oppression of enemies.
We must hence refer the strengthening of the footsteps in the first
clause to the external condition, comp. Ps. xl. 2. Through thy.
word = according to thy word, ver. 116, by thy faithfulness, in
virtue of thy promise. — On ver. 135 a. comp. Ps, lxxx. 3, 7. —
The first clause of ver. 136 is from Lam. iii. 48, compare Jer, ix.
17. We must translate: dissolved in water brooks, like water
brooks mine eyes come down, comp. Ew. § 281 e. The whole
clause after by is treated like a noun, as is the case in Is. liii.
9, on account of their not observing, because they do not observe,
namely, in tlieir conduct towards me ; comp. the passage already
referred to of Lam.: " because of the destroying of the daughter
of my people," comp. ver. 1 39.
Ver. 137-144. — Ver. 137. Just art thou, 0 Lord, and right
eous in thy judgments. Ver. 138. Thou hast prescribed thy testi
monies, that they are righteous and very faithful. Ver. 139. My
zeal consumes me, that my adversaries forget thy words. Ver. 140.
Thy word is very pure, and thy servant loves it. Ver. 141. 7 am
small and despised, I forget not thy precepts. Ver. 142. Thy
righteousness is an eternal righteousness, and thy law is truth.
Ver. 143. Trouble and oppression found me, thy commandments
are my joy. Ver. 144. Righteous are thy testimonies for ever, in
struct me that I may live. The -y^i in ver. 137 refers to the
Lord, according to the fundamental passage, Deut xxxii 4,
and the -pEQtyft is the accus. Ew. § 281 c. The testimonies in
ver. 138, as is obvious from the second clause, come into notice
according to the promise annexed to them, compare at ver. 86,
Ps. xciii. 5. Very faithful, so that they do not deceive those
who keep them. — On ver. 1 39 compare Ps. Ixix. 9. That they
forget, in tlieir conduct towards me. — Ver. 140 depends upon
Ps. xviii. 30. Thy word, according to promise and precept. —
Ver. 142 a. is equivalent to "thy righteousness endureth for
ever," comp. Ps. cxv. 16, "the heaven is heaven for the Lord."
The righteousness of God, the property according to which he
gives to every one his own, to his own people salvation (compare
Ps. cxi. 3), appears to outward appearance to be now dead.
But the Psalmist perceives in faith its eternal duration. Thy
law is true; it cannot therefore deceive as to its promises. — At
MSS m ver- 143 compare Ps. cxvi. 3. — Instruct me, ver. 144, —

400 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
in thy testimonies which do not feed those who observe them
with vain hopes, but bring to them a sure reward.
Ver. 145-152. — Ver. 145. I call with my whole heart; answer
me, 0 Lord, so shall I keep thy commandments. Ver. 146. I call
upon thee, help me, so shall I keep thy testimonies. Ver. 147. I
anticipate the dawning of the day, and cry, I wait for thy words.
Ver. 148. My eyes anticipate the night watches, that I may medi
tate upon thy word. Ver. 149. Hear my voice according to thy
mercy, 0 Lord, according to thy righteousness quicken me. Ver.
150. Those are near who hunt after wickedness, they are far from
thy law. Ver. 151. Thou art near, 0 Lord, and all thy com
mandments are truth. Ver. 152. Long ago I knew out of thy testi
monies that thou hast founded them for ever. — On Q-yp, to-anticipate,
comp. at Ps. xcv. 2. Great zeal in prayer is described in the
same way in Ps. lxxxviii. 13 : " But I cry to thee, 0 Lord, and
in the morning my prayer shall anticipate thee." The " thee"
is easily supplied from the connection; for it is to God that the
discourse is directed. The dawning is the dawning of the morn
ing. — The eyes of the Psalmist anticipate the night watches,
ver. 1 48, inasmuch as they are awake when the night watches
come; therefore the expression means, " The night watches find
me awake." Comp. Ps. Ixiii. 6, lxxvii. 4, Lam. ii. 1 9. — The
judgments of God, in ver. 149, are, those righteous principles
which are founded on his own nature, and revealed in his law,
according to which salvation must be the portion of the right
eous, destruction that of the wicked, comp. ver. 156, 175. —
They are far from thy law, ver. 150, the nearer they are to me,
the farther are they from the law. — Thy commandments, ver.
151, — with the promises which accompany them. — Long since,
ver. 152, from my first existence. The law itself proceeds
throughout on the supposition of its eternal obligation, as that
had been declared by the Lord. The formula, for example, is
one of constant occurrence: an eternal commandment for your
generations. V'er. ] 53—160. — Ver. 153. Behold my misery, and deliver me,
for I forget not thy law. Ver. 154. Fight my fight, and deliver
me, according to thy word quicken me. Ver. 155. Salvation is
far from the wicked, for they inquire not after thy commandments.
Ver. 156. Thy compassion is great, O Lord, according to thy

PSALM CXIX. VER. 161 — 176. 401
judgments quicken me. Ver. 157. Of my persecutors and opponents
there are many; I deviate not from thy testimonies. Ver. 158. /
behold the faithless, and am vexed, who keep not thy word. Ver.
159. Behold that I love thy commandments; 0 Lord, according to
thy mercy quicken me. Ver. 160. The sum of thy word is truth,
and every judgment of thy righteousness endureth for ever.  On
"fight my fight," comp. at Ps. xliii. 1. On " deliver me," Ps.
Ixix. IS. — According to thy judgments, ver. 156, comp. at ver.
149.— In ver. 158, the prayer that God would put an end to the
depressing sight stands in the back-ground. On -j^, at Ps.
xxv. 3. It is used here of faithlessness towards our neighbour;
apparently as in Is. xxi. 2, of the violation of special relations.
— The sum, ver. 160, the whole body, Luther: "Thy word is
nothing but truth."
Ver. 161—168. — Ver. 161. Princes persecute me without cause,
and my heart quakes before thy words. Ver. 162. i" rejoice over
thy word, as one who findeth -much spoil. Ver. 1 63. I hate lying
and feel horror at it, I love thy law. Ver. 1 64. Seven times
a-day I praise thee, because of the judgments of thy righteousness.
Ver. 165. Great peace have they who love thy law, and they find
nothing to offend them. Ver. 166. / hope in thy salvation, 0
Lord, and do thy commandments. Ver. 1 67. My soul holds thy
testimonies, and I love them very much. Ver. 168. / hold thy
commandments and thy testimonies, for all my ways are before thee.
— My heart quakes, ver. 161, with reverence, which excludes
fear, and goes hand in hand with joyful hope, comp. ver. 120.
The words are the glorious promises which the Lord gives to
his people and his threatenings against his enemies, comp., for
example, Deut xxxii. — On " lying," at ver. 1 63, comp. at ver.
29. — By the "judgments of the Lord," in ver. 1 60, we ought to
understand that both the righteous actions or judgments, and
his righteous sayings or his law, are meant, comp. ver. 62, 165.
— All my ways are before thee, ver. 168, — who art the right
eous recompenser and knowest them.
Ver. 169-176. — Ver. 169. Let my prayer come before thee,
Lord; according to thy word instruct me. Ver. 170. Let my
prayer come before thee: according to thy word deliver me. Ver.
171. My lips shall stream forth with thy praise, when thou teach-
est me thy commandments. Ver. 172. My tongue shall respond
VOL. III. 2 D

402 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
to thy word, for all tfiy commandments are righteousness. Ver.
173. Let thy hand help me, for I choose thy commandments.
Ver. 1 74. I long after thy salvation, 0 Lord, and thy law is my
delight. Ver. 1 75. Let my soul live and praise thee, and let thy
judgments help me. Ver. 176. I go astray like a lost sheep,
seek thy servant, for I forget not thy commandments. — In ver.
169, 170, the two prayers of the Psalmist, the one for strength
to fulfil the law, and the other for external deliverance, are in
separably connected together. The fulfilment of the first is
the basis of the fulfilment of the second, comp. Ps. xc. 1J-17.
According to thy word instruct me, — in accordance with thy
promise; ver. 25, 65, 107, as given for example in Deut. xxx.
6: " And the Lord circumcise thy heart, and the heart of thy
seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all
thy soul, that thou mayest live." — The ^i^pf, ver. 1 71, is to
cause to bubble up, Ps. xix. 2, Ixxviii. 2. — The j-jjy in ver. 172
has its usual sense, to respond, comp. Ps. cxlvii. 7. Every ex
pression in which we praise God, his word, or his works, is a
response. — Thy law, ver. 174, with its promises. — Thy judg
ments, ver. 175, comp. 149, 156. — The "going astray" in ver.
170 is a figurative expression denoting helplessness; or, the
sufferer appears under the figure of one who has gone astray.
A lost sheep is one which has escaped from the flock and the
shepherd, comp. Jer. 1. 6.

PSALM CXX.— CXXXIV.
OR THE PILGRIM BOOK.
These Psalms have much in common. The tone never rises
in any of them above a certain height, and descends very
speedily from that height when gained; they all bear the
character of simplicity ; with the exception of Ps. cxxxii, which
partakes the least of the peculiar characteristics of these poems,
they are all of short compass; in all of them, with the excep
tion of the Psalm above mentioned, the parallelism of the
clauses is little attended to; no one of these Psalms bears an

PSALM cxx. — cxxxiv. 403
individual character, they all refer to the whole church of God,1
with the exception, in some measure, of only Ps. cxxvii, which,
without being individual, places before us, in the first instance,
the particular members of the church, but which the collector
has applied also to the circumstances of the whole community.
Finally, all bear in the title the same name pfayryri *W> or
as it stands in the title of Ps. cxxi ryfoyrjy "VHf-
Five of these fifteen Psalms bear the name of the author at
their head, four that of David — viz., Ps.. cxxii, cxxiv., cxxxi,
cxxxiii, one that of Solomon, Ps. cxxvii., ten, on the other
hand, are nameless. The ten nameless Psalms again have a
certain peculiar impression stamped upon them, distinguishing
them from those above mentioned, all of which are connected
together by no common tie, but stand isolated from each other
All were sung when the people of God were placed in troublous
circumstances; all are suitable to the relations (these relations
come more particularly forward in some of them, especially in
Ps. cxx., cxxi., cxxv.) which existed after the deliverance from
the captivity, at the time when the building of the temple was
interrupted, and the contests with the Samaritans were carried
on. That Psalm cxxxiv., where mention is made of the house
of the Lord and the sanctuary,, must not be removed from the
circle of these relations, is obvious from the remarks which
were made at page 380 of this volume, (comp. vol. i, p. 484),
according to which even the tent which existed before the
erection of the first temple, and stood on its site, was called the
house of the Lord, and was considered as the sanctuary.
Further, all bear the character of subdued melancholy. The
fundamental thought in all is : the providence of God watching
over his church.2

1 Thus Lainpe : " The identity of the title demands that the subject of all tbe.
fifteen Psalms be conaidered aa the same; for it doea not permit us to doubt that
they have been brought together, and arranged agreeably to a certain plan. It
will at once be admitted that the condition of one peraon or place cannot be made
up of the various positions which alternately succeed each other. Sometimes also
it is not one person but a whole assembly that speaks, Ps. cxxii., cxxiii., cxxiv.,
&c. Hence we infer that these songs relate to the state of the universal church,
which is termed the Israel of God, Ps. cxxiv. 1, cxxv. 5, cxxviii. 6, cxxx. 8,
cxxxi. 3.
a Ibid. : " The general argument of theBe Psalms is the celebration of the

404 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
The title must be of importance in explaining the pecu
liarities which are common to all these fifteen Psalms. Be
fore, however, we can make any use of it we must determine
its import. This has been very decidedly ascertained. We
must, however, limit ourselves to the examination of those
opinions which have been most widely disseminated; we cannot
allow ourselves to enter upon the views of individuals. 1 . The
translation, " Step-Ps'alms" (Sept. aha.1 rZ>? amfiafauv, Vulg.
Psalms of degrees), has found many defenders : it is moreover
a very favourite one with Jewish expositors. The name of the
Psalms is thus supposed to be derived from their being appointed
to be sung on certain steps in the sanctuary, according to
several, on the fifteen steps between the court of the men and
the court of the women. This exposition is the one which is
in reality adopted by Luther, who translates: "a song in the high
choir." For that he did not, as Gesenius and others suppose,
after the example of Saadias, Gaon, and Abenesra, imagine that
an elevation of the voice was meant, is clear from his own words
in the introduction to these Psalms, where, after rejecting the
explanation of Lyra about the fifteen steps of the temple, on
each of which one of these Psalms was sung, he says, " I adopt
the simplest of all views, and maintain that these Psalms were
so named, because they were sung in a high place, in the high
choir by the Levites or priests  I consider that these
Psalms were sung not by the crowd of people who were in the
temple, but by some distinguished individuals who sung before
the rest ; they were therefore sung or at least begun from a
high place." Luther therefore adopts the idea that tyfoyfo de
notes the place where the Psalms were sung, but supposes that
place to have been not the steps themselves, but some high
place to which the ascent was by steps. No etymological ob
jection can be urged against the translation, " Step-Psalms."
The fact, however, that some of these Psalms, particularly Ps.
cxxi, cxxii., could not possibly have been sung in the temple,
is decisive against this view.
2. Several understand the title as denoting the peculiarity in
point of form of these Psalms. This view is in accordance with
faithfulnesa and the constancy of God in preserving his church in the midst of aii
the billows of temptation in the Sea of this world.

PSALM CXX.— CXXXIV. 405
the hypothesis started by Gesenius, and latterly defended by
him in his Thesaurus. He supposes that the title denotes a
certain step-rhythm which occurs in these Psalms, .the nature
of which he describes as follows: "that sometimes the last
clause of the verse, more frequently a part of it, carries forward
a thought or an expression into the following verse, where it
has another turn given to it, is expanded, or receives something
added to it." Thus, for example, Ps cxxi: " I direct my eyes
to the hills. From whence shall help come to me? My help
comes from the Lord, the creator of heaven and of earth,
.... He lets not thy feet slide, thy Keeper sleeps not. Be
hold the keeper of Israel sleeps not and slumbers not." The
hypothesis, however, is untenable. It is quite true indeed that
this Psalm shows something of the kind; but it is by no means
true that the series of Psalms is characterised by it throughout,
which, if the hypothesis were true, must have been the case.
We may compare, for example, Ps. cxxvii, cxxviii, cxxxi,
cxxxii, where nothing whatever of the kind occurs. It does not
occur even once throughout in any one of these Psalms; yea the
above-mentioned Psalm, cxxi., is the only one in which it is at
all prominent. The assertion of Gesenius that the term is
applied a potiori, irrespective of the fact that the appearances
are few in number and weak, is inadmissible on the ground
that every separate song bears the name of a song of the Maaloth.
Further, we saw that all these Psalms possess a number of
characteristic peculiarities in common. We are entitled to ex
pect that the title which is common to them all, should contain
the key to the explanation of this fact; and we must regard it
as a touchstone for the correctness of any explanation of the
title that it serves this end. According to this canon the
hypothesis in question must be rejected. The remaining pe
culiarities of the Psalms can by no means be considered as
flowing from the one which, according to it, is indicated in the
title. Next the circumstance that, pnbyob stands instead of
nhffln is cLuite decisive. This variation, which assuredly is
not accidental, shows in what way the more ambiguous genitive
in the other titles is to be interpreted; that "a Song of the
Maaloth" is equivalent to a Song for Maaloth. After these
decisive reasons, there is scarcely any -need for adding that the

406 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
explanation in question has nothing whatever to bear it out in
an etymological point of view, inasmuch as the assumed figura
tive use of- the jyfoyft nowhere occurs; and that the name
itself would not even be a suitable one, as it would lead us to
expect an ascending progress, a gradation, whereas it is merely
a repetition that exists.
3, The translation, " Pilgrim-Songs," or songs to be sung on
the journey to Jerusalem, has found very many supporters.
This translation, which occurs in Theodotion {aepa, rng ava^a-
aiw), and in Aq. and Symm. (l/s r&s ava^dsug) has the usus
loquendi entirely on its side. The verb ^py is the standing-
expression for the journey up to Jerusalem (which was con
sidered as the civil and religious metropolis), more on account
of its moral than on account of its physical height. The word
before us, ftbyfo *s use& itself of the journey to Jerusalem,
Ezra vii. 9. The title of Ps. xxx. is altogether analogous to
the title before us construed in this way: "A Song of the
dedication of the house," instead of "a Song intended to be
sung at the dedication of the house." The supporters of this
exposition are again divided into two parties.
(a.) The idea adopted "by Ewald is a very old one: that the
title points out those Psalms which were sung by Israel on the
way home from Babylon. This view is expressly given in the
titles of the old Syrian translation, and also by Chrysostom and '
Theodoret. The consideration, however, is altogether against
it, that the return from Babylon is never simply denoted a
n^y?2> a pilgrimage ; Ezr. vii. 9, whicli has been appealed to,
is not in favour of TVjyft being so used, but against it, for the
journey homeward of the exiles is not simply termed n^yQ,
but '^'Q'l'o nVi^Q' and even in Ezr. ii. ], j-foy is more fully
defined. This translation, moreover, does not sufficiently
justify the use of the plural. The explanation of this becomes
satisfactory only when the songs are considered as intended for
successive pilgrimages to Jerusalem. Farther, according to this
explanation, we must, without any good reason, affirm that the
titles of several of these Psalms, according to which, David and
Solomon are to be considered as their authors, give false infor
mation. It follows, at all events, from the titles, that the
collectors of the Canon had other views in regard to the design

PSALM cxx.— cxxxiv. 407
of these Psalms. In like manner, we must shut our ears to in
ternal reasons, according to which these Psalms really belong-
to David and Solomon as their authors, or at least to times pre
vious to the captivity. In this case also, it will be impossible
to explain the very marked difference to which we have already
adverted, between the nameless Psalms, and those which bear a
name, which, according to this hypothesis, must all be classed
together. Finally, even the nameless Psalms, considered in
themselves, by no means favour this hypothesis. Not one of
them refers to the circumstances of the returning captives.
And on the other hand, several of them, such as Ps. cxx.,
cxxvi, manifestly refer to the circumstances of the already-
settled new colony ; and it is the more difficult to separate the
rest from these circumstances, to which they all at least re
markably correspond, as they are all bound together into one
whole by their formal arrangement, and by their unity of
design, tone, and expression.
tb.) Other expositors seek the origin of the appellation in
the fact that these songs were sung by the pilgrims who went up
yearly to Jerusalem, at the great festivals. This explanation is
undoubtedly the correct one. The j-py la the usual expression
for these festival-journeys; comp. Ps. cxxii. 4, Ex. xxxiv. 24,
I Kings xii. 27, 28. The [yfoyrsn* the journeys to Jerusalem,
by way of pre-eminence, can only be those ordinary journeys
which were yearly repeated and prescribed in the law; comp.
Ps. cxxii. 4. All other journeys to Jerusalem would have
needed some expression added to define them. Further, the
oldest to all appearance of these pilgrim-songs, that, viz., which
was composed by David soon after the elevation of Zion to the
sanctuary, and at the commencement of the pilgrimages to it,
Ps. cxxii., contains two clauses explanatory of the ryyyyi2>
corresponding to the explanation of the ^i^t^Q in Ps. xxxii,
viz., "we will go to the house of the Lord," in ver. 1, and "to
which the tribes go up," •foy in ver. 4. The circumstance,
moreover, that some of these Psalms have, in accordance with
the most manifest internal marks, been used for this purpose,
is quite decisive. This is the case with Ps. cxxi., which, accord
ing to ver. 1, was designed to be sung in view of the mountains
of Jerusalem, and is manifestly an evening song for the sacred

408 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
band of pilgrims, to be sung in the last night watch, the figures
of which are also peculiarly suitable for a pilgrim-song ; and
with Ps. cxxii. which, according to the express announcement
in the introduction, was sung, when the sacred pilgrim trains
had reached the gates of Jerusalem, and halted for the purpose
of forming in order, for the solemn procession into the sanc
tuary, Ps. cxxxiv. Besides this we may add finally, that
according to this interpretation, all the common peculiarities of
these Psalms are easily accounted for. The simplicity, the
want of the parallelism, the artless way of forming a transition
by a word retained from the preceding verse, the brevity, all
these are peculiarities of sacred popular and pilgrim song.
The objections which have been urged against this interpreta
tion are insignificant. Thus it has been said, that it is scarcely
possible to conceive that such mournful songs as are these
Psalms to some extent, could have been sung in the course of
the joyful journeys to Jerusalem. Just as if the tone of these
festival journeys would not be entirely dependent upon the then
existing condition of the people! No one will deny that the
nameless Psalms truly emanated from the innermost feelings of
the people at the time when they were originally composed ;
and the people could at that time find in them only a represen
tation of their own state. Next, it is objected that several of
these Psalms contain no reference to such a special occasion.
But such a reference was not in every case necessary; the con
tents might be general, and the indicating of the purpose of the
Psalms might be attended to only in the form and appearance
which tliey were made to assume ; and this is really the case.
The practice of travelling to Jerusalem at the festivals had
already taken deep root even in the days of David and Solo
mon. We see this clearly from the conduct of Jeroboam, in 1
Kings xii. 28, compare also at Ps. cxxii. It was hence very
natural that David, who employed his gift of sacred song in
ministering to all the wants of the people of God, should attend
to this matter also, and that Solomon should continue the work.
The pilgrimages suffered grievous interruption from the separa
tion of the ten tribes ; and it was only in the days of the new
colony that they regained their ancient importance. In these
days a third pilgrim poet arose to take his place alongside of

PSALM cxx.-— -cxxxiv. 409
the two ancient ones, who wrought up his own productions
along with those of his predecessors into one well-arranged
whole, a pilgrim-book.
The whole is grouped around Ps. cxxvii, which was composed
by Solomon, who stands in middle between the first and the last
of the pilgrim poets. On both sides there stands a heptade of
pilgrim songs, consisting of two Psalms composed by David,
and five new ones, which have no name. The seven is divided
both times by the four and the three. Each heptade contains
the name of Jehovah twenty-four times ; each of the connected
groups, Ps. cxx. — cxxiii, cxxiv. — cxxvi., cxxviii. — cxxxi,
cxxxii. — cxxxiv., twelve times; this cannot be accidental, and
it renders it evident that the collector of the whole must be
identical with the author of the nameless Psalms.
The unity is not one merely of form, it also refers to the
thoughts. The old Psalms are not thrown in loosely ; but the
author of the nameless Psalms has interwoven them with his
own into one whole; a task which, as the Psalms originated in
different circumstances and objects, could be accomplished only
by resolving not to keep to the main thought, but by laying the
emphasis upon those thoughts which were secondary. Ps. cxxiv.
is the only one whicli, in regard to its fundamental thought,
is peculiarly suitable for his purpose ; it is distinguished from
its nameless neighbourhood only by its courageous and powerful
tone. He takes up Ps. cxxvii. on the comforting side, while the
prevailing aspect of it originally was hortatory. In Ps. cxxxi.
he sounds the cry, " Wait, 0 Israel, upon the Lord," in ver. 3,
comp. Ps. cxxx. 7. In Ps. cxxxiii, the words, which in them
selves are merely subordinate, "for there the Lord has ordained
his blessing, life for evermore," are brought forward into the fore
ground. That the author was driven by necessity to this course,
that he was obliged to render unyielding materials subservient
to his purpose, is manifest from this, that the Psalms which
have names, and those which have none, though they fit in well
enough to each other, cannot have proceeded from the same
source. This view is still further confirmed by the circumstance
that each one of the Psalms which have names has its own pe
culiar thought and its own peculiar colouring, while the name
less ones are all pervaded by the same common fundamental

410 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
thought, and are all characterised by one common tone. That
the collector was not satisfied with a mere external juxtaposi
tion of the pilgrim-songs is clear also from this, that no Psalm
with a name stands at the beginning or end of both heptades,
but that the Psalms which have names are rather enclosed
and hemmed in by those which have none, — that two Psalms ,
with names never follow each other, that the last Psalm is
remarkably suitable for a conclusion to the whole, and was
composed to all appearance for the purpose of serving this
object. The Introduction to the first heptade consists of a pair of
Psalms, cxx. cxxi, which brings us into the relations of the
present, represents Israel's conflict and distress, and his hope in
God. The next in the series is a Psalm comp'osed by David,
cxxii, whicli represents Jerusalem's glory, and expresses wishes
and prayers for her salvation. With what is said there about
the glory of Jerusalem, and with the wishes and prayers for
her salvation, the present stands in marked contrast; and Ps.
cxxiii. contains a pathetic prayer for the removal of this con
trast. In the second group, faith half lying in the dust, rises
up in the believing and magnanimous song of David, Ps. cxxiv.,
which finds its echo in Ps. cxxv. and cxxvi.
In the second heptade Ps. cxxviii, forming an appendix to
Ps. cxxvii., the one composed by Solomon, pronounces God-fear
ing Israel to be happy. The Lord shall remove (Ps. cxxix.,
cxxx.) the misery of the present which appears to testify to the
contrary. Let Israel, in obedience to the exhortation of his
royal Psalmist David, only wait upon, the Lord! Ps. cxxxi. —
He shall cause David's horn to bud, and shall prepare a lamp
for his Anointed, Ps. cxxxii. He has ordained a blessing for
Zion, life for evermore, Ps. cxxxiv. He shall bless his people
out of Zion, Ps. cxxxiv.
If the Pilgrim-book belongs to the time when the building of
the temple was interrupted, it stands where it does, exactly in
its proper place. It follows a dodecade of Psalms, which were
composed on the occasion of the laying of the foundation-stone
of the temple.

PSALM OXX. 41 1

PSALM CXX

May the Lord, who has recently delivered Israel out of great
trouble, ver. 1, now also deliver him out of the oppression in
which he finds himself involved in consequence of slandering
wickedness, ver. 2 ; he will do it, and will recompense on the
slanderers tlieir wickedness on their own head, ver. 3, 4. In
order that he may be the more inclined to do this, the church
raises, ver. 5-7, a soft lamentation over the suffering which had
been prepared for her, while at peace, by these peace-hating
slanderers. — The formal arrangement is very simple. The seven
is divided by the four and the three.
The situation is exactly indicated: after the deliverance out
of great misery, and in a new suffering brought on by slander,
which proceeds from those with whom the sufferer must dwell.
That this is Israel is clear from the analogy of the other
Psalms of this collection, not one of which bears a purely in
dividual character, from ver. 5, where the dwelling by (not in)
the tents of Kedar is most naturally referred to the relation
of one nation to another, from the parallel passage, Ps. cxxiii.
4, where the language refers to the people. From these firm
positions it will not be difficult to ascertain the historical occa
sion which has been quite correctly fixed by several, and in the
best way by Tiling, Disquis. de Cant. Adscensionum, Bremen,
1765, p. 66 ss. The church of the Lord, besides open and de
cided enemies, has to suffer also from false brethren, who, be
cause their pretensions cannot be fully acknowledged to their
satisfaction, are embittered and enraged, and seek revenge by
all means, but especially by the weapons of lies and slanders.
Israel learned this, after the return from captivity, from the
painful conduct of the Samaritans. These, heathens by extrac
tion, and still continuing, to all intents and purposes, heathens
at heart, supposed that a half acknowledgment of Israel's God,
an acknowledgment not proceeding from the deep root of faith,
that such an acknowledgment of a God who had not made
himself known to them, and whom they served at their own hand,
would give them a claim to be participators with Israel in the
kingdom of God. When Israel began to build the new temple,

412' THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
I
they came forward to them, according to Ezra iv., with the pro
posal, " We will build with you, for we seek your God as well
as you." And when Israel met their ungrounded claims in an
humble, quiet, but decided manner, and said: It is not becoming
that you and we build the house of our God, but we alone will
build the house of the Lord the God of Israel, " then the people
in the land hindered the hand of the people of Judah, and terri
fied them in building; and hired counsellors against them to
frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus king of Persia,
even until the reign of Darius king of Persia." Exasperated,
they endeavoured, by lying accusations, particularly as to the
desire for dominion, and the rebellious purposes of the Israelites,
to stir up the open heathen, under whose power the Israelites
then were living; and they succeeded in this for a considerable
time. Still the God of Israel helped his people; and in spite of
all opposition, the temple and city, as recorded at length in the
books of Ezra and Nehemiah, were brought to a prosperous
termination.

Ver. 1-4. — A Song of the Pilgrimages. — Ver. 1. I cried to the
Lord in my trouble, and he heard me. Ver. 2. 0 Lord, deliver
my soul from the lips cf lies, from the tongue of deceit. Ver. 3.
What shall he give to thee, and what shall he add to thee, thou tongue
of deceit ? Ver. 4. Sharp arrows of the mighty with genista-fuel.
— In ver. 1, it is obvious, on comparing Ps. cxix. 26, cxviii. 5,
cxvi. I, 2, 4, 5, cxv. 12, that we cannot translate, "I call and
he hears," but, as is also most correct in point of grammar, " I
called and he heard me," and that the Psalmist places his allu
sion to answers which he had formerly obtained before his prayer
for further deliverance, for the purpose of quickening his hope
and enabling him to pray rightly in faith, Ja. i. 6. The answers
already obtained refer, according to the above passages, chiefly
to the deliverance from captivity. The ;-fmiJ 's ^ie more full,
sonorous form, as at Ps. xliv. 26 — My soul, ver. 2, — because the
deceitful tongue had exposed his life to danger, comp. the con
stantly occurring expression in Ps. cxix., "quicken me," for
example, ver. 88, and " deliver my soul," Ps. exvi 4. The
Samaritans aimed at destroying the national existence of the
Israelites, the centre-point of which was the temple. A "deceit-

PSALM CXX. VER. 1 — 4. 413
tongue" is a tongue which is wholly deceit, comp. " I am peace,"
ver. 7, and in reference to the connection of both words in the
stat. absol. at Ps. lx. 3. The p-p-ft-i is never an adject. ; and the
corresponding word -p*^ is against the idea that it is. That we
are not to think of " hypocritical promises to keep peace," but
of wicked slandering, is obvious from the parallel passages, Ps.
cxix. 69, 78, Ps. xxxi. 18. The recompense also of ver. 4 be
longs to the same region. — The prayer is followed by confidence
in ver. 3 and 4. This is expressed with lively feeling in the
form of an address to the slanderers. The subject to both verbs
in ver. 3 is the Lord, who had been addressed in the preceding-
verse; this is all the more obvious, as allusion is made to the
usual form of swearing, " God do to thee and more also," 1 Sam.
iii 17, xiv. 44, whicli denotes some very severe and permanent
evil, with the change of the " do" into the " give," used ironi
cally, a use of the word intended to point to the good results of
their wickedness which the slanderers had hoped for. The de
ceitful tongue of the slanderer is the object to which the address
is directed. Ver. 4 contains the answer to the question in ver.
3: "He shall give thee," &c. The "arrows of the warrior"
corresponds to the " give," and the " genista-fuel" to the " add,"
next to them. On " sharp warrior-arrows," comp. Ps. xiv. 5,
where it is said of the God-warrior: "Thine arrows are sharp,
nations fall under thee, they pierce the heart of the enemies of
the king." In reference to the genista (Luther falsely: juniper),
Robinson, P. 1st, p. 336, says, " The Arabians suppose it fur
nishes the best wood-fuel." That the term is stronger than the
preceding one is evident from the two portions of the first clause,
the latter of which is stronger than the former. The dealings
of God are regulated by the law of retaliation. Slanders had
wounded like sharp arrows, and had burned like genista-fuel.
• — -The two verses* have been misunderstood in various ways.
Luther, who is generally followed, translates: " What can the
false tongue do to thee, and what can it effect? It is like
sharp arrows of a strong one, like fire in junipers." He supposes
the question to be directed to the calumniated person. "Da
vid's design in it is to stir himself up to take occasion to bring
an accusation against the cunning tongue." But in this case
there seems to be no reason for putting the question, as no doubt

414 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
could exist as to the ruinous effects of the slandering; the un
deniable allusion to the common form of swearing is lost; the
comparison with sharp arrows of a warrior (and *y\y^ can only
be translated in this way) is too noble a one for slander; and,
finally, the analogy of Ps. Iii. is in favour of the address being
directed to these slanderers. De Wette translates ver. 3, " What
does the tongue of deceit give you, and what does it do for you?"
(the give in a good sense), and considers ver. 4 as descriptive of
the ruinous effects of slander. It does no good to you, and it
does much injury to others. But the distinction between the
deceitful tongue and the slanderer is contrary to ver. 2, and if
it existed, the )yifb would not be construed with the masculine
which can be accounted for only by supposing that the de
ceitful tongue stands for the slanderers. Then, according to
this translation, the allusion to the usual form of swearing is
lost; and the -y-Q;i also occasions difficulty. Ewald translates:
" How shall he punish thee, and how shall he chastise thee, thou
deceitful tongue, ye sharp murderer-arrows, with glowing gen
ista-fuel?" But in order to favour this translation it is neces
sary for us arbitrarily to substitute murderer- arrows for warrior-
arrows ; arrows and fuel also can scarcely be used as the object
ot punishment, when they are so frequently seen as the instru
ments of punishment; comp. in reference to the arrows, for ex
ample, Ps. vii. 13, and to fuel, Ps. cxl. 10, xviii. 12, 13. — Ver. 3
and 4 form the highest prophetical point oi the Psalm to whicli
the Psalmist had ascended by the two preliminary steps of the
realization of a former deliverance and the prayer for deliver
ance from present distress. A popular song cannot long main
tain such a height. The Psalmist therefore descends in the
second part, and concludes with a simple description of his
mournful condition in a soft elegaic tone.
Ver. 5-7. — Ver. 5. Wo is me, that I tarry under Mesech, dwell
by the tents of Kedar. Ver. 6. It is wearisome to my soul to dwell
by those who hate peace. Ver. 7. / am peace, but when I speak
they begin war. — The literal view of ver. 5 is impossible, as Is
rael never had anything to do with Mesech, the Moschi who
dwelt in the remotest parts of the world, and as mention is
made of two countries most remote from each other in which
the Psalmist could not possibly dwell at the same time. Ver,

rsALM cxxi. 415
6 gives the key. According to it Mesech and Kedar are both
figurative expressions for such as hate peace. Mesech appears
in Ezek. xxxviii. 2 as the chief vassal of Gog, the representative
of the heathen barbarian world. Even here the ground of the
choice is that so little is known about him : the more distant,
the more fierce. Love of fighting was peculiar to the Arabians,
of whom the Kedarenes formed a part. This had been already
mentioned in Gen. xvi. 4 as a characteristic feature of the
Ishmaelites. On the connection of -y^ with the accus., comp.
at Ps. v. 4. — In reference to the j-q-j in ver. 6, comp. at Ps.
lxv. 9. The soul is named because the suffering deeply affected
the Psalmist's heart. — Peace, in ver. 7, — entirely peaceful. When
I speak, — I need only to open my mouth, and they seek to find
in the most harmless word an occasion for new hostilities.

PSALM CXXI.
The Psalm is a simple expression of heartfelt trust in God,
the Keeper of his church. We perceive here nothing of the
mighty billows and tumults of the inner man who again seeks
and finds rest, which Ewald, proceeding on a false construction
of ver. 1, would have us perceive; but the Psalmist, or the
church in whose name he speaks, from the very beginning
stands above the suffering and looks down upon it from the
clear height of trust in God.
In ver. 1 and 2 the church speaks itself {Israel, ver. 4); and
in ver. 3-8 is addressed. The remarks made in the introduc
tion to Ps. xci. are applicable to this change. The speaker in
ver. 3 ss. is the Psalmist or rather the Spirit, watching over the
church, whose organ he is. The advocates of choruses in the
Psalms have taken possession of this fact. They want, how
ever, the necessary previous legitimation; and the presumption
is not in favour of such external modes of interpretation, but
against them.
The Psalm consists of an Introduction and a Conclusion, each
of two; and a kernel of four verses, which are likewise made
up of two parts; so that the Psalm throughout is ruled by the
number four. The transition from the Introduction to the

41 6 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
main body is marked by the change of person. The latter is
held together by the threefold naming of the keeper of Israel;
the Conclusion by the threefold " he shall keep."1 The name
Jehovah occurs five times; three times in the introduction and
conclusion, and twice in the main body. With the two of the
preceding Psalm, the five, which, as the signature of the half,
and of what is unfinished, points to a completion, makes up the"
seven. This, as is usual, is divided by the three in the introduc
tion and conclusion of our Psalm, and the four. ¦+ ,
The contents of the Psalm are altogether suitable to such
circumstances as are more exactly indicated in Ps. cxx. The
condition of the people appears as an oppressed one: they IS ok
out for help, they are in danger of their foot sliding; they
cleave to their keeper, they hope that he will preserve their
soul, their very existence is exposed to danger. According to
ver. 8 the people appear engaged in an important undertaking,
in expectation that the Lord will forward them in it.
The title which designates the Psalm as a pilgrim-song is
confirmed in ver. 1, according to which the Psalm was intended
to be sung in view of the mountains of Jerusalem, which herej
in accordance with Ps. cxx., again appears as the seat of the
Lord. ]£ is hence impossible to conceive of the Psalm as hav
ing been composed during the captivity, as many 'have done.2
The figures also of the Psalm are remarkably Suitable for a
pilgrim-song, the sliding of the foot as -an emblem of- misfor
tune, the shadow as an emblem of protection, heatand cold'as
an emblem of conflict, Outgoing and incoming as an .emblem of
undertakings. : .
The idea is a very probable one, that the Psalm- was the
evening song of the sacred pilgrim band, sung on retiring to
rest upon the last evening, when the long wished-for termina
tion of their wandering, the mountains of Jerusalem, had come
1 In the use of imp which occurs with marked frequency, there is perhaps an al
lusion to Samaria, the capital of the then enemies of the people of God, the object
being to deprive that name of all its terror.
2 The windows of Daniel who lived during the captivity, were, according to ch.
vi. 11, opened during prayer toward Jerusalem, in remembrance of its early glory,
and in anticipation of ita glorious future; he did not, however, seek help from
Jeruaalem, but from heaven.

PSALM CXXI. VER. 1,2. 417
into view in the distance. In this case we obtain a suitable
connection with the following Psalm, whicli would be sung one
station further on, when the pilgrims were at the gates of
Jerusalem. In this case we find an explanation of the fact,
that in the middle point of the Psalm there stands the Lord as
the keeper of Israel, with reference to the declaration, " I keep
thee," which was addressed to the patriarch as he slept on his
pilgrimage; and in this case also "he neither slumbereth nor
sleepeth," is seen in its true light.

. Ver. 1, 2. — A Song of the Pilgrimages. Ver. 1. I direct my
eyes' to. the hills. From whence shall my aid come ? Ver. 2. My
aid cometh from the Lord, the Creator of heaven and earth. —
The phrase q^ij? N**^ with ^ cannot be "to lift up the eyes
to something high, " (Gen. xxxix. 7, Ezek. xxiii. 27, xviii. 6,
are against this), but only either " to open the eyes" or " to
direct the eyes," according to " where your treasure is there
will your heart be also." The kindred expression ^q^ N\y*3 or
yj with ^ is in -favour of the latter , view'; comp. at,Ps. xxiv.
4j xxv. 1, also Lam. iii. 41. That the language does not refer
to an inactive desire, a mere longing for home, but that the eyes
are directgd to the hills seeking and expecting help, is evident
from the second clause, from ver. 2, and also from the parallel
passage, Ps. cxxiii. 1,;."I lift my eyes to thee who dwellest.in
the heaven," where the omnipotent helper in heaven corresponds
to the mountains. here; comp. also " for my eyes are to thee, 0
Lord God,",vPs. cxli. 8, xxv. 15. The hills are, the hills which
the speakers have before their eyes. Every doubt on this point
is removed by the connection, according to which we can only
think of such mountains as could furnish help -to Israel.
It is' Mount Zion that is meant, the hill of the Lord, the seat of
his church upon earth ; and mountains in the plural are referred
to only in so far as this mountain is a particular point of a high
mountain range (comp. at Ps. Ixxxvii. 1) which was seen as one
whole in the distance. The mountains of Palestine cannot be
meant, for these never appear as the seat of the Lord, as
the treasure house of help for his people: in Ex. xv. 17,
the hill is the hill of the sanctuary, the spiritual seat of
Israel. Mount ZioD, with its sanctuary, everywhere occurs in
VOL. III. 2 E

418 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
the same connection in which the hills are here introduced ;
comp. for example Ps. iii. 4, xiv. 7, xx. 2, xliii. 3, lxviii. 16,
Ixxxvii. 1. The parallel passage, also, Ps. cxxv. 2, where the
mountains which surround and protect Jerusalem appear as an
emblem of God's protection of his people, is decidedly in favour
of the mountains of Jerusalem. Luther and others translate
the second clause " from which help comes to me." But 'ji'j^Q
is always used interrogatively, " from which?": it is so, even in
Joshua ii. 4, where the question is only an indirect and depen
dent one. The question here, however, is not to be considered
as expressive of doubt or uncertainty. The first clause is
against this. According to it the Psalmist is perfectly decided
as to where help is to be sought and found. The question is
intended, like that in Ps. cxx. 3, xxiv. 3, to give occasion to
the joyful answer announced in ver. 2. As this answer stands
in the back ground, the second clause is in reality parallel to
the first. The verse before us has been misunderstood in
various ways. According to many expositors, the Psalmist, as
Calvin expresses it, first personates an unbeliever, and repre
sents the weakness natural to the whole human family, and
then rises, in ver. 2, to faith : I look round about me on the hills,
and seek anxiously for help in every direction, &c. The moun
tains in this case, according to several, denote everything in the
world which is high and glorious ; according to others, specially
the potentates and kingdoms of the earth ; according to Ewald,
regard is to be had to the mountains in the distance, " if from
afar in any direction help will come."1 This sense, however, is
not expressed with sufficient clearness; and the hills them
selves are the object of trust and hope. And the analogy of the
other pairs of verses is decidedly against this view ; the con
tents of the first verse are everywhere strengthened in the
second. Next, ver. 2 would come in too much unconnected ;
the contrast which all these expositors introduce without any
remark could not fail to have been distinctly marked; — "but
my help ; " others introduce before the second clause of the first
verse: "yet whence cometh;" finally, the strikingly harmonious
1 Thus Amyr. : " They cast their eyes in every direction upon the neighbouring
hills, and look around on every side, to see if anywhere there appear friendly and
auxiliary troops."

PSALM CXXI. VER. 3 — 6. 419
parallel passages are decisive in favour of our translation,
especially Ps. cxxiii. 1, cxxv. 1, 2. — The name applied to the
Lord, the Creator of heaven and earth, in ver. 2 (comp. at Ps.
cxv. 15), points to the inexhaustible abundance of means of
help, which he possesses; despair would be madness in any one
who has such a God to help him.
Ver. 3-6. — Ver. 3. May he not suffer thy foot to slide; may
thy Keeper not sleep. Ver. 4. Behold the Keeper of Israel sleeps
not and slumbers not. Ver. 5. The Lord is thy Keeper, the Lord
is thy shade at thy, right hand. Ver. 6. By day the sun shall not
hurt thee, nor the moon by night. — The ^, ver. 3, is always the
subjective negative, " according to the feeling and thought of
the speaker," Ewald § 310 a. Our verse expresses hope and
desire; the following verse furnishes the higher confirmation.
The sliding of the foot is a frequent description of misfortune,
for example, Ps. xxxviii. 16, Ixvi 9, and a very natural one in
mountainous Canaan, where a single slip of the foot was often
attended with great danger. The language here naturally re
fers to complete lasting misfortune. The second clause depends
on Gen. xxviii. 1 5, " Behold I am with thee and keep thee in all
thy ways." The application of what was said in the first in
stance to the patriarch, to his posterity, is all the more natural,
as the vision was imparted to the former, as the representative
of his whole race. The expression, " I keep thee," is the text
on which our whole Psalm is the commentary. The expression,
" sleeps not," shows how gross are the imaginations of human
unbelief which are here met. — The difference between ver. 3 and
ver. 4 does not, as Calvin and others suppose, consist in this,
that what is promised in ver. 3, to the individual, is applied
here on the subject of the providence of God to the whole peo
ple. It is with the whole community that the Psalmist has
everywhere to do. The difference consists simply in the rela
tion of the objective to the subjective negative. In accordance
with the former, we find standinghere, the word " behold," which
points to some patent, undoubted fact. Luther translates, "sleeps
not nor slumbers;" the translation commonly given at present
is, " slumbers not nor sleeps." Thus Calvin, " If God does
not even once slumber, there is the less cause for fearing at any
time an ordinary sleep." But the idea that ry\2 signifies to

420 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
dumber" -is ; founded , altogether on the false supposition thatf a
Clinja-x "-Js'.'io be found in the passage before us, and in the
parallel- pass^gey. which agrees word for word, Is. v. 27, where
the" same thing is said of Israel's enemies,— a passage which -the
Psalmist to' all appearance had distinctly before his eye, setting
the wakeful Keeper in heaven over against the wakeful enemies
upon earth. In every other passage,- it is used of a deep, sleep,
Nah. iii. 18, Is. lvi 10, Ps. Ixxvi. 5; and it has this sense also
in Arabic. And, on the other hand, 'myi signifies to fall asleep;
this indeed is its original and prevailing sense, comp. at Ps. iv.
8. Hence we must translate: he does not sleep (generally) and
he does not fall asleep. — The shade, ver. 5, is a figurative expres
sion for protection and shelter, more appropriate in the hot east*
than with us, and especially suitable in the mouth of pilgrims
who had hourly experienced the severity of the heat of the sun,
and the pleasant refreshment of the shade. Allusion is made,
as is apparent, to Num. xiv. 9, where it is said of the enemies of
Israel : " their shade is departed from them, and the Lord is
with us, fear not." Thp observations made at Ps. cix. 6, render
it evident that we must translate "at" not "over thy right
.hand." The right hand is named here also, "because, as it is
the organ of action, to stand at the right hand is the most con
venient position for one who is determined perseveringly to hin
der or to assist." The enemies of Israel stood at his right hand,
marring all his efforts; and his God stands at his right handpro-
moting these efforts. As the shade is a figurative expression
for protection, there is no reason for tearing the words from
each other, and translating: "he is at thy right hand. Accord
ing to the common view piSH ^s supposed to be suitable only to
the sun, and to be applied merely by a zeugma to the moon.
But the word does not signify to pierce or to burn, but to strike,
and applies to the sun only in so far as striking is a figurative
expression for injuring; and this is equally applicable to the
moon. In Gen. xxxi. 40, to devour is in like manner applied
figuratively to heat and cold. But how can injury be applied to
the moon? There is no use for spending words upon those who
suppose that " this expression was caused by the association of
ideas from a regard to the parallelism." The sacred Psalmistgives
us no reason to believe that he was not in possession of sound

PSALM CXXI. VEK. 3— 6. - 421
hpjnan understanding. Those persons also are as little t# Ma£
tended to, who suppose that the Psalmist hints at " an 'essential
evil influence of the moon." Physical secret doctrines 'ar&here
not in their place, and are nowhere to be fourid'Tf the :1?salm*s.
The key is to be found in Gen. xxxi. 40, where Saeob complains":
"the heat consumed me by the day, and the cold by night,"
comp. Jer. xxxvi. 30, where it is said of Jehoiakim, " his car
case shall be cast out during the heat by day and the< cold by
night." Heat and cold serve the Psalmist as figurative expres
sions for the conflicts to which the people are exposed, because
suffering assumed this form in the case of the patriarch, and
the pilgrims must have felt themselves, from their situation,
peculiarly exposed to it. It cannot 'appear remarkable that the
cold of the night, which is so perceptible in the East, is attributed
to the moon. The moon, according to Genesis i. 1 6, " the great
light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night," is
the ruler of the night; and everything belongs to it which hap
pens during its reign, without regard to whether that thing
proceeds properly from it, and without our laying any stress
upon Lampe's remark, " the cold is more intense when the
moon shines, than it is during nocturnal rains."
Ver. 7, 8. — Ver. 7. The Lord shall keep thee from all evil: he
shall keep thy soul. Ver. 8. The Lord shall keep thy outgoing
and incoming from henceforth even for ever. The threefold re
petition of the expression, " he shall keep thee," is, according to
the correct observation of Calvin, a testimony to the greatness
of human unbelief, which needs continually repeated assur
ances.1 Luther has erroneously understood the two verses as
expressive of desire instead of assurance. The outgoing and
the incoming in ver. 8 denote the commencement of the under
takings, and their completion after the people had returned.
home. Compare the fundamental passage, Deut. xxviii 6. • In
the expression, " from henceforth even for ever," the old exposi
tors, taking for granted that the Psalm applies to individuals
(a view which even the expression before us is sufficient to dis
prove), have found a proof of personal, immortality instead of
' He adds : " this passage reminds us, if.a brief sentence be not sufficient, that
whatever occurs in Scripture, in different passages, on the subject of Providence,
ought to be collected together, i "...

422 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
the immortality of the church. The consideration that the out
going and the incoming are applicable only to the circumstances
of this life might have guarded them against this idea. The
passage before us, however, does lead indirectly to this result :
God's eternal protection of his church is a pledge that he will
graciously take care of its individual members for ever. A firm
faith in personal immortality, or, more correctly, in the eternal
salvation of the individuals who have been elected, must grow
out of the soil thus well prepared.
PSALM CXXII.
An introduction of two 'verses stands instead of a Title, an
nouncing the object of the Psalm. The preceding Psalm was
intended to be sung in sight of Jerusalem, and this one at the
gates of the city, where the pilgrim train had halted for the
purpose of arranging the solemn procession to the sanctuary.
The main body of the Psalm is complete in seven verses, and
these are divided into portions of three and four. Ver. 3-5 re
presents the glory of Jerusalem, the beautifully built, ecclesias
tical, and civil capital of the nation ; and ver. 6-9 expresses
wishes and prayers for its salvation, intimating that the salva
tion of Israel, and the maintenance of the beloved house of God,
are intimately connected.
The title attributes the Psalm to David as its author ; and
internal evidence confirms it. The design of the Psalm can
only be explained in connection with the times of David. Its
design is to conciliate the affections of the people for the new
capital; to procure for it that place in their feelings which it
occupied externally, Ver. 3 takes for granted that Jerusalem
had recently, for the first time, become a beautifully built city ;
and this was the case in David's time. At all events, the de
scription of Jerusalem, as a city beautifully built, well com
pacted, adorned with palaces, and fortified, here and in ver. 7,
points to a time before the captivity. The matter, moreover,
is put beyond a doubt, by the mention of the thrones of the
house of David in ver. 5, which presupposes the existence of
the kingdom of David, and which it will not do to refer to poor
Zerubbabel, who never was a king. The use also of the name

PSALM CXXII. 423
Israel for the whole people, ver. 4, shows that, at that time, the
nation was an undivided whole, and the mention of the pil
grimage of all the tribes to Jerusalem, points most decidedly
to a time before the division of the kingdom ; as after that
event, Jerusalem ceased to be regarded by the ten tribes as their
religious capital, and the pilgrimages consequently came to an
end. It has, indeed, been attempted to evade the conclusions
drawn from ver. 3-5, by the idea that the Psalmist, in these
verses, merely describes what had existed in former ages : " the
procession of travellers to the feasts brings vividly before the
mind of the Psalmist the days under the ancient kings, when
the tribes of Jehovah went up, as they now do again, to Jeru
salem." But ver. 7 alone is sufficient to set aside this exped
ient; according to it, Jerusalem was at that time a splendid
strong city, and, accordingly, it will not do to refer ver. 3 to the
past. Then this idea violently tears away ver. 3-5 from its
connection with the introduction, and with ver. 6-9. A glory
which was altogether gone was very ill adapted to call forth
lively joy on entering the city. And the exhortation to pray
for Jerusalem, in ver. 6 ss., is deprived of the basis on which it
rests, viz., the description of the glory and national importance
of Jerusalem.
The reasons which have been adduced against the Davidic
origin of the Psalm are of no force. The assertion that ver. 2
is not applicable to David but only to the pilgrims who ap
proached the city from without, is set aside by the remark, that
David here, as he frequently did (for example Ps. xx., xxi.),
sung from the soul of the people. The mention of the house of
the Lord, in ver -1 and 9, does not lead to the time after the
building of Solomon's temple, for it is undeniable, that even the
early sanctuary was known by this name ; comp. Ps. v. 7, xxvii.
4, lv. 14, and at Ps. Iii. 8. The assertion that pilgrimages to
Jerusalem did not come into general use till some time after the
reign of David, when uniformity of public worship had been
completely established, depends upon the idea which is not at
all borne out by history, that the directions contained in the
Pentateuch, as to there being only one sanctuary, were not ob
served till a later age. It has been proved in the treatise on
the Pentateuch and the time of the judges, in vol. iii. of the

424 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
Beitr., that, during the whole period of the judges, the people
had only one sanctuary, and that to it were brought the sacri
fices of the whole nation, and that the great festivals, especially
the Passover, were celebrated in accordance with the directions
of the law, Ex. xxiii. 15-17, xxxiv. 23; Deut. xvi. 16. That the
sanctuary in Jerusalem, under David, did in reality come, exactly
into the place of the earlier one at Shiloh, is clear from the fact,
that the ark of the covenant was there, " the heart of the Israel
itish religion," and, indeed, the ark of the covenant rising
from its grave (comp. Beitr. p. 48 ss.), as intimated by the
circumstance, that, as soon as it was consecrated, sacrifices
were offered before it, 2 Sam, vi. 5, 13. The matter finally
is put beyond a doubt by the Psalms of David's age, for they
speak only of one sanctuary, the sanctuary at Jerusalem; comp,
at Ps. xv. 1. The old tabernacle, indeed, at Gibeon, still con
tinued to exist, but only as a ruin. David did not act like the
breakers of images; he respected externally the attachments of
the people, but with happy effect he did everything he could to
turn the regard of the people more and more towards Jerusa
lem:1 and the Psalm before us, along with others, served this
object — its design being to awaken love, devout love, for Jerusa
lem and its sanctuary.2 There are, besides, distinct traces of
solemn processions to the sanctuary in the time of David, Ps.
xlii. 4, lv. 14. — The mention of the house of David cannot seem
strange. David had founded a new house instead of the house
of Saul, 2 Sam. iii. 1. Even before the promise which he re
ceived through Nathan, he hoped and wished that he would
continue to reign in his posterity (comp. at Ps. xxi. 4, cxxxviii.
3), and after that promise he always looked upon himself as the
founder of a family which was to last for ever, for example, Ps.
xviii. 20. — Finally, the assertion that the language is that of a
later age, has no further foundation to rest on than the \p oc
curring twice instead of -i1^^. This form, however, occurs in a
1 Calvin: "He knew that the safety of the church depended upon their
worshipping God in purity, according to the requirements of the law, and also
upon their acknowledging that seat of royalty which the same God had under
his own auspices erected."
a Ven. : " The scope is to prepare and excite the people to receive Jerusalem as
the seat of royalty and religion, to seek to promote its peace and prosperity by all
means, and cheerfully to celebrate divine worship there."

PSALM CXXII. VER. 1 , 2. 425
much older song, that of Deborah ; and, in the present instance,
it need occasion very, little difficulty, occurring, as it does, in a
popular song, which consists of the language of ordinary life,
and may be expected to contain forms which would afterwards
appear in written language.
As far as concerns the time of composition, the Psalm takes
for granted that Jerusalem had already become the ecclesiastical
and civil capital. It cannot, therefore, have been composed be
fore 2 Sam. vi; but it must have been composed shortly after
that period, as its design is to render popular the new institu
tion, to endear to the affections of the people the city " which
was the bond of sacred union."

Ver. 1. — A Song of the Pilgrimages by David. Ver. 1. I re
joice over those who say to me, " we will go to ihe house of the Lord."
Ver. 2. Our feet tarry in thy gates, 0 Jerusulem. The *nftty
with y ver. 1, constantly occurs in the sense of to rejoice over.
The speakers are the object of joy, because of what they say.
Every one says to another, " we will go to the house of the Lord,"
and each one rejoices over the other saying so. Is. ii. 3, illus
trates the clause: " and many nations go and say, Come let us
go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of
Jacob." This passage to all appearance alludes to the one be
fore us ; what formerly the pilgrim Israelites said (this is the
meaning of the allusion) the heathen nations shall in a future
age say to each other. The idea that the Psalmist does not
include himself among the Pilgrims, but that he gives expres
sion to his joy for the purpose of strengthening the resolution
of others, is inconsistent with the expression " to me," and is
contrary to the general character of the pilgrim-songs, which
contain nothing of a purely personal nature. That the expres
sion "we will," is not to be considered as uttered at the begin
ning of ihe whole pilgrimage, but after the pilgrims had arrived
at the gates of Jerusalem; that the going to the house of God
here spoken of, begins for the first time there, is evident from
ver. 2, to which the remark is applicable, "the Psalmist is
already in spirit in Jerusalem;" this is still farther evident, as
ver. 3 shows that the city was really before the Psalmist's eyes.
Solemn processions through the city to the temple occur even

426 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
in Psalm lv. 14, xlii. 4; and the expression, "with joy and
thanks," in the latter passage, shows that during these proces
sions songs were sung in praise of the Lord.1 — Ver. 2 cannot be
read, according to some, with marks of quotation. It completes
the description of the situation; the pilgrims were already
within Jerusalem, and were just going to the house of the Lord.
The participle with ;-pn denotes the continuance of the past
stretching into the present, Ew. § 168, c, and intimates that
a long stay was to be made at the gates where the people,
arriving one after the other, assembled, and the procession was
arranged. It was only the simple participle that could be used
in expressing the present. Only there, in the immediate view
of Jerusalem, was the proper place for singing the Psalm.
Ver. 3. Jerusalem, thou builded, as a city which is bound
together. Ver. 4. There the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord —
an ordinance for Israel — to praise fhe name of the Lord.
Ver. 5. For the judgment seats are established there, ihe thrones
of the house of David. — The whole of ver. 3 is to be con
sidered as an expression of wonder ; for the article in fVDan
renders it manifest that we cannot with Luther translate,
" Jerusalem is built." It is clear as day that we cannot tran
slate with Gesenius and others, " thou who hast been rebuilt."
For to build is only used of restoration in those cases where a
destruction had been formerly mentioned; and of this there is
no trace in the passage before us, arid Jerusalem is, according
to ver. 7, a fortified city of palaces. We may either take the
building in the ordinary sense — in this case the expression
1 Luther : "It appears as if David said nothing great when he says : ' We will
go into the house of the Lord.' For when we think only of stones, wood, and
gold, we do not properly think of the temple. But the house of the Lord rather
means this, that man is in the place in which God, being present, can hear, see,
and feel, while there his word and his true worship are to be found. Solomon's
temple was not beautiful, because it was adorned with gold and silver; but its true
beauty consisted in this, that God's word was heard there, that God was called
upon there, that there God was found to be gracious, a. Saviour who gave peace
and forgave sin. This is what is meant by beholding the temple, not as an ox
or an idiot looks at it, not as the masquerading bishops look at the temple."
These words drawn deeply from the Scriptures may well be pondered by expositors
as well as others who cannot comprehend how such expreaaions as the house
or the temple of the Lord could be used before Solomon's temple waa built. The
Scriptures deal with such matters more intellectually and more spiritually.

PSALM CXXII. VEIL 3 — 5. 427
must be immediately connected with what follows — or in an
emphatic sense, for " thou well-built," (a bad city is as good as
not built); thus Nebuchadnezzar, in Dan. iv. 30, says of Baby
lon, a city which had stood for a hundred years : is not this the
great city Babylon which I have built; it is also said of David,
2 Sam. v. 1 1 , " I have built Jerusalem." The circumstance is
decisive in favour of the latter view, that by it we obtain two
parallel clauses, in harmony with all the other verses. That
the expression " like a city which is bound together (the 3 de
notes Jerusalem as corresponding to the idea of such a city) is
not to be referred to the union effected by David between the
two divisions of the city which had hitherto existed apart, the
fortress and the lower city, but to the magnificent architecture,
is evident from the expression " in thy palaces." The first fact
besides is altogether doubtful; the passage, 2 Sam. v. 9, " And
David built the city round about from Millo (a part of Zion)
inwards," next to the city properly so called (comp. Thenius on
the passage) does not refer to the union, but to the planting of
the city with splendid houses. Some expositors have, without
the least reason, considered the verse before us as expressive of
the astonishment of the rustics and villagers when they came
from the country to the capital for the first time, and compared
it with its magnificent closely connected rows of houses, to the
irregularly built country villages, interspersed with gardens and
other spaces. This would be very childish. The object of
astonishment is rather that the place which, in former days, and
up to a very recent period, had been so unsightly, should in
such a short time have become a stately city. David leads on
the pilgrims and all Israel to see in this a proof of the favour
of God resting upon Jerusalem, and a seal of its election. A
conclusion altogether similar to the one before us occurs in 2
Sam. v. 12, where, after the narrative of the building of the
royal fortress by David, we read " and David knew (Thenius :
he was convinced of it by the prosperous completion of the
royal-fabric) that the Lord had established him as king over
Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom, because of his
people Israel," comp. also 2 Sam. v. 10, with ver. 9. Exactly
in the same way as is done with the first basis here, the pre
servation of the magnificently-built Jerusalem is considered in

428 THE BOOK OF PSALMSl'
Ps. xlviii. 12-14, as a proof of the favour of God resting upon
that city.— From the external splendour of Jerusalem the
Psalmist proceeds in ver. 4 to its internal glory : he praises its
rank as that of the religious metropolis of the nation, the centre
of the congregation of God. The additional expression, " the
tribes of the Lord," serves to exalt the dignity of the place of
meeting. Luther: " he does not say simply the tribes, but he
adds to this, viz., the tribes of the Lord, whom the Lord himself
has chosen, that they might be his people before all other na
tions on the earth whose God he will be." The short interjected
clause, " a testimony for Israel," instead of " agreeably to the
precept given to Israel," serves the same object. The j-ynj? is
frequently used of the whole revelation as given to Moses,
comp. at Ps. xix. 7, Ixxviii 5, in the passage before us in the
same way, as in Ps. lxxxi. 5; the precept is meant which re
quired all the males to appear three times a-year in the place
of the sanctuary, Ex. xxiii. 17, xxxiv. 3, Deut. xvi. 16. For
the dignity of the place was great in proportion to the sacred
ness of the custom. In reference to the name of the Lord
(Lampe: "the excellency of his attributes which he has re
vealed") compare at Ps. liv. 6. — Much ingenuity has been
expended upon the " for" in ver. 5. It intimates that Jeru
salem owed its elevation to be the religious metropolis of the
nation to its antecedent rank as the civil capital. At bottom
there lies the view that both were inseparably connected ; and
indeed, in consequence of the intimate union between church
and state, the separation would have brought great evils in its
train. The law had been already laid down in Deut. xvii. 8, 9,
that the supreme tribunal should be in the place of the sanc
tuary. Jerusalem was first raised to be the civil metropolis, it
was the city of David, 2 Sam. v. 9, vi. 16; afterwards, and as
the consequence of this, after David had learned from his divine
victories that it was agreeable to the will of God, it became the
city of God, 2 Sam. vi. As the r\ry$f- always means " to that
place" (comp. Ps. Ixxvi. 3), it is a concise form of speech, to
be understood as : they have brought themselves to ;that
place, and they sit there, The sitting will not suit the thrones.
The idea adopted by several is inadmissible, that it is used in
stead of "standing," and the idea is equally inadmissible that

PSALM CXXII. VER. .3 — 5. 429
the words should be translated " they sit upon thrones," for the
impersonal nomin. will not suit, and the y$yi is never construed
with the accusative ; oil-on liyi is the sitter of the cherubim.
The simplest idea is that the thrones for judgment, like our
bench of judges, stands for the judicial power. Sitting is usually
applied to this. As thrones in the plural are mentioned, we
cannot think merely of the royal throne. All thrones, however,
belonged to the house of David; for it was under the auspices
of that house that all judicial sentences were pronounced. The
twelve thrones on which, according to Matt. xix. 28, the twelve
apostles sit judging the twelve tribes of Israel, correspond.
Compare also Is. xxxii. 1.
On the basis of the description of the glory and dignity of
Jerusalem, there rises the mutual exhortation of the pilgrims
to pray for it, and the prayer itself. Ver. 6. Pray for the peace
of Jerusalem, may those be at peace who love her. Ver. 7. Peace
be in thy bulwarks, quiet in thy palaces. Ver. 8. For my brethren
and friends^ sakes, I will say: peace be in thee. Ver. 9. For
the sake of the house of the Lord our God I will seek thy good.
In ver. 6 several expositors translate, " enquire after the peace
of Jerusalem." This is contrary to the usage of the language
(in this case 'ryfctyb would have been the word, Gen. xliii. 27,
and especially Jer. xv. 5), contrary to what immediately fo Hows,
which does not contain any information but intercessory prayer,
contrary to the corresponding expression, "I will seek thy
good," in ver. 9, and finally the sense is scarcely a tolerable one.
Allusion is made to the meaning of the name of Jerusalem,
which is compounded of l&yy and Q^y-, a peaceful possession,
compare Ps. Ixxvi. 2, where a similar allusion takes place.
Besides, every effort is made in this and the following verse to
produce. alliterations on this name, a name so dear to David,
and which he is anxious to render dear to the people, inasmuch
as he connects with it the brightest possible ideas.1 In the
second clause and in ver. 7 there follow the wish and the prayer
which had been called for in the first clause. That in the expres
sion: may they be at rest who love thee, we are to suppose added
" by means of the quiet which is afforded to thee," is evident
1 Ven. : The perpetual alliteration of the words with each other, and of all of
them with the name of Jerusalem, produces an elegant effect."

430 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
from the relation to the first clause and from ver. 7, and also
from ver. 8, where the peace of Jerusalem appears as the condi
tion of the peace of all Israel. Those who love Jerusalem are
all true Israelites, for the mark of a true Israelite is love to the
place of the sanctuary, the metropolis of the church. — The
bulwarks and the palaces stand opposed to each as descriptive
of the external circumference and the interior condition, exactly
as in ver. 7, and in Ps. xlviii. 13. — In ver. 8 and 9, intercession
for Jerusalem is traced up to its source: it flows from love of
the brethren and of God. For the well-being of the whole nation
depends upon her well-being; and in her is the house of God,
The brethren and the friends of the pilgrims are not the inhabi
tants of Jerusalem alone, but all the members of the people of
the covenant. For Jerusalem belonged to them all ; it was the
beating heart in the body of the congregation.1 Her peace was,
at the same time, the peace of the whole' people ; comp. Jer.
xxix. 7, " And seek the peabe of the city to which I have led
you away captive, and pray for it to the Lord, for by its peace
shall be your peace," when, by a kind of parody, in altered cir
cumstances, what is here said of Zion is applied to Babylon.
The common translation is, " I will wish peace to you." But
that we must rather translate, " I will say, Peace be in thee,"
(comp. Luke x. 5), appears from the doubled ^ in ver. 7, accord
ing to which the ^ is here also a ^ of place. Even " to speak
peace" never occurs in the sense of " to pray," or "to wish for
peace ;" and the -n, according to this view, can only mean
" of thee," which will not suit. — In ver. 9, the conclusion
turns back to the point with which the Psalm opened, the
house of God.2 The seeking of good to Jerusalem (comp. Deut.
xxiii 6), the striving and endeavouring to promote it (comp. at
Ps. xxvii. 4) is seen in the first instance, and chiefly in the in
tercession for it thereby occasioned. For our own strength can
1 Calvin: " Lest any one should shrewdly object that David is in this way only
establishing his own kingdom, he solemnly declares that he is not influenced by
any private regard for himself, but that he embraces in his bosom the whole
church." ¦*¦ Calvin: "There is added a second reason, because unless Jerusalem continue
to stand, the wor8hip of God will not remain entire, but will be destroyed. There
fore, if the safety of our brethren be precious to us, if religion lie near our hearts,
the safety of the church, as far as it is within our power, must be attended to."

PSALM CXXIII. 431
do nothing here ; and the preceding verses had spoken of fto-
thing but prayer.

PSALM CXXIII.
The Psalm falls into two strophes, each of two verses, expres
sions of desire after God and his aid, ver. 1 and 2, prayer for
this after the description of the distress forming the basis on
which the prayer rests, ver. 3 and 4. A characteristic feature
of the Pilgrim Songs is, that petition throughout occupies a
very small space (here the mere " have mercy on us"), and that
meditation everywhere prevails. Prayer -songs, properly so
called, would have been too far removed from the character of
popular songs. Prayer-songs are only suitable to the sanctuary.
The Psalm is entirely suitable to the circumstances more
fully narrated in Ps. cxx.] We are led to these circumstances
by the fact that the Psalm was not composed in a state
of danger, but in a condition of misery and wretchedness, which,
by its contrast with the pretensions of being the people of God,
gave occasion to the contempt and mockery of the enemies.
The whole surrounding heathen nations are to be considered as
the authors of this contempt, but especially the Samaritans fa
voured by the Persian government, of whom it is said in Neh.
ii. 19, as in ver. 4, " they laughed us to scorn and despised us"
(comp. also ch. i 3), so that the assertion of De Wette, that the
Psalm does not suit the hostility of the Samaritans, as the Jews
suffered from them hindrance and annoyance, but not contempt,
is altogether without foundation. — The striking agreement of
the beginning with Ps. cxxi. 1 points to the identity of the
author. The Psalm begins in the singular {I direct), but the plural,
which immediately follows, shows that it is not an individual
that speaks, but, in accordance with the common style of the
Pilgrim Songs, the congregation of the Lord.
Calvin, in appropriate language, shows the application of the
Psalm to the church of all ages : " The Holy Ghost, by a clear
1 Tbe title in the Syriac translation is: ¦ " It is spoken in the person of Zerub
babel, prince of the captiveB;'' and is a supplicatory address.

432 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
voice, incites us to come to God as often as not one and another
member only, but the whole church, is unjustly and haughtily
oppressed by the passions of her enemies.
Ver. 1, 2. — A Song of the Pilgrimages. — Ver. 1. To thee I
direct my eyes, 0 Thou who sittest in heaven. Ver. 2. Behold, as
the eyes of servants look to the hands of their lords, as the eyes of
the handmaid look to the hand of her mistress, thus our eyes look
to the Lord our God, till he be gracious to us. — Thou who dwellest
in heaven, ver. 1, — far exalted above the earth and all its poten
tates, omnipotent, infinitely rich in aid for thy people ; comp.
Ps. cxv. 3, " Our God is in heaven, he does whatever he will,"
and the parallel passages quoted there. On the parag. Jod, at
Ps. ciii. 3.1 — That the O^IN in ver- 2, ^oes n°t denote, as it
sometimes does in other passages, individual lords (the plural is
instead of abstract dominion), is clear from the mention of the
servants as distinct from the handmaid; it occurs in the sense
of masters also in Jer. xxvii. 4. The hand of the masters and
of the mistress can only mean the punishing hand; and the
eyes are directed to it in the attitude of entreaty and supplica
tion that the punishment may soon come to an end, and pity be
shown to the miserable. This is evident, ]. From the passage
from which this figurative expression originated. This is, Gen.
ch. xvi, comp. ver. 6: "And Abraham said to Sarai, Behold
thine handmaid is in thine hand, do to her what seemeth good
to thee, and Sarai evil-entreated her, and she fled from her,
. . . Ver. 8. ... I flee from Sarai my mistress. Ver.
9. And the angel of the Lord said to her, Return to thy mistress,
and humble thyself under her hands." 2. From the expression
1 Luther: " This is a atrong sigh of a pained heart, which looks round on all
sides, and aeeka friends, protectors, and comforters, but can find none. Therefore
it says, Where shall I, a poor, despised man find refuge 1 I am not so strong as
to be able to preserve myself, wisdom and plans fail me among the multitude of
adveraaries who asaault me; therefore I come to thee, 0 my God, to thee I lift up
my eyes, 0 thou that dwellest in heaven. — He places over against each other the
Inhabitant of heaven and the inhabitants of earth, and reminds himself that, though
the world be high and powerful, God ia higher still. What shouldest thou do
then, when the world deapiaes and inaulta thee? Turn thine eyea thither, and aee
that God, with his beloved angels and his elect, looks down upon thee, rejoices in
thee, and loves thee." ,

psalm cxxiv, 433
her mistress. If the language referred to friendly gifts and
grants, the term used would not denote a severe mistress. 3. From
the expression, "till he be gracious to us." This clause leads
us to regard the masters and the mistress as not gracious. Now
the hand of ungracious dominion can only be a punishing hand
From such a hand it is not gifts, but only an amelioration of
punishment, that may be expected. These reasons are decisive
against the idea of several expositors that the hand is the hand
bestowing gifts, as it is at Ps. cxlv. 15, 16, civ. 27, 28. The
same remark applies to the view taken by Calvin and others,
who explain the looking to the hand as a seeking of protection;
the mention of the relation of the handmaid to the mistress is
also against this. The passage paints in a striking manner the
right position of those who sigh under the judgments of God.
They do not rage and murmur, because they know that they
suffer what they deserve ; but they humble themselves, accord
ing to the exhortation of the angel to Hagar, under the hand
which afflicts them, and only entreat that they may receive fa
vour instead of justice.
Ver. 3-4. — Ver. 3. Be gracious to us, 0 Lord, be gracious to
us, for we are very much filled with contempt. Ver. 4. Our
soul was exceedingly filled with the contempt of those at ease, the
scorning of the proud. — On the j-Q-v'in ver. 4, comp. Ps. cxx. 6.
The irregularity, that the yyb 1S marked in a double manner
by the art. and the stat. const, (comp. Ew. § 290), is relieved as
soon as we conceive of a comma being placed after it : the con
tempt, of the secure. At the Qiyii^ it is avoided by the inser
tion of the ^ which is a roundabout way of denoting the stat-
constr. The reading in the text is to be pointed Q3'i'1K3- The
Masorites to whom the uncommon form looked suspicious,
divided the word, and read Qi^i ifr^, the proud ones of the
oppressors.1.
PSALM CXXIV.
The church of theLord acknowledges that she had been protect-
1 Calvin: But because we see that the church of God, long ago, has been
covered' with reproach, and' pointed at by the finger of scorn, there is no reason
why the contempt of the world should terrify us, or why the wicked should weaken
our faith, while they attack us with their words, nay,, cut us with their reproaches,
VOL. III. 2 F

434 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
ed against imminent destruction singly and alone by his help, ver.
1-5. She praises the Lord for this his grace, and, on the ground
of it, joyfully acknowledges him as the only object of her trust,
ver. 6-8.
The Psalm; consists of an introductory verse which, at the
very beginning, gives marked prominence to the main thought,
the " if not ;" and a main body of seven verses, divided by the
three and the four.
The, title ascribes the Psalm to David. A situation similar to
that described here,, that- of threatened destruction, assuredly
occurred in the time of David, during the Aramaic-Edomitic
war; comp. Ps. xliv., lx. Yet David has taken occasion, from
this distress, to compose a song which should be useful, to the
church of all ages in similar circumstances. This is obvious from
the want of all special allusions.
On behalf of the Davidic origin of the Psalm, attested in the
title, and denied by modern expositors without any satisfactory
reason, we may urge, that the Psalm is not marked by the mild
softness of the Psalms which were composed after the captivity;
but has in it as much of David's strain as could exist in a
popular song. To this we may add the striking agreement, in
particular expressions, with passages of David's Psalms.
Luther: "We may well sing this Psalm, not only against our
enemies who openly hate and persecute us, but also against
spiritual wickedness.. For we know, from the teaching of the
gospel, that now seven devils beset us, whereas formerly we had
only one to fear. But this is not the whole of our danger ; a
third enemy must rise up against us, within ourselves, whom we
carry along with us and tenderly preserve, namely, the sacred
venerable woman, our flesh, which incites us to sin at all times
and makes, disturbance,, is contrary to faith, and fights against
the spirit in all our members."
A Song of the Pilgrimages. — Of David. Ver. 1. Had not
the Lord remained with us, thus may Israel say. — There occurs
here and in the second verse an aposiopesis : it would have
happened so and so ; exactly as in Ps. xxvii. 13, " had I not
believed to see the goodness! of the Lord in the land of the
living." . . . comp., at the passage. The '^ is not super
fluous, but it is to be explained, " if he had not been who

PSALM CXXIV. VER. 2 — 8. 435
still was ours = whom we still had, comp. at Ps. lvi. 9.
Ver. 2-5. — Ver. 2. Had not the Lord remained with us!
when men rose up against us. Ver. 3. Then they had swallowed
us up alive, when their wrath burned against us. Ver. 4. Then
the water had overflowed us, a stream had gone over our soul.
Ver. 5. Then tlie proud waters had gone over our soul. . Men,
ver. 2, — who, however numerous they may be, are yet to be
considered as nothing before the, Almighty; comp. Ps. lvi 11,
" In God I trust, I fear not what men shall do to me." — On
"W> ver- 3» the ancient and poetic form which occurs only in
the passage before us, instead of ¦j*^, comp. Ew. § 103. Against
unnecessarily changing the sense into the feeble thus, this full
form and the emphatic threefold repetition are decisive. The
"alive" is to be explained here as in Ps. Iv. 1.5, Prov. i. 12, only
from the allusion to the destruction of the company of Korah,
Num. xvi. 32, 33, where both words, the " swallowing up," and
the "alive," occur; the import therefore is, they would have swal
lowed us up, as formerly the devouring vengeance of Sheol swal
lowed up alive the wicked of a former age.^-The overflowing
waters, ver. 4, occur, also in the strikingly similar Davidic pass
ages, Ps. xviii 16, cxliv. 7, as an emblem of enemies. On the
" stream" (the pj^piJ, the full form like i^), comp. Ps. xviii. 4.
The proud waters, ver. 5, are here all the more suitable, as it
had been spiritual waters that had been spoken of. There is
no reason whatever for having recourse to the doubtful sense
of boiling and boiling over; comp. at Ps. Ixxxix. 9.
Ver. 6-8.— Ver. 6. Praised be tlie Lord, that he has not given
us over for a prey to their teeth. Ver. ,7. Our soul has escaped
like a bird from the snare of the fowler, the snare is broken and
we are free. Ver. 8. Our help is in the name of the Lord, the
Creator of heaven and earth.1 — On ver. 6 comp. the Davidic
passage, Ps. xxviii. 6, " Praised be the Lord, for he has heard
the voice of my supplications," and Ps. xxxi. 22, "praised be
the Lord, for he has shown me wonderful goodness in a strong
city. — On ver. 8, Calvin: "he now extends to the perpetual
state of the church what the faithful had formerly experienced."
Ps. xxxiii. 22 is parallel. The name of the Lord is the Lord
' Calvin: He now exhorts the pious to gratitude, and, as it were, dictates words
to them.

436 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
in the richness of his deeds. On the second clause comp. Ps.
cxxi. 2.1
PSALM CXXV.
The protecting grace of God over his own people is illustrated
by two images drawn from the natural situation of the metro
polis of the church — the people of the Lord is firm like Mount
Zion, is surrounded by the protection of the Lord, as Jerusalem
is surrounded by mountains: — and the objection drawn from
the circumstances of the times, the dominion of the heathen,
under which the people of God groaned, is set aside by referring
to a better future, ver. 1-3. Upon the ground of the confidence
described in the first part, there rises in the second, the prayer
that the Lord would do good to the true Israel; and to this
there is added the solemn exclusion of the false seed from this
future salvation, which, in the concluding words, is yet once
more supplicated on behalf of Israel, ver. 4, 5.
The formal arrangement becomes obvious only when we con
sider ver. 1 as the ruling fortress in relation to this and the
following Psalm, which is bound up with it, so that the two
form one pair ; and this relation of the first verse to the two
Psalms, is all the more necessary, as, in accordance with the
common arrangement, the two figures in verses 1 and 2 strike
too closely upon each other. We thus obtain, for the main body
in our Psalm, four verses in accordance with the four repeti
tions of the word Jehovah, — four as the signature of what is
complete on every side, thus pointing, according to the con
tents, to the protection of God on every side; comp. the clause,
" the Lord is round about his people," in ver. 2. The four
verses fall into two strophes, each of the same length. The
four of this Psalm, and the six of the following, which in com
mon with it has the word Jehovah four times, make up the
number ten; the two strophes of that Psalm, when added to
the two here, give again the number four. The two Psalms
before us are bound up with the Davidic Psalm cxxiv., so that
1 Luther: " He thus places over against the great danger and conflict omnipo
tent God, and drowns, as it were, in an anthem, the wickedness of the whole world
and of hell, just as a great fire consumes a little drop of water."

PSALM CXXV. VER. 1.. 437
the three form one trilogy. They are all intimately connected
together as to their contents. The two latter Psalms are as it
were the response which was drawn forth by David's powerful
call from the heart of the congregation of God after the cap
tivity. The main tendency of the Psalm, as is that of Ps. cxxiv. and
cxxvi, is to strengthen and to comfort; next to this, however, to
warn.1 Definite historical relations meet us. The church first
sang the Psalm under the oppression of heathen rule, ver. 3i
but in her own land ; from the natural features of that land the
figures of her security and of the divine protection were taken.
Struggling with manifold troubles which might have led her to
doubt as to the protecting favour of God, she here rises above
these in faith ; possessing a good kernel, ver. 4, but at the same
time a bad shell, ver. 5 ; numbering not a few externally among
her members who through the necessities of the times had wan
dered from God, and departed from the path of his revealed will.
These circumstances are exactly those which existed after the
deliverance from captivity at the time when the building of the
temple was interrupted, comp. at Ps. cxx., cxxvi. To what an
extent at that time, in consequence especially of disappointed
hopes, corruption again sprang up among the Israelites is seep
from the prophecies of Zechariah, of which the Psalm before us
may well be considered as a compend in comfort and in threat
ening; Zechariah, in consequence of these sinners, had occasion
given him to announce new serious threatenings of judgment,
comp. ch. v. and xi., Christol. ii. 12, 59.
In accordance with the title in whicli the Psalm is termed a
pilgrim song, stand the two figures whicli impress a high sacred
ness upon the view of Zion and Jerusalem as- obtained by the
pilgrims, and are intended to open up to them the symbolical
import of natural objects.
A Song of the Pilgrimages.— Ver. 1. Those who trust in the
Lord are as Mount Zion, which moves not, stands for ever. — The
Psalmist labours with great earnestness to find supports for faith
in the visible world, which fights so powerfully against it. It is
1 Calvin: In the meantime, however, least hypocrites should promiscuously
apply to themselves what is here said, he discriminates between the true and the
false Israelites.

438 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
thus that Mount Zion is in the passage before us consecrated to
this object; whoever looks at it in its immoveable firmness,' will
thereby be led to lay to heart the immoveable firmness of the
church. As the point of comparison, according to the express
interpretation of the Psalmist, is what is common to Zion with
other mountains, its immoveable firmness, any other ¦ mountain
might "have been named. The reason why the Psalmist was
led to choose Mount Zion, is, that it was the external seat of
the church. He compares the firmness of the church itself to
that of her external seat, the immoveableness of the spiritual to
that of the material Zion, The figure is destroyed by those
ancient and modern expositors who understand by Mount Zion
itself something spiritual, the church. The church is rather
indicated by " those who trust in the Lord ; " and their firmness
is likened to that of external Zion. In the expression, "those
who trust in the Lord," the emphasis is not laid on the affec
tion of trust, but on the object of the trust, and the meaning is
"those who are protected by the Lord," "the people of the
Lord." The sitting, like our standing, is in opposition to lying
on the ground; this is the sense in all those passages where ex
positors translate the word by "to be inhabited," or "habit
able." A sitting city, a sitting country, a sitting house, is one
standing upright, not laid on the ground. It is thus that the
word here is used of a mountain, which stands in immoveable
firmness. That we cannot have recourse with Ewald to the
arbitrary sense of "to be inhabited," is evident, apart from
other considerations, from the fact that " to sit for ever," is
marked out by the want of the copula as the negative to which
"not to move" is merely the corresponding positive. On
" moves not," comp. Ps. xlvi. 5, where it is said of the city of
God, ''God is in the midst 6f her, she shall hot move." Luther
has incorrectly referred the not moving and the sitting to those
who trust :— they shall not fall, but shall abide for ever, like
Mount Zion. Besides the singular the word "to sit" is against
this. Ver. 2. The mountains are round about Jerusalem ; and the
Lord is round about his people from henceforth even for ever.
Ver. 3. For the sceptre of wickedness shall not rest upon the lot of
the righteous, so that the righteous put not forth the hand to un-

PSALM CXXV. VER. 2, 3. 439
righteousness. — On ver. 2, we may comp. the remarks of Robin
son on the situation of Jerusalem: " The sacred city lies upon the
broad and high mountain range, which is shut in by the two
valleys, Jehosaphat and Hinnom. All the surrounding hills are
higher: in the east the Mount of Olives, on the south, the so-
called hill of evil counsel, which ascends from the valley of
Hinnom. On the west, the ground rises gently to the border
of the great Wady as described above, while in the north the
bend of a ridge which adjoins the Mount of Olives, limits the
view to a distance of about a mile and a half." This outward
situation of Jerusalem, the Psalmist views with the eye of a
theologian, who always lays to heart the thought of the distres
ses, the conflicts, and the victories of the church, and sees every
where in external things images of these, for example, in those
loud roaring and powerlessly breaking waves of the sea, the
figure of worldly power in hostility to the church. Led on by
him, the faithful, when they looked at the mountains round
about Jerusalem, the external seat of the church, saw in them
the spiritual mountains of God's protection. Zech. ii. 4, 5 is
parallel.1 The idea of the people of God must here be defined
from what precedes and follows. It is not the whole of Israel
according to the flesh, for the wicked are expressly excluded
in ver. 5, but it is those who trust in the Lord, ver. 1, the right
eous, ver. 3, the upright and good, ver. 4, therefore the Israel
ites without guile. The others are, according to the declara
tion of the law, "rooted out from among the people." The
genuine and righteous separation between the visible and the
invisible church, belonged even to the Old Testament. Impure
portions are mingled with the people of God according to out
ward appearance, which do not really belong to the body, and
and are not animated by the living principle. These have no
part in the promises of the true church. — The Psalmist confirms
1 Luther : "It ia much easier to learn than to believe that we who have by
us the word of God and believe in it, are surrounded with Divine aid. If we
were surrounded by walls of steel and fire, we would feel secure and defy the
devil. But the property of faith is not to be proud of what the eye seea, but of
what the word reveals. The only thing that is wanting, therefore, is, that we
have no spiritual eyes, and that we follow our carnal eyes only." Berieb. . " This
is tbe best and the most impregnable place of defence ; in it thou mayeat remain,
however long the enemy may lie before it, if thou doat not aurrender thyself."

440 fTHE BOOK OF PSALMS.'
in ver. 3 the affirmation made in the preceding verse, by remov
ing an apparent objection which might be taken from the cross
of the righteous, the sufferings which undeniably visit the
people of God, and under which they are at present groaning.
These sufferings are not permanent. From the oppression of
the world the church shall again rise to the glorious liberty of
the children of God. The length of the verse shews that the
Psalmist here comes to the great question of the day. That
the fly® does not here mean the rod of punishment, but the
sceptre, the symbol of dominion (comp. at Ps. ii. 9, xiv. 6), is
clear from the parallel expression- for the dominion of the
heathen, the throne of wickedness, in Ps. xciv. 20. It is clear also
from the mention made of the lot, i.e., the possession ; the rod of
punishment descends upon the persons. The righteous (comp.
at Ps. xxxiii. 1) are not a particular part of the people, but the
whole nation, with the exception of those who are only Israel
ites in appearance.1 The ground which the Psalmist adduces
for the divine procedure promised to him is, that God spares
the weakness of those who believe, because they might easily,
if he were to give constant prosperity to the ungodly world, and
constant misery to them, depart from him and beled into apos
tacy, and might participate in the wickedness of the wicked,
saying, " I have in vain purified my heart, and washed my hands'
in innocency; for I have been plagued continually, and my
chastisement has been every morning," Ps. lxxiii. 13, 14. The
-p f-oty with ^ is to lay the hand on any one or on any thing,
Gen. xxxvii. 22, Ex. xxii. 7, 10. At j-jroii? we cannot think of
revenge taken at their own hands, to which the Israelites in pre
sent circumstances had nothing to tempt them; the word refers,
as is manifest from the opposition of goodness and righteous
ness, in ver. 4, to wickedness in its widest extent.2
• Berieb. : " The power of sin shall not always be so great in those who re
pent and struggle against it."
2 Luther : " Whether the conflict be inward in the spirit, or outward in the
flesh, yet the victory shall in the end be ours through Christ, as this very conso
latory verse promiaea. This promiae, however, ia to both parties incredible, both
to ua who suffer and to those who persecute us. For what can be so false as it ia,
if thou askest counsel at thine own understanding. The contrary is the . case.
Look at Christ, he is not so forsaken on the cross as that the rod and the sceptre
of the ungodly are upon him. Thus it has been also with the prophets, apostles,

PSALM CXXV. VER. 4, 5. 441
Ver. 4, 5. — Ver 4. Do good, 0 God, to ihe good, and to those
who are upright in heart. Ver. 5. But those who turn aside to
their crooked ways the Lord will let them go with evil doers, but
may peace be upon Israel. — The prayer in ver. 4 goes forth
out of the basis of the confidence, whicli had been expressed in
the first part, and there stands in the background, " the Lord
shall do good." It is thus that the future in ver. 5 is connected
with the imperative. The y\£ is connected with its verb, in
order to point out the intimate connection between the being
and the treatment. On "y$}\ righteous, i.e., to act righteously,
compare at Ps. xxv. 8, xxxiii. 1. The conduct, in conformity
to the rule as it was laid down to Israel in the divine law, is
here represented as necessary not only in reference to outward
actions, but also in reference to the heart, comp. Ps. vii. 11.
The law demanded from the Israelites the unqualified love of
God and of their neighbour, and proclaimed to them, " thou
shalt not covet." Those who in the passage before us appear
under the name of the good and the upright in heart, are in
ver. 5 named Israel; just as in Ps. lxxiii. 1. Israel is identified
with those who are of a pure heart. It is here very manifest
how unjustly the Psalmists have been charged with looking
upon things in a national point of view, how very far removed
they are from the Jewish delusion, that the mere fact of out
ward descent and of circumcision, gives any preference over the
heathen— a delusion which in other forms has been renewed
even in the Christian church. The Scriptures every where
look upon the heart. — The l-fjsj-f in ver. 5 means properly to
cause to turn away the feet or the steps, to turn aside. Thus,
Is. xxx. 11, Job xxiii. 11. The jy\bpbpy is the acc-> as it
stands with verbs of motion. It occurs only in Jud. v. 6, with
the fflrnfr*** ^e^ ou'i in ^ls Passage) an^ denotes there crooked
ways, in opposition to the straight-running main-roads, bye-
and other martyrs. If we will look now with our eyes, we will pee many things
otherwise than the words represent them to be. Therefore the Holy Ghost brings
us to his word and thoughts, and bids us reflect not upon what we suffer and aee
on earth, but upon what he is purposing in heaven. . . But we must carefully
attend to this, that we do not name to God any time for deliverance. God may
try us even to tbe very uttermoat. When mattera have reached the last extrem
ity, so that nothing is before our eyea but pure despair, then he delivers us, and
gives life in death, and makes us blessed in the curse."

442 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
pathsj or private roads. A walk according to tlie command
ments of God is compared to the public roads, and a walk
according to the lusts of the unrenewed heart to the bye-ways,
comp. Deut. ix. 16, "Ye make haste to depart from the way
which the Lord hath commanded you," Mai. ii. 8, 9.1 " He
will let them go with" is equivalent to, he will let it happen to
them as to the evil-doers. They have associated themselves in
conduct with evil-doers; God therefore will associate them in
punishment with them, in spite of their freedom from external
idolatry, and in spite of their external religion, on the ground
of which so many, after the captivity, expected, with unrenewed
hearts, to share in the promises of God, and wondered and
murmured when their hopes were not gratified. The evil-doers
are not the heathen, neither are they the public apostates, in
opposition to those who secretly apostatised, but they are the
whole class, from which the individuals who really belong to it
sought in vain to separate themselves, in reference to God's
dealings, and to prepare for themselves a different lot ; comp.
at Ps. xxvi. 9, xxviii. 3. The Israel on whose behalf peace is
prayed for at the conclusion, as also in Ps. cxxviii., appearing
in consequence of the removal of the sceptre of wickedness, ver.
3, are the pure gold of Israel, which remains after the removal
of the dross, to be separated by judgment ; comp. Is. Ivii. 19,
" Peace, peace, saith the Lord, to them that are far off, and to
them that are near, and I heal," with ver. 21, "There is no
peace, saith my God, to the wicked."

PSALM CXXVI.
The congregation of the Lord acknowledges with thanksgiving
the great things which he has already done to her, how he has,
by her deliverance, filled her with triumphant joy, ver. 1-3.
She entreats him that he would not allow his work so gloriously
begun to be interrupted, and also further that he would have
pity upon her misery, and expresses the firm hope that her pain
shall be turned into joy, ver. 4-6.
1 Lampe: " These are emphatically termed their obliquities, because they pro
ceed from the wickedness of their own hearts."

PSALM CXXVI. VER. 1 — 3. 443
The Psalm exactly suits the situation which lies at the bottom
of all the Pilgrim Songs whicli have no name : — comp. the in
troduction to Ps. cxxv. in regard to its relation to that Psalm.
The great deliverance which the church has recently experi
enced, according to ver. 1-3, can soarcely be sought in any
thing else than in the restoration from captivity, even although
the definite reference to it, which many expositors find in ver.
] , rests upon a manifestly false exposition, and although it is
only by a similar exposition that ver. 4 contains a prayer for
the completion of the restoration. Ver. 4—6 refer to the
mournful circumstances which existed in the new colony before
the completion of the building of the temple. The special re
ferences are, as is usual, only slightly indicated. The sacred
Psalmists were deeply impressed with the conviction that they
sang for the church of all ages. The Psalm always finds a new
application in those circumstances of the church in which joy
ful hopes, awakened by a previous deliverance, are in danger of
being frustrated ; it was also composed for the sake of expres
sing the feelings of the individual believer, in whom sin threatens,
after his first love, to become again powerful. It guides us to
prepare, out of the lively realization of the grace already received,
a sure foundation for prayer and hope in reference to grace yet
to be bestowed.
A Song of the Pilgrimages.-— Ver. 1—3. — -Ver. 1. When the
Lord turned himself to the tnrning of Sion we were like men in a
dream. Ver. 2. Then was our mouth full of laughter, and our
tongue full of joy; then they said among the heathen: the Lord has
done great things for them. Ver. 3. The Lord has done great
things for us; we were gladt — After the example of Abenesra
and Kimchi, Luther refers the whole strophe to the future de
liverance : " if the Lord. , . . shall deliver, we shall be."
But as the futures in ver. 2 are surrounded by preterites at the
beginning and end, we must explain them by the presentiat-
ing of the past {i. e., the poet in his lively fancy pictures the
past as present, and speaks of it as such). On y$) with the
accus., to turn back, comp. at Ps. xiv. 7, Ixxxv. 4, Is. Iii. 8,
" They see eye to eye, how the Lord turneth back to Sion."
The j-Qi'tt)' which occurs only in the passage before us (comp.
in reference to the form Ew. § 146 c.) is the same in point

444 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
of import with fnii'i'y, Is. xxx. 15, "By returning and rest ye
T
shall be established," returning in a spiritual sense, conver
sion. Allusion is made in a marked manner to the phrase,
which frequently occurs, and which is used immediately after
in ver. 4, j-ynty liy> which, as was shown at Ps. xiv. 7,
never means anything else than to turn back to the captivity or
to the misery of his people. The expression is intended to inti
mate that the Lord returns to his people, then, when they re
turn to him. He returns as it were to the return of his people,
as we read in the fundamental passage, Deut. xxx. 2, 3, "When
thou returnest to the Lord thy God, . . . the Lord thy
God returns to thy captivity, and turns thee back, and assembles
thee out of all the nations whither the Lord thy God has scat
tered thee, and in ver. 9 and 10, " For the Lord shall return to
thee to rejoice over thee, . . . when thou shalt return to
the Lord thy God with thy whole soul." Prominence is also
given frequently in other passages to the intimate connection
between the return to the Lord and his favour, comp. Deut.
iv. 30, Is. x. 21, 22, lix. 20, Neh. i 8. There is, therefore, no
reason to maintain with several expositors that n^ti^ ls °f the
same import as jyQXp (^e circumstance that the two roots,
Xyy$) and yft) are never interchanged is decisive against
this) -still less to change the j-q,'1'"^ in*0 rYOt^- ^-n the
ni'1ti> there was contained, at the same time, the theological
view as to the former suffering. " We were like men in a
dream" is commonly explained : the happiness experienced by
us was so great that we, not trusting our own eyes, regarded
the reality as a dream. But the expression is not we "believed
that we dreamed," but " we were like men in a dream," and
thus the words can only refer to the excess of joy in which the
delivered captives were out of themselves, out of their senses,
and like men intoxicated or dreaming. This view also suits the
connection better. The whole of the firkt strophe is occupied
with the representation of the former joy. The pain at present
endured forms the counterpart to this joy in the second strophe,
the removal of which is entreated from God and hoped for.i —
The use of the future in ver. 2 can the less lead us to refer what is
there said to a future time, as a special reason for that use occurs
1 Lampe: " The pious have assuredly great cause for joy when they are deli
vered from a captivity which oppressed not their bodies only, but also their souls."

PSALM CXXVI. VER. 4 — 5. 445
in the allusion to the passage, Job viii. 21 , " He shall yet fill
thy mouth with laughter and thy lips with joy," — an allusion
which is all the more obvious, as Job is manifestly not only
the representative of individual suffering righteous men, but
at the same time also the type of the church, so that the
promise imparted to him was very appropriately fulfilled in her.
The second half of the verse, as well as the first, has an old basis
to rest on. The peculiar expression, mpji V'Hin rVWlta ls
literally from Joel ii. 21. It points to the promise of deliverance
from trouble which had been given long before to the people when
the trouble approached. This reference to an important funda
mental passage, explains the repetition of the wrords. The ene
mies appear in that passage under the image of swarms of grass
hoppers. The Psalmist sees through this transparent covering.
In the second strophe, ver. 4-6, we have first the prayer in
ver. 4, and after that the hope in ver. 5 and 6. — Ver. 4. Turn
back, 0 Lord to our captivity, as the streams in the south. Ver.
5. Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. Ver. 6. They go and
go in weeping bearing the seed-draught, they come and come in
joy bearing their sheaves. — The explanation of the phrase y$}
mit&' ver- **> which alone is the correct one, not " to turn back
the captives or the captivity," but "to return to the captivity,
the miserable condition" (comp. at ver. 1), procures immediately
for the second clause the proper explanation : as streams (re
turn) in the south. y%\ is the dry south division of Canaan,
without any fountains, Jos, xv. 19, and thus all the more de-
, pendant upon the rain-streams, the disappearance of which
filled every place with sadness; comp., in reference to these
rain-streams, Job vi. 15 ss. The point of comparison, according
to ver. 1-2, and according to ver. 6, is the joy over the re
appearance of what had been so painfully amissing. A similar
figure occurs in Ps. lxviii. 9. The Masorites, instead of jyQty'
read ]-\>Q'*i?, which is only another form. In other passages,
they reverse the matter. — The sowing and the reaping, in ver.
5, is a figurative expression for undertakings and their results.
This expression was occasioned by the comparison in the second
half of the preceding verse. What not unfrequently happens in
the dry south, that those who in a season of drought, in con
sequence of the disappearance of the rain-streams, sow in grief
and anxiety, reap in joy, inasmuch as the rain-streams return,

446 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
cause the crop to spring up and to grow, always happens in the
kingdom of God : undertakings wcgun in a time of grief are
brought by the return of the Lord to a joyful issue. Although
the natural circumstances lie at the bottom, we cannot maintain,
that the words, in the first instance, were used in reference to
these, and only admit of being applied to something higher ;
for the unlimited generality ot the afiirmation here made does
not suit the natural circumstances. The language used is from
the first used of spiritual sowing. Besides, iwe cannot overlook
the fact that the expression^ "those who sow," is limited, from
the context, in which only the people of the Lord had been
spoken of: those who sow among the people of God, or we who
sow. In the world there is much sowing in tears without any
reaping in joy ; . and the verse before- us, falsely applied, instead
of the call " Repent," assumes, in the case of the world, the
character of false comfort. Paul Gerhardt's hymn shews that
he understood the sense correctly : " God's children sow very
mournfully and in tears, but at last the year brings that for
which they longed for ; harvest comes when they make sheaves,
then all tlieir bitter sorrow becomes loud joy and laughter."
Ezra vi. 16 shews how the words were fulfilled in those to whom
they were in the first instance addressed, how the general truth,
so consolatory for the church of God, was in tlieir case realised :
" And the children of Israel . . . kept the dedication of
the house with joy, ver. 22 ; and they kept the feast of un
leavened bread seven days with joy ; for the Lord had made
them joyful, and turned the heart of the King of Assyria to
them, so that they were strengthened in the work on the house
of the Lord." Compare, in reference to the dedication of the
wall of the city, Neh. xii., especially ver. 43 : " And great
sacrifices were offered that day, and they were joyful, for God
had made to them great joy, so that both women and children
rejoiced, and the joy of Jerusalem was heard afar off." — The
subject in ver. 6 is the sower. The infin. absol. in both verbs
denotes the continued existence of the pain, and also of the
joy, comp. Ew. § 280. b.}. jHfn *TtW3 1S Properly the draught
' Luther correctly : " The prophet intends to announce a perpetual truth by
the repetition of a little word, when he says, ' they go, they go !' For there is
no end of the weeping until we are laid in the grave, although a little while ia
given to rest.

PSALM CXXVII. 447
of seed which the sower takes with his hand out of the
seed box. In Amos. ix. 13, y-yt'n *WO 1S *he sower, properly
he who draws the seed, draws it out of the seed box. Tho
"WE occurs in the sense of drawing also, in Job xxviii. 1 8,
" wisdom draws stronger (in the scales) than pearls," is heavier
than they.

PSALM CXXVII.
" Every thing is dependant upon the blessing of God : " in
every work of man a prosperous issue does not come from his
own efforts, but from the Lord. This is the contents.1
The Psalm falls into two strophes — God secured a dwelling,
protection, nourishment, ver. 1 and 2, and posterity, ver. 3-5.
The Psalm is governed by the number three, as the number
of the Mosaic blessing ; Jehovah occurs thrice, in the first
strophe ^1^ is thrice used, there are three things in which one's
own striving avails not, and the third strophe consists of three
verses. The superscription attributes the Psalm to Solomon, and in
ternal reasons go to confirm the correctness of this. It is
characteristically distinguished from the nameless Psalms of
degrees, and so as to mark its connection with an earlier time ;
it exhibits no trace of the mournful depression by which they
are pervaded, the language is more vigorous, and while they
throughout refer to the whole of the community, the individual
is here directed to the true source of blessing. The theme of
the Psalm suits Solomon, who chiefly occupied the domestic-
civic territory, as Calvin justly remarks; insomuch that exposi
tors of a super-ecclesiastical spirit, have sought to thrust in

1 Calvin : It was his purpose to humble the foolish confidence of men, who,
forgetting God, have the audacity to attempt anything, in dependance only on
their own wisdom or atrength  Whatever they attempt shall come to
nought, unless prosperity be granted of mere grace. . . . For even the
division which many conceive of is wicked, by which a man who has acted vigo
rously, leaving half of the praise to God, takes the other half to himself, but the
blessing of God alone ought to be extended over the whole, and to enjoy the
dominion.

448 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
by force the reference to the church, which they missed in the
body of the Psalm itself (for example, Lampe). The striving
after the. worldly good expressed in the conclusion, ver. 4 and
5, is not less suitable for Solomon as the author, than for its
destination as a popular and Pilgrim Song. It is also a confir
mation of Solomon's being the author, the coincidence which
the idea of the Psalm presents with the Proverbs ; comp. espe
cially the strikingly parallel passage, Prov. x, 22 : " The bless
ing of the Lord it maketh rich, and labour adds nothing
thereto." Finally, we recognise in ver. 2 an allusion to the
personal relations of Solomon, in'the words: "So gives he to
his beloved in sleep." According to 2 Sam. xii. 25, Solomon
received the name Jedidiah, the beloved of the Lord, and the
promise made to him of the Divine blessing was, according to
1 Kings iii. 5-14, given when he was asleep.
The Psalm is primarily intended for such as think too highly
of human efforts, a fault which is particularly apt to betray
itself in the prosperous. (Hence Tilling remarks, not without
reason, that the Psalm presupposes the Jewish commonwealth
to have been in a flourishing condition.) At the same time,
since it points to the Divine blessing as the one source of
prosperity, it is rich in consolation to those who are in ad
verse circumstances, paralyzed in their activity. It would
undoubtedly be this bearing of the Psalm which would be
more particularly contemplated when it was used after the
exile, straitened and annoyed as the new colony was in many
respects by the Samaritans.
Ver. 1-2. — A Song of the Pilgrimages. — Ver. 1 . If the Lord
does not build a house, its builders labour in vain ; if the Lord
does not guard a city, the watchman wakes in vain. Ver. 2. It is
in vain for. you who rise early, who delay sitting, who eat the bread
of trouble ; so gives he to his beloved in sleep. — That in ver. 1 the
discourse is of an actual house-building, not of carefulness for
the good of the family, is manifest already from the juxtaposition
of the house and the city and then, from ver. 2, to the subject of
which we can hardly find a transition if we understand the build
ing of the house in a figurative sense. The "Q belongs not to
T1]**!!) hut to I'-fty- The contrast in the second member is not
of public as opposed to private affairs ; but of protection as op-

PSALM CXXVII. VER. 1, 2. 449
posed to the dwelling. The security of the city comes into con
sideration in so far as it is the condition of the security of the
individual. The watchman is, as in Ps. cxxx. 6, the common
night-watch. That we are not to think of " all those, whoso
part it is to care for the welfare of a city, therefore also magis
trates and rulers," is clear from -ip*^ alone, which signifies only
to wake in the sense of watching; comp. Ps. cii. 7, Prov. viii 34.
The Psalmist has here before his eyes those who strive and
labour without God. Hence, he renders only the one side pro
minent. He would have spoken quite otherwise, if he had had
in his eye such as, in false Confidence on God, indolently lay
their hands on their bosom. It is not working, which since the
fall is of divine ordination, and foresight, that are condemned,
but only the pernicious error, quite destructive of prayer, that
one can succeed in accomplishing somewhat without the divine
aid. — In ver. 2 the sitting, in contrast to the standing or rising
up for the purpose of working, is the resting: they hasten to
go to work, and delay to leave off from it; comp. Ps. cxxxix. 2,
Lam. iii. 63, Deut. vi. 7, xi. 19. The exposition of sitting by:
at work (Luther: and sits long at it), with which Is. v. 11 is
to be compared, has, besides these passages, the fact against it,
that sitting at work was unusual according to the simple man
ners of the Israelites. Bread of trouble is bread which is eaten
amid hard labour. The words rest on Gen. iii. 17: "In bitter la
bour shalt thou eat of it" (the produce of the earth), and ver. 19 :
" In the sweat of thy brow shalt thou eat bread," — a reference
which shows that it is not the Psalmist's intention here to re
prove over-driven and excessive toil. *p So, agreeably to that,
(Job ix. 35, 1 Kings x. 12), what they in vain strive to have
accomplished through their hard toil. ^^ for n2tt? 1S n°t the
accusative, but the preposition is omitted, as is frequently the
case with words that are in constant use, for example, y~\y,
1pl> to which pjit^ here is poetically made like. , The exposi
tion: he gives sleep, instead of, in sleep (LXX. Vulg.),. gives an
unsuitable meaning. For the subject is not, about the sleep,
but the gain. Sleep is not put in opposition to labour ill itself;
for this is common to the beloved of God with the. ungodly;
comp. on Ps. lx. 5. To rise up early, and to be late in sitting down
again, to eat the bread of trouble, is the general destination and
duty of men, without complying with which no one can hope
vol. in. , 2 a

450 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
for a blessing. Against laziness the strongest condemnation is
uttered in the Proverbs, comp. vi. 9, 10, xxxi. 15, 27, as indeed
the whole of the Old Testament, is decidedly opposed to a
vicious Quietism. But the contrast is with labour as a sourca
of prosperity and well-being. The righteous have sleep as a
source of good, in a way that the ungodly have not, for they
resign themselves to it when their work is faithfully done; they
receive it without any effort of their own; by night the blessing
comes to them they know riot how ; while the others accomplish
nothing by the labour they undergo, and have no profit by all
their pains.
Ver. 3-5. — Ver. 3. Lo, the gift of the Lord are sons, reward
is the fruit of the womb. Ver. 4. As arrows in the hand of a
hero, so are sons of youth. Ver. 5. Happy he who has his quiver
full of them; they shall not be put to shame, when they speak with
their enemies in the gate. — The Lo, in ver. 3, points to a new and
particularly striking example of the principle, that all depends on
the Lord's blessing. Children, in whom a pious spirit has always
recognised a gift of the Lord — comp. Gen. xxxiii. 5, xlviii. 9 — are
thought of last, because the possession of them is only then a
piece of good fortune, when a secure dwelling-place and an ade
quate support, (ver. 1 and 2), have already been provided. jiVrli
TfiTV ProP- the inheritance of the Lord. Mich.: Sicut alias bona
parentum in liberos descendunt, Prov. xix. 1 4. The expression:
fruit of the womb, refers to Gen. xxx. 2, Deut. vii. 13, where,
precisely under the use of this expression, the blessing of chil
dren is derived from God alone. The expression, reward, or
hire, taken from Gen. xxx. 18, where Leah, in the birth of a
son, sees a reward granted to her by God, and in consequence
bestows on him the name of Issachar. — In ver. 4 and 5, the
Psalmist points to the greatness of this divine gift, the worth of
a blooming posterity. Sons of youth are not youthful sons, but
sons begotten in youth; comp. Gen. xxxvii. 3, Is. liv. 6. Such
are peculiarly strong, Gen. xlix. 3, and eome then to the height
of their vigour, when the declining parents need their protec
tion. They are compared to arrows, because they provide de
fence against the attacks of enemies. — It is unnecessary in the
words: they shall not be ashamed, ver. 5, to regard the fathers
as the subject. That the sons should not be ashamed, or put
to the worse, when managing the affairs of their fathers, was

PSALM CXXVIII. 451
quite appropriate as a ground on which to extol tho prosperity
of the latter, j-^ -q-j, to speak with, as in Gen. xiv. 1 5, Ex.
xxv. 22. The gate was the place of business; comp. on Ps. Ixix.
12. There the strength of the sons should be put forth in sup
port of the father's rights; and how necessary it was, even in
strictly judicial matters, appears from many passages, for
example, Job v. 4. PSALM CXXVIII.
The sentiment of the Psalm is, that the fear of God and
righteousness never lose their reward. As the preceding Psalm,
so also this is ruled by the number three : two strophes, each
of three verses, and Jehovah thrice.
The subject is not, like Ps. cxxvii., the individual fearer of
God, but the ideal person of the fearers of God, the god-fearing
Israel, who are also frequently personified elsewhei'e, for ex
ample, in Lam. iii. 1. This is clear from the expression in ver.
5: behold the good of Jerusalem, from the conclusion in ver. 6:
Peace be upon Israel, — from the fact, that all the nameless
pilgrim-songs refer to the whole of the community, as generally
all post-exile Psalms, to the number of which, the flat and
broken discourse of this Psalm, and its want of vigour and
elevation, indicate that it ought to be referred; finally, from
the circumstance, that all the original passages alluded to in it
refer to Israel.
In a time of trouble and distress the fear of God appeared to
be deprived for ever of its reward. This appearance threatened
to injure it. An antidote against the disheartening sadness
which would then be apt to insinuate itself upon Israel, is pro
vided in our Psalm, on which, as is justly remarked by Tiling,
the 8th chapter of Zechariah may be regarded as a commentary.
"' Happy is the fearer of God, say I, for consolation amid cir
cumstances, which seem loudly to declare the reverse. Fear ye
not, let there only be no failure in you, God never fails. Sing,
pray, and go in the way of God, only perform faithfully thy
part, and thus shall the rich blessing of the Highest be renewed
to you every morning."

Ver. 1-3. — Ver. I . A song of the pilgrimages. Happy is every

452 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
one that fears the Lord, that walks in his ways. Ver. 2. The
labour of thy hands wilt thou eat, it is well with thee, and thou hast
good. Ver. 3. Thy wife is a fruitful vine in ihe interior of thy
house, thy sons are as olive plants round about thy table — Every one,
in ver. 1, means not merely the God-fearing Israelite of earlier
times, but also that of the present. The fear of God will give
proof of its reality by walking in the ways of God, so that no
one, upon the ground of the mere appearance of such a thing,
may lay claim to the promised reward. — The first member of
ver. 2 carries an allusion to Deut. xxviii. 33, comp. Lev. xxvi.
1 6, where it is threatened to the covenant-breaking Israel, that
enemies should eat up the fruit of their land, and all their
labour. In regard to 13, comp. on Ps. cxviii. 10: Zech. viii. 10,
ss., forms a commentary on it. "li"iti?N is trom. Deut. xxxiii. 29.
y\£ stands as neuter, and occupies the place of a noun. — On
ver. 3, comp. Zech. viii. 5 : " and the streets of the city shall be
full of boys and girls playing upon its streets." Here also, in
like manner, is a numerous, happy, and flourishing posterity
promised to the apparently decaying Israel. Taken in regard
to individuals, the promise will not altogether suit. Upon
?ij-)3-|i, the innermost, comp. on Ps. xlviii. 2. The green olive-
tree as an image of joyful prosperity also in Jer. xi. 16, Ps.
Iii. 9.
Ver. 4-6. — Ver. 4. Behold thus shall the man be blessed, who
fears the Lord. Ver. 5. The Lord will bless thee out of Zion, and
see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of thy life. Ver. 6.
And see thy children's children. Peace upon Israel. — Out of
Zion, ver. 5, comp. on Ps. xx. 2. The imper. see is used in ver.
5 and 6 in the sense of a promise, as in Ps. xxxvii 3, 4, 27, ex.
2. Jerusalem is the centre of light for the whole land. In Ps.
cxxii., which was composed by David, the well-being of the
whole people was already connected with his salvation. If,
therefore, Jerusalem was seen flourishing, the whole people
must have been so too. — A commentary on ver. 6 is to be found
in Zech. viii. 4 : " There shall yet old men and old women sit
in the streets of Jerusalem, their staff in their hand, because
of the fulness of their years." In times of calamity men die
comparatively early. What is here promised to the ideal person
of the God-fearing Israel, must take effect in a multitude of
particular individuals. On ver. 6, last clause, comp. Ps. cxxv. 5.

PSALM CXXIX. VER. 1 — 4. 453

PSALM CXXIX.

Numerous and severe oppressions have come upon Israel, but
the Lord has delivered his people out of them all, ver. 1-4.
From what has been done, faith concludes, in ver. 5-8, regard
ing what will be done ; however proudly Israel's enemies may
shine at present, their end is destruction. — As the two preced
ing Psalms are ruled wholly by the number three, so this Psalm,
and the next one also, is ruled by the number four: two parts,
each of four verses, which are again combined as pairs.
The Psalm suits perfectly well to the time to which all the
nameless pilgrim-songs belong, the period after the return from
the exile. At that time the experience related in ver. 1-4, was
far richer than formerly ; the youth of the people, according to
ver. 1 and 2, was long past and gone; and the intermediate
position between the deliverance already obtained, and the still
existing oppression corresponds exactly to the situation of Israel
at the period in question. Still it were too much to affirm that
tho Psalm, viewed merely by itself, must of necessity belong to
this period.
Ver. 1-4. — Ver. 1 . A song of the pilgrimages. They home often
oppressed me from my youth, so says Israel. Ver. 2. They have
often oppressed me from my youth, but they have not prevailed over
me. Ver. 3. Upon my back plowed plowers, drew long their fur
rows. Ver. 4. The Lord is righteous, cuts away the cords of the
wicked. j-q-| in ver. 1, as in Ps. cxxiii. 4, cxx. 6. The youth of
Israel was spent in Egypt, comp. Hos. ii. 17, Jer. ii. 2, xxii. 21,
Ez. xxiii. 3. Says Israel, comp. Ps. cxxiv. 1, cxviii. 2. — The
repetition in ver. 2, serves the purpose of connecting the op
pression and the deliverance immediately with each other.
The plowers are named in ver. 3, because, as the plough the
earth, so the whip tears up the back. Long furrows = long-
stripes and wounds. For n^D plur. of n32?D furrow, ] Sam.
xiv. 14, the Masoretes would, without just cause, read the no
where else occurring ]-y*03?72- The ^ is not the sign of the accus.,
but TpnNn 1S properly to bestow length. — The redemption of
Israel is derived in ver. 4 from the righteousness of God, who
gives to every one his own, to the righteous deliverance.

454. THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
Viewed in regard to its kernel, Israel stood to the heathen
world, which was hostile to it, in the relation of the righteous
to the wicked. The cords, according to Ps. ii. 3, are those with
which Israel was bound, and mark the hostile supremacy, the
sceptre of wickedness in Ps. cxxv. 3. According to others, it,
is the image of the preceding verse which is carried out here.
They understand by j-yQy the plough-cords. The enemies are
disposed to continue the plowing onwards; then God suddenly
cuts asunder the cords of the plough, and thereby looses the
cattle from the plough. But the plough-cords would have re
quired to be more exactly described, and the exposition has a
forced character.
Ver. 5—8. — Ver. 5. They shall be ashamed and turned back all
who hate Zion. Ver. 6. They shall be as the grass of house-tops,
which withers before it is pulled up. Ver. 7. With which the
shearer fills not Ms hand, nor the binder of sheaves his arm. Ver.
8. And the passers by do not say: The blessing of the Lord be up
on you, we bless you in the name of the Lord. — The fut. in ver. 5
and 6 may either be taken as a wish, or as expressive of hope
and confidence. The distinction is unessential; for the wish
also would have sprung frohi the ground of confidence. Lampe :
" From the past he passes into the future, because this is the
tendency of faith, that it may learn the faithfulness of God
from his former ways."- — -The expression, grass of the house-tops,
in ver. 6, is borrowed from Is. xxxvii. 27, where it . already
occurs of the enemies of the Lord and of his people. Then-
past prosperity is suitably marked by a comparison with the
grass, which on the flat roofs of the oriental houses can . easily
take root, but, having no depth of soil, must soon wither. It is
a proof of living faith, that the poor little flock can behold the
world under this image, even when it is shining in its glory.
Fp^ is used impers. Before it is pulled up, as to meaning,
corresponds to: they shall be taken away without hands, in
Job xxxiv. 20, and the expression: without hands, in Dan. ii.
34. — Ver. 7 and 8 only serve to complete the image of the
despicableness of the grass of the house-tops, which was to be
henceforth consecrated as an emblem of the nothingness of the
enemies of the kingdom of God, and to place it vividly before
the eye. In ver. 8 we have the customary salutation, with
which the passers-by greeted the shearers, or there are here unit-

PSALM CXXX. 455
ed together two nearly related forms of the same. Of greeting
and greeting back again, comp. Ruth ii. 4, we must certainly not
think; for the whole is put into the mouth of tliose who pass by.

PSALM CXXX.
From the deepest distress the church cries to the Lord, ver.
1 and 2, praying that he would in his compassion forgive their
sins, through which they had been thrown into trouble, ver. 3
and 4. They have a strong conviction that he will do this, and
wait, full of faith, in longing expectation for the fulfilment of
his promise, ver. 5, 6, and in this believing expectation upon
the Lord, who is rich in mercy toward his people, and will re
deem Israel from all his sins, the Psalmist admonishes them to
continue waiting.
In ver. 1-6 the Psalmist speaks in the name of Israel, in ver.
7 and 8, to Israel. The distinction is only a formal one; for
even in ver. 1-6 behind the I a thou is concealed, the indirect
exhortation is followed only at the close by the direct. Comp.
on this exchange of the I and the thou, the Introd. to Ps. xci.
The doctrine is this: the people of God should not murmur nor
complain in their suffering, but pray to their compassionate
Lord and Saviour, that he would forgive their sins, and save
them from the deserved punishment of these, and rest in the
assurance that he will do so. This is the royal way by which
we may attain to peace in affliction, and rise from that to joy.
The formal arrangement is entirely the same as in Ps. cxxix.
We have two strophes, each of four verses, that of the prayer
and that of the hope, and each strophe falls again into two
subordinate divisions of two verses. With the preceding Psalm
this forms a whole of two parts, ruled throughout by the number
four; four strophes, each Psalm with four- pairs of verses, each
strophe with four verses. The threefold occurrence of Jehovah
in the preceding Psalm, and the fourfold here, make up the
number seven, and with the threefold use of Jehovah in Ps.
cxxviii. comprise the number ten. The number of the whole
names of God in our Psalm (Jehovah four times, Jah once,
Adonai thrice), corresponds to the number of the verses.
The Psalm entirely accords with the situation which is com-

456 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.

mon to all the nameless pilgrim-songs: Israel is plunged in deep
distress. The adj. y$fp in ver. 2 points to a late time, as it
occurs besides only in the Chronicles, and likewise HTT^D ™
ver. 4, which is found elsewhere only in Daniel and Nehemiah.

Ver. 1-4. — Ver. 1. A song of the pilgrimages. Out of the
depths I cry to thee, Lord. Ver. 2. Lord, hear my voice, let
thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication. Ver. 3. If
thou, Lord, wilt mark iniquities, Lord, who shall stand? Ver. 4.
For with thee is forgiveness that thou mayest be feared. — Great
misery appears not unfrequently under the image of deep waters,
comp. Ps. xl., Ixix. 2, 14, Is. li. ] 0, Ez. xxvii. 34; and of this
we are certainly to think also here, although the more closely
defining qi or qiq is awanting. It is to be supplied from the
well-known passages referred to. mjEjfta is always used of
water-depths. — On the words : to the voice of my supplication,
ver. 2, comp. Ps. xxviii. 2. Ver. 1 and 2 contain only, in
general, the request that God would hear the supplicating
prayer: the object of that, the forgiveness of sins, is first more
exactly defined in ver. 3. wp "yfl$} signifies not to preserve sin,
but to observe sin, to take account of it, Job x. 14, xiv. 16, comp.
Ps. xc. 8 : " for our iniquities thou placest before thee, our se
cret sins* in the light of thy countenance." The standing, in
contrast to the sinking down of the guilty from anguish and
the fearful expectation of things which are coming upon them
— comp. Christol. on Mai. iii. 2 — or even under the heavy bur
den of the divine punishment, comp. Nah. i. 6, q. d., who then
must not go to perdition ! The 13 preserves in ver. 4 its com
mon signification. For the expression: if thou wilt have re
spect to our iniquities, of the preceding verse is q. d. have not
respect to my sins, and let me not go to destruction, is only a
covert prayer for the forgiveness of sins, and one which is
grounded here. The production of the fear of God is marked
as the object aimed at in the forgiveness of sins. The forgive
ness of sin is the most glorious manifestation of the divine glory;
the treasures of his love, compassion and fidelity, (he has gua
ranteed them to his own, who alone are discoursed of here,) are
displayed in it, and the mind must, through the apprehension
of these, be filled with childlike reverence at the greatness and
holiness of God (this is here designated by fear, Lampe : " for

PSALM CXXXI. 457
since it follows pardon, it can no longer proceed from the fear
of punishment.") The merely punitive righteousness would not
awaken the fear of God but destroy it. Calvin: " The appre
hension of divine judgment without the hope of pardon strikes
terror, which necessarily gives rise to hatred."
Ver. 5-8. — Ver. 5. / wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and I
hope in his word. Ver. 6. My soul waits upon the Lord more
than watchmen for the morning; watchmen for the morning. Ver.
7. Hope, Israel, upon the Lord, for with the Lord is mercy, and
much redemption with Mm. Ver. 8. And he will reUeem Israel
from all his iniquities. — The expression: my soul waits, in ver. 5,
is stronger than : I wait. I long from my heart. The word is,
according to Ps. cxix. 74, 81, 82, 114, 147, the word of promise.
The Psalmist waits and hopes, that he might obtain the fulfil
ment of it in his own experience. — At the beginning of ver. 6
the verb is to be supplied from the preceding verse, vq is prae.
To the watchman the night is very long, and so is to the dis
tressed the night of weeping. Anxious longing loves repeti
tion. Luther falsely: from one morning watch to another. The
redemption from iniquities, ver. 8, is accomplished by the re
moval of their consequences. That we must not give to j-flyiy
the sense of punishment or sufferings, appears alone from ver. 3.

PSALM CXXXI.
The people of the Lord should be free from all high-flying
thoughts and ambitious projects and enterprises, and in child
like humility should expect their salvation only from him, so
shall they be safe.
The national reference of the Psalm is clear from ver. 3, where
Israel is addressed. Accordingly it must also be Israel, not the
Psalmist, that appears speaking in ver. 1 and 2. The supposi
tion, that in these verses the Psalmist represents his own dispo
sition, and then in ver. 3 exhorts the people to cherish the same,
has the analogies against it: in- other places, where a similar
exchange of the I and the thou occurs, the distinction is only
that of an indirect and a direct paraenesis, so that the expres
sion: my heart is not high, must import as to its meaning:
Israel, let not thy heart be high; comp., besides, on the preced-

458 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
ing Psalm. Then the supposition of a general reference of ver.
1 and 2 is already required by the general analogy of the pilgrim-
songs. Finally, ver. 3 does not simply call to the disposition
represented in ver. L and 2, but gives to the subject of the two
first verses an essential supplement; so that it will not suit to
set off ver. 1 and 2 by themselves — there without high-minded-
ness, here waiting in faith upon the Lord.
The Psalm is ascribed in the superscription to David, and
bears, notwithstanding its small compass, the clear marks of
having such an origin. That it must have been composed in
a season of prosperity and abundance for the people, is shown
by the protestation against cherishing high-minded thoughts
and undertakings. The danger in this respect arises only from
prosperity; in times of trouble, such as those succeeding the
Babylonish exile, they vanish of themselves. Then, the child
like humility and unpretending disposition, growing out of
living faith, which here gives utterance to itself, is most charac
teristic of David, who here, in order to show Israel how it should
be, gave a representation of his own inner man, how it actually
was. Finally, ver. 1 carries a close reference to Psalms of
David. — The affirmation, that the call: Israel, wait upon the
Lord, is borrowed from ver. 7 of the post-exile Psalm cxxx.,
precisely reverses the relation. The author of that late name
less Psalm has undoubtedly borrowed it from this earlier one,
and done so from regard to the place it occupied in the series,
as immediately before the latter.

Ver. 1-3. — Ver. 1. A song of the pilgrimages. Of David.
Lord, my heart is not high, and my eyes are not proud, and I
walk not in great things, and those too wonderful for me. Ver. 2.
Truly I smoothed and silenced my soul, like one weaned by his
mother; like one weaned is my soul with me. Ver. 3. Wait, Israel,
upon the Lord, from this time even for ever. — We must not over
look the address to the Lord, with which ver. 1 immediately
begins, q. d. Lord, thou who art exalted, and regardest the
lowly, and the proud knowest afar off, Ps. cxxxviii. 6, I do not
shut the gate against thy grace, by cherishing a heart that is
haughty, &c. Pride, haughtiness, appears generally as the re
sult of prosperity. So already in Deut. xxxii. 15. Of Uzziah
it is said in 2 Chron. xxvi. 1 6, " And when he was strong his

PSALM CXXXI. VER. 1 — 3. 459
heart was high;" of Hezekiah, in 2 Chron. xxxii. 25, "And
Hezekiah repaid ill the gift which had been done him, for his
heart was high, and there went forth wrath upon him, and
upon Judah and Jerusalem." Pride has its seat in the heart,
and betrays itself especially in the eyes. Comp., in particular,
the parallel passages in Psalms of David, Ps. xviii. 27, " For
thou helpest the poor people, and the lofty eyes thou bringest
down;" Ps. ci. 5, " he who has proud eyes and is high-minded,
him will I not suffer." The -i^n W1th ^ of the pathway on
which one moves or walks; not: non ingredior res magnas,
Gesen.; but: I do not walk in them, my course does not lie in
them, I have nothing to do with them. The Piel marks
the continued going, proceeding onwards. Too wonderful for
any one is everything that lies above his power and sphere.
The people of God can never give up their claim to the dominion
of the world. This has always been kept in view through the
word of God, from the first period of their existence. But it is
one thing to hope in meekness and humility for that which
God has promised, and another thing with one's own hand
either to attempt high things, for which no warrant or promise
is given in the word of God, or to seek in that way to accom
plish what has this ground to rest upon. The difference is
rendered palpable in the case of David himself. With thank
fulness and joy he took from the hand of God the gift of the
kingdom. But he resisted every temptation to seize, with his
own hand, what God had promised in his own time to bestow
upon him. He waited quietly till God had removed his prede
cessor out of the way. Further, David's heart nourished itself
on the still more glorious promises which he received after his
ascension to the throne, as Ps. xviii. shows: he was far from
that false humility which declines what is offered by God. But
he himself moved neither hand nor foot to precipitate the ful
filment. He constantly confined himself merely to defence,
and never launched out upon wars of conquest. And if at any
time a spirit of pride rose up within him, as it did at the num
bering of the people, he presently returned in genuine repentance
to a state of unconditional dependance upon the Lord, and a quiet
waiting for his salvation; comp. on Ps. xxx. That such a posture
of heart is the true way to salvation, that one only attains to
the great, when one does not walk in the great, most distinctly

460 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
do we learn this from David's example. In ver. 2 the $fc q^
is to be taken as a solemn asseveration. Only he who can
protest after the manner of the Psalmist here, can become
partaker of the blessing thence arising, j-frtbj to make like,
to even, or smooth, Is. xxviii. 25, by the removal of false ele
vations, comp. Is. xl. 4. The silencing refers, according to the
connection, specially to the stilling of the motions of pride.
The point of comparison between the soul and the weaned =
the small child (comp. Is. xi. 8, xxviii. 9), is the unpretending
humility. Exactly parallel is Matt, xviii. 3, " except ye be con
verted and become as little children," and ver. 4, " whoever
therefore humbles himself as this child." As one weaned, not
as such an one smooths and silences, but that it is like, or I
am like it. The mother brings the image of the little child
vividly before the eye, and she is specially thought of on ac
count of the i^y, upon me, for with me; comp. on Ps. xlii. 4.
According to the idea now generally prevalent, the weaned
must form the contrast to the suckling, with its constantly rest
less desires after its mother's breast. But by the connection
the Psalmist cannot, as this view supposes, wish to express the
absence of passion and desire in general, but only freedom from
the violent emotions whicli the lofty spirit awakens, to whicli
also the connection of silencing with making even or smoothing,
corresponding to the raituww in Matthew, points: — b*(OZ 1S>
according to the usus loquendi, not the child just weaned, but
the small child in minority; the restless desire continues still
with the weaned, and the freedom it possesses is the farthest
thing possible from being properly a characteristic of it; the
mother's milk is not specially marked as an object of this desire,
and is only assumed to be so by these expositors. — In ver. 3
there is opposed to the lofty enterprising after high things by
one's own hand, a still and confident waiting upon the Lord,
who will never leave and forsake his Israel, and his salvation.
Israel must from this time, even for ever, wait upon his God,
so will he be glorified by him from this time, even for ever.
For such as put their confidence in God, them he abandons not,
while he casts down those who are full of confidence in their
own hearts.

PSALM CXXXII. 461

PSALM CXXXII.

David zealously laboured, and earnestly applied himself, to
prepare a settled place for the sanctuary of the Lord, ver. 1-5.
And this striving accomplished its end, ver. 6-9. This God
should and will recompense for him in the revivification of his
dead race and kingdom, true to the promise, which had been
given to him on account of his zeal, ver. 10-12. For, he has
chosen Zion, the good of which is inseparably connected with
David's posterity, and has promised, that David's kingdom must
continually flourish there, and rise nobly superior above every
misfortune. The Psalm falls into two chief divisions, the
grounding of the prayer and hope, and the prayer and hope
itself. The Psalm is to be referred to the times of the new colony
from its namelessness alone: all nameless pilgrim-songs belong-
to these times. It participates also in the character of these
nameless Psalms : as it is a cry to God, to listen to them from
the midst of their distress. Its starting-point and ground is
formed, as in Ps. Ixxxix., by the depressed state of David's
race and kingdom. In its form, too, it bears the character of a
later time. The individual is slightly marked, the order and
connection are not without difficulty. The ifyQ TTM ailc^
ijjljji Xtf-^y, in ver. 3, the expression: we heard it, for, of it, in
ver. 7,. could scarcely have proceeded from an older writer.
The Psalm revives again, especially in times of great depres
sion to the church. It teaches her to hope in such times, when
nothing is to be hoped for, and the rather, as the hope express
ed in it concerning the revivification of David's kingdom, on the
basis of God's word, though amid circumstances of despair, has
been so gloriously fulfilled in the manifestation of Christ.

Ver. 1—5. — Ver. 1. A song of the pilgrimages. Remember,
Lord, for David, all his trouble. Ver. 2. Who swore to the Lord,
vowed to the strong one of Jacob. Ver. 3. / will not come into
the tabernacle of my house, nor ascend the couch of my bed. Ver.
4. I will not give sleep to mine eyes, nor slumber to mine eyelids.
Ver. 5. Till I find a place for the Lord, a dwelling for the
strong one of Jacob. — The commencement is taken from the

462 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
prayer of Solomon at the consecration of the temple, 2 Chron.
vi. 42 : " Lord God, turn not away the face of thine anointed,
remember the pious deeds, Qi*7D*n (comP- 2 Chron. xxxv. 26),
of David, thy servant." A verbal allusion is made at the
beginning of the second part, in ver. 10, to the first half of that
verse. It is the writer of the Psalm who refers to the passage
in Chronicles, as Lampe justly notices, not the reverse, as most
modern commentators. David's trouble (jt^ Inf. nominasc.
in Pii.) was an internal one. The Lord had then no dwelling.
The sacred tent was without the ark of the covenant, a body
without a soul ; and the ark was at Kirjath-jearim, deposited
as in its grave, without any rites of worship, well-nigh lost
sight of; comp. on Ps. Ixxviii David himself says, in 1 Chron.
xiii. 3 : " We did not seek after it in the days of Saul." David
tormented himself with anxiety to have this afflicting state of
things brought to an end. He- was dragged hither and thither
by a diversity of thoughts; he was afraid that possibly the
anger of the Lord was not yet passed away, that still the time
of grace had not arrived ; and this fear especially took posses
sion of him, when the misfortune occurred at the first attempt
to introduce the ark; comp. 2 Sam. vi. 9: "And David was
afraid of the Lord that day, and said, how shall the ark of the
Lord come to me?" Meanwhile the earnest desire of David
to have the dwelling of his God in his capital soon again pre
vailed over this fear, and would not allow him to rest till he
had accomplished the desired end. Scarcely was this- object
gained, when the new desire awoke in David's bosom for the
erection of a solid temple, with which God was well-pleased,
though he did not permit its being carried into execution by him
personally. As a reward for this sincere care about his house,
the Lord granted to David the promise of perpetuity to his own
house, which he is here besought anew to fulfil, at a time when
he seemed to have, forgotten both it and the occasion of it, the
godly zeal of his servant. — The designation of God: the Strength
of Jacob, in ver. 2 and 5, is taken from Gen. xlix. 25. — Ver. 3
and 4 are to be explained from 1 Cor. vii. 29, 30: David dwelt in
his house as if he did not dwell in it (comp. 2 Sam. vii. 2), and
slept unsoundly. Tent is used poetically for dwelling.
Ver. 6-9. — Ver. 6. Lo! we heard of it in Ephratah, we found
ii in the forest-field. Ver. 7. Now would we come to Ms dwell-

PSALM CXXXII. VER. 6—9. 463
ing, pray before his footstool. Ver. 8. Arise, Lord, into thy rest
thou and thy mighty ark. Ver. 9. Let thy priests be clothed with
righteousness, and let thy saints rejoice. — We have here before us
the words which David spoke when his care for the sanctuary
of the Lord had, reached its immediate end, by the consecration
of the sanctuary in Zion, after the introduction of the ark of
the covenant. — The expression in ver. 6 : We heard of it, the
ark, which is not expressly mentioned, indeed, in the preceding
context, but presents itself to the eye of the speaker and the
people, is q. d. : We knew of it only by hearsay, no one went to
see it, it was almost out of mind, comp. Job xlii. 6, Ps. xviii.
44. Ephratah is always the ancient name of Bethlehem, and
every other explanation is to be regarded as arbitrary. There
David spent his youth, while he had as yet only heard of the
invisible ark of the covenant. According to the current expo
sition, Ephratah must stand here for Ephraim, and the words
must refer to the residence of the ark at Shiloh. But the
¦\TnDN' the Ephraimite, in Jud. xii. 5, etc., is far from showing
that Ephratah can stand for Ephraim ; that is a pure abbrevi
ation, which can have no place here; to say: we heard in
Ephratah, for we heard that it is, would be very hard ;
Ephratah must rather be the place where the report of it was
heard; at Shiloh the ark was anything but lost sight of, it was
rather the centre of the whole nation, nor was it raised by David
himself above the dignity which it there possessed ; also at the
time here spoken of, the Lord, according to ver. 5, had no dwell
ing, while in Shiloh the ark was in the sacred tent. The ex
pression: We found it, points to the circumstance, that the ark
had been lost. In the forest-field, at Kirjath-jearim, a forest-
town, where the ark was deposited after its return from the
land of the Philistines. The forest-field is thought of, because
the ark did not stand in the city, but in the suburbs, ] Sam.
vii. 1, 2 Sam. vi. 3, 4, buried in darkness and solitude. — Ver. 7
must not, with Maurer, be referred to the assembling of the
people at Kirjath-jearim to bring away the ark : for there
neither had the Lord a dwelling, nor was supplication made to
him. The words rather refer to the dedication-festival at Zion.
On the ark as the footstool of the Lord, see on Ps. xcix. 5. —
Ver. 8 and 9 are taken almost literally from Solomon's prayer
at the dedication of the temple, to which allusion had also been

464 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
made in ver. 1 and 1 0. It is said there in 2 Chron. vi. 41 :
"And now arise, Lord, into thy rest, thou and thy mighty ark.
Let thy priests, Lord, be clothed with salvation, and thy saints
rejoice in goodness." What Solomon then spoke is here, on a
similar occasion, put into the mouth of David. . In the expres
sion : thou and thy mighty ark, David points to the circum
stance, that the introduction of the ark into the new sanctuary
might justly be regarded as the introduction of the Lord him
self. The ark was no mere symbol, but an image and pledge
of the real presence of God with his people. Calvin : " For it
was not a dead or empty ghost, but really showed that God was
nigh to his church." The prayer, in ver. 9, joins on immediately
to ver. 8, having special reference to the ark as the mighty.
The righteousness is the matter-of-fact declaration of righteous
ness and justification, which is contained in the bestowal of sal
vation; comp. on Ps. xxiii. 3, xxiv. 5. Some have concluded
too hastily, from the corresponding njJWri in the original
passage, and y^i in ver. 16, that p-^j here means precisely
salvation. Ver. 10-12. — Ver. 10. For the sake of David thy servant!
Turn not away the face of thine anointed! Ver. 11. The Lord
has sworn to David truth ; he will not turn from it: I will set
for thee on thy throne the fruit of thy body. Ver. 12. If thy
sons will keep my covenant, and my testimony, which I will teach
them, then shall also their sons sit for ever upon thy throne. — That
after: David thy servant, in ver. 10, a mark of exclamation is
to be inserted — that we are to supply, hear our prayer, avert
our misery, or perhaps : fulfil that prayer of his which is given
in ver. 9, is clear from the original passage in 2 Chron. vi. 42 :
" Lord God, turn not away the face of thine anointed, remember
the piety of David thy servant" — where likewise there are two
independent members — and also from ver. 1, which is resumed
here again. What the Lord should do on account of David, or
how he should for David's sake hear his prayer, or the prayers
of the church, is first more exactly indicated in ver. 11, 12: a
shoot of David was failing, and along therewith a channel for
the divine blessings ; comp. the words of Solomon in 1 Kings
viii. 25: " And now, Lord God of Israel, keep to thy servant
David, my father, what thou saidst to him; there shall not
fail a man from before me, who sits upon the throne of Israel."

PSALM CXXXII. 465
" For the sake of David" is, according to the preceding context,
and according to the standing use of this formula, in the history
of the kings of Israel, (1 Kings xi. 12, 13, xv. 4, 2 Kings viii.
19, &c.,) q. d. because David was acceptable to thee through
his godly zeal, the fruit of his living faith; and the remark of
Steir: "It does not presuppose, perhaps, any personal desert
in the historical David, but means the gracious promise made
to David in 1 Kings viii. 24-26," is to be rejected. That the
anointed of the second member is no other than David, is
evident from the parallelism, from ver< 1 and ver. 17, and also
from the original passage. We are not to think of a living
king for this reason alone, that the non-existence of such
formed the very starting-point of the Psalm. David had
prayed in the preceding context. Of another anointed there
is no trace in the whole Psalm. The face of the anointed is
'the humbly suppliant one, comp. on Ps. Ixxxiv. 9. With this
David in all the necessities of his race and people stands before
God, and God can never, forgetting his faith and pious zeal,
turn away his supplication. — The church should the less doubt
of the fulfilment - of the prayer respecting salvation expressed
in ver. 10, as the Lord had pledged himself to it by a solemn
oath: to doubt concerning it is to blaspheme God. He has
sworn, as it were in answer and recompense to David's oath.
Mention is also made of the swearing in Ps. Ixxxix. 4, 36.
There, just as here, faith clings in a time of trouble to this
promise of God. On the word : truth, comp. 2 Sam. vii. 28,
where David, says, "Thou art God, and thy words are truth."
The condition of the preservation of the seed of David is brought
out in ver. 12, in prder to explain the apparent contrariety
between the idea and the reality, which presented itself to
the eye. It was explained by the circumstance that the con
dition was not fulfilled. But whenever this hindrance should
be removed, then should the premise also come into force. In
the original passage, 2 Sam: vii, in ver. 14 and 15, it is ex
pressly said, that the non-fulfilment of the condition might
prove indeed a' suspension, but never a withdrawal of the
promise, which cannot possibly fall into abeyance for ever. On
If, comp. Ew. § 1 83. a. The teaching of the testimony of God,
of his law revealed by Moses, is an internal one, made through
the spirit, comp. Ps. xc, xix., li., cxliii. 10, "teach me to do
VOL. in. 2 H

466 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
thy will," xciv. 12, and especially Ps. cxix., which is through
out pervaded by the conviction, that in the keeping of God's
commandments nothing can be effected by merely human
strength, that God alone can here give the will and accomplish
the result.
In ver. 13-18 the prayer has respect to the restoration of the
race of David, and a foundation is laid for the hope of this, by
referring to the divine choice of Zion, the good of which was in
separably bound up with the seed of David. As truly as God
has chosen Zion, so certainly must he also raise up for David a
branch, through which, to his people concentrated there, he will
impart salvation. For the principle : without David no salva
tion for Zion, stands fast for ever. — Ver. 1 3. For the Lord has
chosen Zion, he has selected it for his habitation. Ver. L4. " This
is my rest for ever, here will I dwell, because I have selected it.
Ver. 1 5. Its food will I bless, its needy satisfy with bread. Ver.
16. And its priests will I clothe with salvation, and its saints
shall shout for joy. Ver. 17. There will I make sprout for David
a horn, prepare a lamp for mine anointed. Ver. 18. His enemies
will I clothe with shame, and upon him shall his crown flourish."
— The sense of ver. 17 is this: there shall I (in all times of weak
ness) make sprout a horn for David, grant to him new power,
prepare (in all times of darkness) a lamp for mine anointed,
accomplish for him perpetually deliverance in misfortune. The
promise here uttered found its most glorious fulfilment in
Christ ; however, we must not understand the declaration as
exclusively Messianic, we must not conceive precisely Christ to
be meant by the horn and the lamp. Against this is the ori
ginal passage, Ps. xviii. 28, where the lamp is the image of
prosperity, and also Ez. xxix. 21 : " In that day will I make
a horn to sprout to the house of Israel," q. d. I will grant him
power against his enemies, where the Messianic explanation is
unsuitable (see Havernick) ; further, Ps. Ixxv. 4, and the pas
sages quoted there. It is a further confirmation of this view,
that the promise, which is rested upon here, does not point to
the Messiah alone, but to the whole line of David's seed, as is
clear already from 1 Kings xi. 36. That David is the anointed,
is manifest from that very place: "And to his son will I give
one tribe, that David my servant may have a lamp always be
fore me in Jerusalem," and the parallel passages. — For flourish-

PSALM CXXXIII. 467
ing, in ver. 18, several, who cannot find their way through the
figurative expression, would arbitrarily substitute shining; comp.
Is. xxviii. 1. The suff. refer to David, who ever reigns in his
posterity.

PSALM CXXXIII.
The Psalm is a celebration of brotherly harmony, the loveli
ness of which is represented under a double image. The behold!
with which it begins, shows that the Psalmist had before his
eyes a lovely meeting together of brethren, and thence took
occasion to direct attention to the blessing of such a meeting.
That this meeting has a religious centre, is manifest at once
from the whole character of the Psalm itself, and shines out
with special clearness from the comparison made with the
priesthood, in ver. 2. According to ver. 3; it refers to the as
sembling of the people at Zion, as that was wont to take place
since the time of David at the great festivals, especially at the
Passover. With this the superscription entirely coincides. —
The Psalm forms a side-piece to Ps. cxxii, which sought to form
in the people a heart for the new capital, or rather tc- lend words
to the heart of the people, already filled with love to it. David
brings here to the consciousness of the people the glory of the
fellowship of the saints, which had so long fallen into abeyance,
and the restoration of which had begun with the setting up of
the tabernacle in Zion, after it had been interrupted during the
entire period in which the ark had been buried as in its grave
at Kirjath-jearim. — The supposition that the Psalm refers to the
unity of the remnant who had come back from exile, rests upon
an arbitrary rejection of the superscription, and an overlooking
of the fresh, original, pregnant character of the little Psalm.
It is against the supposition also, that the mournful character
which pervades all the post-exile Psalms, does not meet us here.
The Psalm manifestly proceeds from a prosperous condition of
the people of God, on which the eye of the Psalmist lingers with
delight. The people of God, according to ver. 3, rejoice in the
possession of life and blessing, on account of the relation specially
mentioned by the Psalmist, and generally.

468 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
Ver. 1-3. — Ver. 1. A song of the pilgrimages of David. Be
hold how good and how lovely it is, that brethren also dwell to
gether. Ver. 2. As the good oil upon the head, flowing down
upon the beard, the beard of Aaron, which flows down upon the
border of his garments. Ver. 3. As Hermon s dew, which de
scends upon the mountains of Zion; for there has the Lord com
manded the blessing, life for evermore. — Brethren, ver. 1, were
all the children of Israel toward each other, because they were
all sons of God. This also is not to be overlooked or impaired.
The brotherly relation had constantly existed, but what should
have followed upon this, their feeling themselves to be brethren,
and, as such, living harmoniously together, this for a long time
had been wanting. The good oil, ver. 2, is the holy anointing
oil, for the preparation of which directions are given in Ex.
xxx. 22 ss. It consisted of olive oil, mixed with four of the
best spices. The predicate good does not refer simply to the
physical quality of this oil. The Psalmist views it with a
spiritual eye, and, so viewed, it served as an image to him of
what was most glorious and lovely; it was the symbol of the
Spirit of God ; comp- Christo], on Dan, ix. 24 ; Bahr Symbolik
ii. s, 171, On the expression : on the head, comp. Ex. xxix. 7;
Lev. viii. 12, xxi. 10. Aaron stands here not simply for the
high-priest, but rather as the venerable father of the whole
priesthood, whose dignity was still further increased by thes
goodness of the oil. The image is not taken froni, what was
then visible, but from scripture; comp. Ex. xxix. 7, xl. J 3.
There is no reason to look away from the person of Aaron, and.
it is indeed very doubtful, whether the Jater high-priests were
anointed, and whether the anointing of Aaron was not rather
the first and the last available for all times. To the goodness
of the high priest's anointing belonged its copiousness: flowing-
down upon the beard, through which the anointing of the high-
priest was distinguished from that of the priests. Only with
Aaron was the oil richly poured out upon the head : the common
priests were merely streaked with oil upon the forehead ; see
Bahr. "pit^ refers to the beard, not to the anointing, which
must not flow down upon the holy garments, but was only in
tended for the hair, — from that of the head to that of the long
beard, it***) is the opening or border at the neck of the garment.
— The point of comparison in ver. 3 has been falsely made out

PSALM CXXXIV. 469
by several. It is fixed by the: how good and how lovely, in
ver. 1. In the oil the goodness is expressly marked as the point
of comparison. So that the lovely remains as a special epithet for
the dew. The passage is to be taken thus: Hermon, Hefmon's
dew = lovely dew. The dew is the more lovely the more
glorious the place where it falls; as, in ver. 2, the goodness of
the oil was heightened by the dignity of the person who was
anointed with it. The question, how could the dew of Hermon
descend upon the mountains of Zion, is consequently disposed
of. Brotherly unity resembles a lovely dew, whicli descends on
the hills of Zion, where this unity is so strikingly exemplified.
The local +$2}, there, refers, not to the brotherly unity, but to the
place mentioned immediately before, the hills of Zion. To Zion.
which comes here into consideration as the then bearer of the
kingdom of God, belongs blessing and prosperity generally,
therefore also the blessing and prosperity connected with bro
therly unity, silch as is not to be found in the world, nor grows
on the soil of nature, but only in that of grace, which is con
fined to the kingdom of God.

PSALM CXXXIV.
Ver. 1 and 2 contain a call to the servants of God to praise
him and supplicate his aid, followed in ver. 3 by the pronouncing
of a blessing.
That the Psalm has a dramatic character, appears from the
transition from the plural to the singular, and still more deci
sively from the circumstance, that the pronouncing of a blessing
in ver. 3 cannot proceed from the same person, as the entreaty
at the Lord to bless in ver. 1 and 2. But the determination of
the persons speaking cannot possibly be left to caprice, or any
sort of conjecture. It must discover itself with certainty from
the Psalm itself. Now who it is that speaks in ver. 1 and 2 is
clear from the superscription, according to which the Psalm is a
pilgrim-sOng. Hence, it can only be the community represented
by the pilgrim-bands. This addresses the servants of the Lord
who were assembled at evening in the house of the Lord. The
address in ver. 3 Can only be directed to those who had them
selves addressed: in the preceding verses, the peop*le, arid must

470 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
have proceeded from those who had then been addressed, the
priests. The matter also agrees with this view, which just con
sists of the Mosaic blessing, that could only be pronounced by
the priests.
Accordingly the outline of the Psalm may be given more ex
actly thus : the pilgrim-bands present themselves on the evening
of their arrival at the temple, and call upon the servants of the
Lord, who were there at the time of the evening sacrifice, to
praise the Lord in their name and that of the people, and to
pray to him. Coming with such a state of mind, they could
not remain long without the blessing, therefore the priests
answered them by pronouncing that. Such a Psalm was most
fitly appropriated as the close of the whole pilgrim-book; so
that the collector of it, who was at the same time the author of
all the nameless pilgrim-songs, undoubtedly placed this Psalm
purposely at the end, or composed it with a view to its forming
the conclusion of the whole. So already Lampe : forte ille, qui
fasciculum canticorum graduum collegit — hoc canticum tanquam.
aptum epilogum addidit.
That the Psalm was composed in a time of depression, ap
pears from the call to praise and to supplicate the Lord, (see
the exposition), and from the " creator of heaven and earth,"
at the conclusion, which points the church in their felt impo
tence to the almightiness of their Lord.
The important doctrine whicli is imprinted on the Psalm, is,
that in the depressing and difficult circumstances of the church of
God, the sure way to obtain the blessing of the Lord is to bless
him.

Ver. 1-3. — Ver. 1 . A JSong of the Pilgrimages. Behold, bless
the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord, ye who stand in the house of
the Lord by night. Ver. 2. Lift up your hands to the sanctuary,
and bless the Lord. Ver. 3. The Lord bless thee out of Zion, the
creator of heaven and earth. — The behold in ver. ] , the echo of
that in the preceding Psalm, shows that the subject is a busi
ness immediately in hand, that it has to do with what was
real, and must be done upon the spot. The expression, in
determinate in itself: ye servants of the Lord, which might
even be applied to the whole body of the people, receives its
more specific determination from what is added: who stand in

PSALM CXXXi'V. 471
the house of the Lord. That we are not to think of the Levites,
but of the priests, is evident from the answer in ver. 3 ; to bless
the people was a privilege of the priests. To bless the Lord, is, as
to its import, as much as, to praise and glorify him. But the word
itself is to be retained on account of its correspondence with that
in ver. 3 : the Lord bless thee. This also renders it manifest that
the people are here to be understood as calling upon the servants
of the Lord to praise the Lord in their (the people's) name and
from their soul. Else, if ver. 1 and 2 were regarded as a mere
reminding of the priests to discharge the duty of their office, the
address and answer would run into each other. The praise of
God, as this answer shows, is no idle service ; it is only a veiled
and indirect prayer, he is praised as the one that can and will
help. The service of the priests terminated with the offering of
the evening sacrifice. Even with the Levitical singers not a
single trace is to be found of tlieir being heard by night. 1
Chron. ix. 33 has been improperly brought as a proof to the
contrary. The expression : by night, can be referred with less
difficulty to the evening service, as it is used of this also in Ps.
xcii. 2. Upon the lifting up of the hands, ver. 2, as the gesture
of prayer, symbolizing the elevation of the heart, comp. on
Ps. xxviii. 2: " while I lift up my hands to thy most holy
oracle." Luther falsely : in the sanctuary. — At ver. 3 we are
to supply, according to what has been remarked: because thou
thus blessest the Lord. That the people are addressed, is clear
from the parallel passage, Ps. cxxviii. 5. Only in that case
does the Psalm form a suitable conclusion to the whole pilgrim-
book. That the future is to be taken optatively— not: he will
bless thee — is clear from the undeniable reference to the Mosaic
blessing, Num. vi. 24. The expression: creator of heaven and
earth, comp. Ps. cxxi. 2, cxxiv. 8, forms the counterpoise to the
depth of misery and weakness in which the community of God
was sunk.

We have now a group of twelve Psalms, sung after the pros
perous completion of the temple, and probably at its dedi
cation, consisting of three new Psalms at the beginning, and

472 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
one at the end, Ps. cxlvi, which enclose in the middle eight
Psalms of David.
The extremities of the group are pointedly marked by the
circumstance of the first and the last Psalm in it, having
Halleluiah at the beginning and the end, and also from the first
and the last Psalm being otherwise very strikingly related to
each other at the beginning and the end., That the eight
Psalms marked with the name of David cannot stand here, in
an isolated and independent state, but must have been arranged
into a cycle of a later period, is clear from the express decla
ration of the collector, after Ps, lxxii,, according to which no
more Psalms of David were k> be expected in a separate or in
dependent form., And that the author of this cycle has not
satisfied himself with prefixing a trilogy of new Psalms for
these Psalms of David, but that :Ps. cxlvi. also forms a com
ponent part of the cycle, is clear, even apart from the manifest
and intentional connection which Ps. cxlvi, has with Ps. cxlv.,
from the single fact, that all the other mixed groups (Ps. ci-
cyii,, Ps. cviii.-cxix. Ps. cxx.-cxxxiv.) supply at the close a
testimony from the present.
The tendency to console and elevate the people of God, is
conimon to the whole group. In Ps. cxxxv., cxxxvi, this is
done by pointing to the ' glorious deeds of God in nature and
history, which guarantee the return of prosperity to Israel.
Ps. cxxxvii. quickens the hope; arising from the already-begun
execution of God's, judgment upon the enemies ; Ps. cxlvi.
presents the Lord as the almighty and faithful helper of his
suffering people. It is common to the two first Psalms, and
the last Psalm of the group, that the consolation and the
encouragement are administered in the fonn ot praise to. God.
The intermediate Davidic Psalms place the glorious promise
made to David, and along with him als<*> to the people, of the
everlasting kingdom of his seed in the fore-ground, accompany
the seed of David and the people in a consolatory style, through
the assaults of the world, which threatened to bring the promise
to nought, and conclude with a solemn: Lord God, we praise
thee, on account of its final, glorious verification. No period
was more suitable for the appropriation of this Davidic cycle of
Psalms, than that in which the Davidic stem was, poorly
enough, represented by Zerubbabel, whose humbled condition

PSALM cxxxv. 473
also gave occasion to the prophets of that period, Haggai and
Zechariah, to lay a firmer and deeper hold on the rich promises
given to the race of David. For the more exact determination
of the time, see what is said on Ps. cxxxvii.

I PSALM CXXXV.
Ii The Psalmist exhorts all to praise the Lord, ver. 1-4, and
then declares his glory, in nature, ver. 5-7, in his wonderful
works for Israel, ver. 8-1 2, which will again repeat themselves
in the future, and raise them out of their wretched state, ver.
13, 1 4, contrasts with him the vain idols and their equally vain
•worshippers, ver. 15-18, and finally returns again to call upon
men to praise God, ver. 19-21.
The Psalm falls into three strophes, each of seven verses.
The seven in the two first, which also correspond in this, that
the Jehovah in each of them is used six times, is divided into
three and four, and in the last into five and two. The Jehovah
there occurs thrice. The Halleluiah also is used the same
number of times in the Psalm, and with this it begins and
ends. It is impossible to avoid perceiving that the Psalm stands in
immediate connection with the preceding one. In regard to
the subject, it is related to that as the execution to the plan.
The call at the beginning to the servants of the Lord, who
stand in the house of the Lord, to praise him, corresponds to Ps.
cxxxiv. 1, 2; and the conclusion in ver. 21 bears respect to
cxxxiv. 3.1 It is besides also characteristic of this Psalm, that
it leans strongly upon the earlier writings, especially on Ps.
cxv. As the latter belongs to the time when the foundation of
the second temple was laid, and Ps. cxxxiv. probably to the
1 Already Amyrald remarks : " This Paalm has so much in common with the
preceding one, that they both alike contain an exhortation to praise the Lord.
This, however, differs from the other, in that the former contains a aimple exhor
tation, while here the exhortation is accompanied, and as it were supported, by the
mention of certain works of God, which are specially deserving of being celebrated ;
in the other the exhortation is addressed to the Levites alone, in this it chiefly,
indeed, belongs to the priests and Levites, yet so as, at the same time, to embrace
the whole Israelitish people, "

474 THE BOOK Of PSALMS.
time when the building suffered interruption, so the present one
will bring us down to a period somewhat later in the affairs of
the new colony.
That the Psalm was composed in view of the threatening and
opposing power of the world, is clear from the manifestations of
God in the past, over which the Psalm lingers with peculiar
fondness in ver. 8-11. The main design of the Psalm, as in
tended to console and encourage, to drive away all grief and all
fear, by extolling God's praise, discovers itself in ver. 13, 14,
where, on the ground of what the Lord had done in former
times, the hope is raised of his displaying his glory in the future
for the good of his people. As the representation of the glory
of the true God has its bearing on the salvation of Israel, so
the representation of the vanity of idols reflects upon the im
potence of their worshippers — comp. ver. 8.

Ver. 1-7. — Ver. 1. Halleluiah. Praise the Lord, psaise ye
servants of the Lord. Ver. 2. Ye who stand in the house of the
Lord, in the courts of the house of our God. Ver. 3. Praise the
Lord, for the Lord is good, sing praise to his name, for he is
. lovely. Ver. 4. For the Lord chose Jacob to himself, Israel for
his treasure. Ver. 5. For I know that the Lord is great, and
our Lord more than all gods. Ver. 6. Whatever he willed he
did, in heaven and on earth, in the sea and all floods. Ver. 7.
Who makes the vapours to ascend from the end of the earth,
changes lightnings into rain, brings forth the wind from his
chambers. — The halleluiah at the beginning announces in one
word the subject of the Psalm. That under " the servants of
the Lord," in ver. 1, not merely the priests are to be under
stood, as in Ps. cxxxiv., but the whole people, is rendered more
evident from the mention of the courts in ver. 2, and from the
conclusion in ver. 19, 20, where the whole of the Lord's servants
are distributed into their several parts, priests, Levites, and
believers. But the difference between this and Ps. cxxxiv. is
of no great moment. For there the priests must praise the
Lord as from the heart of believers; and that here too the
priests stand at the head is manifest from ver. 19. — Ver. 4
gives the reason for the call now addressed to praise the Lord.
God had chosen Israel, and among them had especially unfolded
his goodness and his glory, so that they, above all other people,

PSALM CXXXVI. VER. 1 — ] 5. 475
had matter and occasion for glorifying and praising him. What
in the sequel is said in celebration of his praise is chiefly drawn
from the special manifestations he had given of himself in his
dealings toward Israel. Upon j-j^aD. n°t property in general,
but something particularly precious and valuable, kept apart
from all other property, see Christol. iii. p. 430. — For I knovj
ver. 5, such rich proofs has he given to me of his glory. — Ver. 6
rests upon Ps. cxv. 3; ver. 7 upon Jer. x. 13, li. 16. — From the
end of the earth, ver. 7, comp. Ps. lxi. 2, the earth to its far
thest limits, the whole earth, whicli can never withdraw itself
from his mighty working — comp. Gen. xix. 4, Jer. li. 16. The
lightning is turned into rain, in so far as the storm dissolves
itself in rain.
Ver. 8-14. — Ver. 8. Who slew the first-born in Egypt, both
of man and of beast. Ver. 9. And sent signs and wonders into
thee, 0 Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his servants. Ver. 10.
Who slew many nations, and killed mighty kings. Ver. 11.
Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan, and all the
kingdoms of Canaan. Ver. 12. And gave their land for an in
heritance, for an inheritance to Israel his people. Ver. 13. Lord,
thy name endures for ever; Lord, thy memorial endures for ever
and ever. Ver. 14. For the Lord will judge his people, and will
repent himself of his servants. — The expression: in thy midst,
Egypt, in ver. 9, is in imitation of: in thy midst, Jerusalem,
in Ps. cxvi. 19.— Thy name, ver. 13, which would go down, and
thy memorial which would perish, if thou didst not freshen them
up by thy deeds of omnipotence and love. Ver. ] 4 rests with
intentional literality upon Deut. xxxii. 36. On the expression:
he will repent himself .of his servants, comp. on Ps. xc. 13.
Ver. 15-21. — Ver. 15. The idols of the heathen are silver and
gold, the work of men's hands. Ver. 1 6. Mouth have they and
speak not, eyes have they and see not. Ver. 1 7. Ears have they
and hear not, and there is also no breath in their mouth. Ver.
1 8. They who make them are like them, all who trust in them.
Ver. 19. Ye of the house of Israel, bless the Lord; ye of ihe house
of Aaron, bless the Lord. Ver. 20. Ye of the house of Levi,
bless the Lord; ye who fear the Lord, bless the Lord. Ver. 21
Blessed be the Lord out of Zion, who dwells at Jerusalem. Hal
leluiah. — Ver. 15-18 literally corresponds with Ps. cxv. 4 ss.,
with one important exception in the second part of ver. 17,

476 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
which indicates the exercise of a freedom along with the de
pendence manifested. — Like them, ver. 18, equally vain and im
potent. — On ver. 19, 20, comp. Ps. cxv, 9-11, cxviii. 2-4. No
thing is peculiar here but the separate mention of the Levites.
— The conclusion, ver. 21, alludes to the conclusion of the pre
ceding Psalm. There : he blesses thee Out of Zion; here : let
him be blessed out of Zion. The praise proceeds from the same
place from which the blessing issues. For Zion is the place
where the community dwells with God. On the expression:
the dweller at Jerusalem, comp. Ps. Ixxvi. 2.

PSALM CXXXVI.
The very close agreement of this Psalm with the preceding
one is a proof of their having proceeded from the same hand.
As the former, so also this seeks to rekindle the hope of the
church of God by pointing to the glorious manifestations of God
in nature and history; and the very same facts are selected from
history. Peculiar to this Psalm is the repetition in each verse
of the general principle: for his mercy endures for ever, which
it was sought to impress deeply upon the hearts of the people.
There is no proper ground for the supposition, that this repeti
tion was sung by a second chorus of Levites, as of such alter
nate choruses generally there are no certain traces inthe Psalms.
According to Ps. cxxxv., the priests, the Levites, and the fearers
of God, all took part in the praising of God; and it is most na
tural to suppose, that the people joined in the repetition. The
words of the repetition itself are borrowed from Ps. cxviii. ],
as is also the whole of the first verse.

Ver. 1-3. — Ver. 1. Praise the Lord, for he is good, for his
mercy endures for ever. Ver. 2. Praise the God of gods, for his
mercy endures for ever. Ver. 3, Praise the Lord of lords, for
his mercy endures for ever.-^-By the mercy of the Lord is specially
to be understood his mercy or favour towards his people. Ver.
2 and 3 rest upon Deut. x. 17, " For the Lord your God is the
God of gods and the Lord of lords." The giving of praise thrice
is intentional Ver. 4-9. — Ver. 4. Great wonders did he alone, for his mercy

PSALM CXXXVI. VER. 10—26. 477
endures for ever. Ver. 5. Who made the heavens with wisdom,
for his mercy endures for ever. Ver. 6. Who stretched out the
earth above the waters, for his mercy endures for ever. Ver. 7.
Who made great lights, for his mercy endures for ever. Ver. 8.
The sun to rule the day, for his mercy endures for ever. Ver. 9.
The moon and the stars to rule the night, for his mercy endures
for ever. — The reiteration : for his mercy endures for ever, re
fers, as the commencement shows, to what is always to be sup
plied : Praise the Lord. It is the thought, which must continu
ally arise when the wonderful works of the Lord are to have con
soling power, prophetic import. The mercy of the Lord endures
for ever, and as it must perpetually unfold itself anew to his
people, when sunk in distress, so all it has done in former times
contains a consolatory promise for the future. — Upon the waters,
comp. on Ps. xxiv. 2.
Ver. 10-15.— Ver. 10. Who slew the first-born in Egypt, for
his mercy endures for ever. Ver. 11. And brought out Israel
from their midst, for his mercy endures for ever. Ver. 12.
Through a mighty hand and outstretched arm, for his mercy
endures for ever. Ver. 13. Who divided the Red Sea into pieces,
for his mercy endures for ever. Ver. 14. And made Israel go
through, for his mercy endures for ever. Ver. 15. And Pha
raoh and his host thrust into the Red Sea, for his mercy endures
for ever.
Ver. 1.6-22. — Ver. 16. Who led his people in the wilderness,
for his mercy endures for ever. Ver. 17. Who slew great kings,
for his, mercy endures for ever. Ver. 18. And killed mighty
kings, for his mercy endures for ever. Ver. 19. Sihon, king of
the Amorites, for his mercy endures, for ever. Ver. 20. A nd
Og, king, of Bashan, for his mercy endures for ever. Ver. 21 .
And gave their land for an inheritance, for his mercy endures
for ever. Ver. 22. For an inheritance to Israel his servant, for
his mercy endures for ever.
Ver. 23-26. — Ver. 23. Who in our low estate remembered us,
for his mercy endures for ever. Ver. 24. And.redeemed us from
our adversaries, for his mercy endures for ever. Ver. 25. Who
gives food to all flesh, for his mercy endures for ever. Ver. 26.
Praise the God of heaven, for Ms mercy endures for ever. — Ver.
23 and 24 refer, like the immediately following Psalm, Ps. cxv.
12, Ps. cvii. 16, 18, 2fi, to tlie redemption from Babylon. — The

478 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
goodness of God to all flesh, in ver. 25, shows, that he cannot
possibly leave his chosen in humiliation and distress, comp. Ps.
civ., where the thought only indicated here, is enlarged upon.
Calvin : " At length he extends the fatherly providence of God
indiscriminately, not only to the whole human race, but to all
animals, so that it might not appear wonderful, he should be so
kind and provident a father toward his own elect, since he does
not reckon it a burden to provide for oxen and asses, ravens
and sparrows. Since, therefore, men so far surpass the inferior
animals," &c. — The God of heaven, in ver. 26, is the Almighty.

PSALM CXXXVII.
The Psalm falls into three strophes, each of three verses. The
two first represent Israel's deep sorrow during the time of their
exile from the Lord's land, in which all joyful song was silent;
for how could they well sing and rejoice themselves at a dis
tance from Zion, the city of their God, with which their whole
soul was bound up. The third strophe invokes God's anger
upon the authors and instigators of such distress — in the first
instance on the hostile, though nearly related people of Edom,
then on Babylon, the immediate executrix of the destruction,
which had now received the due recompense in her own destruc
tion, but was still destined to receive heavier judgments.
The proper sentiment of the Psalm lies in the last strophe.
The two first were only intended to introduce and assign the
motive for the wishes and prayers expressed in it.
With the two preceding Psalms this forms a trilogy. Those
were designed to inspire the hope of Israel's salvation, this to
awaken hope regarding the full execution of judgment upon the
enemies, the delay of which would have been not less trying to
Israel than that of their own salvation. Both points are very
commonly combined together, in particular, in the prophecies
of Zechariah, which, as the following investigation will show,
were separated from this Psalm only by the space of a few
years. That the Psalm was sung after the return from Babylon, is
evident from the words in ver. 1-3, " we sat, we wept," &c,
comp. also in the preceding Psalm, ver. 23 and 24. But we are

psalm cxxxvii. 479
carried lower down still by another date, the reference to Baby
lon as the destroyed in ver. 8. Although the first taking of
Babylon, under Cyrus, laid the ground of its later complete ruin,
yet there was still no destruction properly connected with it.
Its walls and gates remained uninjured. It was at the second
capture, by Darius Hystaspis, which was effected after a siege
of twenty months, probably in the sixth year of Darius, hence
eighteen years after the first (see Prideaux Connection B. iii),
that Babylon's hundred gates were laid waste, and her lofty
walls prostrated, and that women from other nations had to be
brought in as into a depopulated city. It is to this event that
the statement must refer. For it was this which properly
formed the first and the last destruction. Afterwards the city,
of itself, fell more and more, till it sank altogether; comp.
Gesenius on Is. i. p. 460.
We have, therefore, a period, before which the Psalm could
not have been composed. But, on the other hand, we must con
tinue to stand precisely at this period, and must not descend
lower into the times after the exile. We have still before us here
the generation that had been in exile. The expressions, indeed,
" we sat, we wept," are of themselves not decisive for that, but
the whole tone of the Psalm shows, that the speakers are not
such as knew of the exile merely by hearsay. The state of
exile still appears vividly before the eye of the people, and in
the fore-ground of their contemplations. Still fresh, and not
obliterated by any later sufferings, is the thought of what had
been suffered at the hands of Edom and Babylon; and these
two, Edom and Babylon, have still not come to the lowest depth
of misery, the divine justice has still farther to manifest its re
tributive dealings toward them. Finally, the general tone, so
highly excited and confident, shows, that an event lay in the
present — that, namely, to which the predicate : thou destroyed,
points — through which the hope of the full execution of the
judgment announced by the servants of the Lord was very
powerfully quickened.
It is of importance, for the right understanding of this Psalm,
as well as of the two preceding, that we should realize the posi
tion of things at the beginning of the government of Darius. For
the ascertaining of this, it will be enough to quote what was
said in the Christologv on the vision of Zechariah, ch. i. 7-17:

480 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
" That the angels are sent to spy out the condition of the earth,
and that they return with the answer, that the whole earth is
at rest, is designed to symbolize the thought, that it is now
time for the accomplishment of the promises in favour of the
covenant people, and the threatenings against their enemies.
There reigned in the second year of Darius a general peace; all
the nations of. the former Chaldean kingdom enjoyed a peaceful i
and uninterrupted prosperity. Even the Babylonians had again
well-nigh recovered from the disadvantages which the capture of
their city by Cyrus had brought upon them; the city continued
to be rich and prosperous. Judealalone, the seat of the people
of God, presented a mournful aspect; the capital still lay for the
most part in ruins; no protecting walls surrounded it; the build
ing of the temple, which had beep some months before recom
menced, at the exhortation of Haggai, had hitherto been ob
structed by difficulties, which the dispirited people despaired of
being able to overcome; the, number of inhabitants was but
small, and the greatest portion of the land still lay waste. It
required a large measure of faith,. under such circumstances, not
to doubt either the faithfulness of God tbhis word, or his omni
potence. His promises to the covenant people had only begun,
and that in a small degree, to be fulfilled by their return; his
predicted judgments upon Babylon extended farther than to a
mere capture of the city, and, even this beginning of their ful
filment had apparently ceased, since the city was continually re
gaining its former prosperity. To counteract the temptations,
which this state of, things necessarily occasioned, and. which
were fitted to, unnerve all, theocratic energy, was the , object, of
this prophecy." In the sixth year of Darius the courage of the
Israelites was raised by two circumstances : first, by the suc
cessful .termination of the temple-building, seventy years after ¦
its overthrow, the dedication of which was kept with joy, Ezra
vi. 1 6; then by the conquest of Babylon, whereby its entire de
struction, , as foretold in prophecy, Was brought much nearer(
seventy years after the destruction of Jerusalem. These two
events form the starting-point for this trilogy of Psalms. On
the foundation of these does the joyful hope rise, which is ex
pressed in them, respecting the prosperity of Israel, and the
execution of judgment on the adversaries. This supposition of
itself explains the buoyant and courageous tone by which these

PSALM CXXXVII., VER. 1 — 6. 481
Psalms are distinguished from the melancholy and depression
that appeared in the decade of Psalms whicli belong to the
period when the building of the temple was interrupted (the
nameless pilgrim-songs.)
Ver. 1-6. — Ver. ], By the water-streams of Babylon, there
we sat and wept when we thought upon Zion. Ver. 2. Upon
the willows which are there we hung our harps. Ver. 3. For
there they who held us captive desired of us words of song, and
of our plundered ones joy: "Sing us songs of Zion." Ver. 4.
How could we sing the song of the Lord in a strange land. Ver.
5. If I forget thee, Jerusalem, let my right hand forget. Ver. 6.
Let my tongue cleave to my gums if I remember not thee, if I do
not raise Jerusalem to ihe top of my joy. — That Babylon, ver. 1,
is not the city, but the kingdom, appears from ver. 2. The
streams of Babel are the Euphrates and Tigris, the Chaboras,
in the neighbourhood of which the colony resided, in which
Ezekiel laboured, the Ulai or Eulaeus, Dan. viii. 2. The ques
tion: why did they sit beside the streams, must neither be dis
posed of by the remark, that Babylon was a land rich in streams,
for it was not this to such an extent that it could simply have
been designated from its streams ; nor must it be answered by
mere conjectures of one kind and another, without any proper
ground existing for them in the context. The peculiar reason
for the children of Israel being represented as sitting at the
streams is the weeping. An internal reference of the weeping
to the streams, must therefore have been what gave rise to the
representation of the sitting. Nor is this reference difficult to
be discovered. All languages know of brooks, or streams of
tears, comp., in scripture, Lam. ii. 18, "Let tears run down like
a river day and night," iii 48; also Job xxviii. 11, where, in
versely, the gushing of the floods is called weeping. The child
ren of Israel placed themselves beside the streams of Babel because
they saw in them the image and symbol of their floods of tears.
To a certain extent Dan. viii. 2, x. 4> are analogous, as, accord
ing to them, Daniel had his vision in great streams, for the
ground there also lies, in an internal respect, which the place
of abode has to what moves his soul: the great waters are to
him — corresponding to the sea in ch. vii. 2 — the symbol of
masses of people, with the commotion and conflict of which his
VOL. III. 2 I

482 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
soul was occupied; comp. on Ps. xlvi. 3, xciii. On the other
hand, the passages so often brought into comparison here, of
Ez. i. 1, iii. 15, are not similar. For the Ohaboras does not
come there specially into consideration as the place of prophecy,
but the mention of it serves only as a geographical description
of the dwelling-place of those among whom the prophet laboured.
The oty gives prominence to the place of sojourn. The remem
bering of Zion is no patriotical one in the ordinary sense ; it
comes into view, not so much as the civil as the spiritual capital
of the people — as the place where the Lord dwelt with his people.
To be separated from Zion was to be separated from God, the
source of all life and all joy; comp, on Ps. xlii. xliii. How
could they avoid weeping, who were shut out of his holy fellow
ship ? God lost, all lost. — The willows, in ver. 2, are mentioned
in connection with the streams. The stiff, in n^ro. points to
Babylon. The harps are brought into notice as accompaniments
of joyful song. (Michaelis; Cithararum olim in solemnioribus
gaudiis usus erat, Gen. xxxi. 27; 1 Sam. x. 5; 2 Sam. vi. 5;
unde earum cessatio ingentem et publicum luctuhi describit.
Is. xxiv. 8; Ez. xxvii. 13; Apoc. xviii. 22; Job xxx. 31; Lam.
v. 15.) The voice of joyful song must remain silent out of Zion,
because there only could the church enjoy nearness to her God,
and this joy forms the condition of every other joy. Whoever
robs her of that must henceforth speak no more to her of joy.
It sounds like bitter contumely, though it should be meant for
good. — The often tortured 13, in ver. 3, is not to. be limitpd to
the subject of this verse, but extends to ver. 3-6, in the rela
tion they bear to ver. 2 : We let our harps repose, for our op
pressors desired, indeed, a song from us and music, but we
declined giving them it. The -yi^ even of itself means, not
song in general, but song of joy or praise; comp. on Ps. xlij. 8,
Ixxxiii. supers. Here the more exact import is further deter
mined by the nrTOttf. j°y- The cheerful songs are meant which
were sung at Zion especially during the feasts. The desiring of
such songs is not to be considered as " a scornful demand of the
rude conquerors, for the purpose of making sport to themselves,."
For, in that case, why should they have desired precisely cheer
ful songs, joy? Plaintive songs would have been still better
suited to the purpose; and in the answer given no respect is
had to any such sinister design; this thought alone is brought

PSALM CXXXVII., VER. 1—6. 483
distinctly out in it, that away from Zion they could not sing
and enjoy themselves. The desire rather proceeds from the
wish, that the Israelites might reconcile themselves to their
lot, that they would forget the old and true Zion, which the
enemy had taken from them and would not restore, and would
in their imaginations find a new one in Babylon, would feel at
home in the land of their banishment. Let one compare how
the King of Assyria sought to make the bitter exile sweet
to Israel in Is. xxxvi. 17. The tyy\ft is the Chal. form for
TTVttf- This always signifies plundered, imprisoned, comp. at
Ps. Ixxvi 5, also Micah i. 8, where the prophet typifies before
hand the fate of the people as led away into captivity — comp.
yj% in ver. 16. How impossible it is to explain the word here
satisfactorily, so long as one proceeds on the groundless sup
position, that it has an active signification, is clear from this
alone, that not one of all the attempts of this kind have been
able to find general acceptance- The expressions, " they who
held us captive," and " our plundered," point to the absurdity
of the demand, since they desired what their own conduct had
rendered it impossible to give. It was not otherwise than if a
person should insist upon another singing, whose throat he had
already gagged. — Ver. 4-6 contain the answer to the demand of
the sons of Babylon, though not addressed to these themselves.
We are to supply : But we said. The song of the Lord, ver. 4,
the joyful, as the Babylonians had desired it, in the foreign land,
where it rather becomes us to weep, than to sing, as it would
imply a renunciation of Zion as our proper spiritual home. The
reason for the refusal is given still more plainly in ver. 5, 6: to
sing and rejoice in the foreign land were a shameful forgetting
of Zion. Accordingly, interpretations of this sort : such con
duct would have been a culpable desecration, are at once to be
rejected. No trace also is to be found of such superstition.
The Israelites certainly often sung their sacred songs (only not
joyful ones) in the foreign land, and an entire series of them
was even composed there. — To the words in ver. 5: let my
right hand forget, something must be supplied from the con
text. We are not,. therefore, to explain this: let it forget me,
which besides affords no good sense; but, rather, the playing on
the stringed instrument, ver. 2, for of this, whether the right
hand should be applied to the purpose or not, was the point in

484 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
question- Then, the punishment also perfectly accords with
the misdeed, as in Job xxxi. 22: If I, misapplying my right
hand to the playing of joyful strains on my instrument, forget
thee, Jerusalem, let my right hand, as a punishment, forget the
noble art ; and then also ver. 6 fits admirably to what goes be
fore: May my misemployed hand lose its capacity to play, and
my tongue, misemployed in singing cheerful songs, its capacity
to sing. — The cleaving of the tongue to the gums, ver. 6, as a
mark of dead silence, is found also in Job xxix. 10. If I re
member thee not, singing joyful melodies. The head or summit
of joy is, as it were, the chamber, in which Jerusalem was enter
tained. As to the sense, it formed itself the top, comp. Is. ii. 2.
Some give a constrained meaning: if I do not set Jerusalem
higher than my highest joy ; t^N"**! in the sense of the most
excellent. Ver. 7-9. — Ver. 7. Remember, Lord, to ihe sons of Edom the
day of Jerusalem, who then said: clean off, clean off even to the
ground for it. Ver. 8. Daughter of Babylon, thou destroyed one,
happy for him, who recompenses to thee thy gifts, which thou hast
given us. Ver. 9. Happy for him, who takes thy young children
and dashes them on. the stone. — In respect to the malicious joy of
Edom at the destruction of Jerusalem, and its punishment, see
the prophecy of Obadiah, Lam. iv. 21, 22, Jer. xlix. 7—22, Ez.
xxv. 12, ss. Their hatred was the more deserving of recom
pense, because they were connected by a near tie with Israel.
The Lord has now remembered to them for a long time the day
of Jerusalem : they have disappeared without leaving a trace
behind. The Psalmist only prays for that which the Lord had
often declared was to be done, what lay grounded in the eter
nal laws of the retributive righteousness of God. (Calvin : " It
is to be noted, that the prophet does not here rashly break out
into curses and threats, but that he only acts as a divine herald
to confirm former predictions. — Now, by the impulse of the
Spirit, he prays God, that he would show in reality that the
prediction had not been uttered in vain. And when he says,
Remember Jehovah, he calls the promise to the recollection of
the pious, that persuaded of God's acting the part of an avenger,
they would calmly and patiently wait for the issue.") The Pi.
of fny properly, to strip bare. The expression seems to be
taken from Hab. iii. 13. — In regard to the proper author of

. PSALM CXXXVII. 485
Israel's misery and distress, Babylon (comp. in reference to the:
daughter of Babylon, on Ps. xiv. 12), the Psalmist points
through the predicate: thou destroyed, to the circumstance,
that the beginning of God's vengeance had already laid hold of
her, and connects therewith the wish for its completion. At
the end of ver. 8 a double point of reflection presents itself.
The dashing of the'children is the recompense for the gifts,
which they had given Israel, and which, according to the eter
nal laws of divine retribution, must necessarily return upon the
giver — comp. Is. xiii. 16; for the very thing they had done to
Israel, they afterwards practised before the eyes of the Psalmist,
with inhuman barbarity among themselves, not sparing those
who were nearest and dearest to them.1 Instead of finding
fault with the writer, we should rather be edified by his energetic
acknowledgment of the divine retributive righteousness, which
is also taught, precisely as here, by our Lord in Matt. vii. 2.
For what is said here is only an individualizing of the sentiment
uttered there : " with what measure ye mete, it shall bo
measured to you again." The most tender human compassion
is not excluded by this mode of contemplation. *rnTT^ has
been greatly tortured, but it can only signify : thou destroyed
— not thou spoiler, nor thou to be spoiled ; and it refers only
to a desolation that had already taken place ; not : which I in
spirit see as already spoiled, for had that been the meaning, it
would have been more pointedly marked. Upon b^' see on
Ps. vii. 4.

We have now in Ps. cxxxviii-cxlv., a cycle of Davidic
Psalms, called forth by David's reflection upon the promise in
2 Sam. vii., and by the anxiety, which filled him, regarding his
posterity. In them he accompanies his offspring through their
future history, and presents to them the anchor of safety in the
storms, which he knew from his own experience certainly await
ed them. We have here a prophetic legacy of David, corre
sponding to his last words in 2 Sam. xxiii. That these Psalms
1 Prideaux Connection B. iii. : "To make their provisions last the longer, they
agreed to cut off all unnecessary mouths among them ; and therefore drawing to
gether all the women and children, they strangled them all, &c."

486 THE BOOK OF PSALMS..
close the series of Davidic Psalms, is certainly not accidental,
but is in unison with their internal character, and the time of
their composition.
In Ps. cxxxviii, David sets the promise before the eyes of
his family. In Ps. cxxxix., he presents to their view, for their
consolation and incitement, the all-present God. In Ps. cxl,.,
he brings still more closely to them the circumstances of danger
that lay before them. In Ps. cxli., he strengthens them against,
the internal dangers with which the external necessity threat
ened them. In Ps. cxiii., cxliii, he shows them how they were
to sustain themselves, if matters came to an extremity with
them. Ps. cxliv. forms the transition from the prayer-songs to
the song of praise, with which in Ps. cxlv. the whole is conclud
ed. There manifestly exists a correspondence between Ps.
cxxxviii., the rejoicing on account of the promise of the Lord,
and Ps. cxlv., the rejoicing on account of its fulfilment ; the
lamentations and prayers are inclosed by praise and thanks
givings. The appropriateness and connection of these Psalms is ac
knowledged to some extent even by those who have deprived
themselves of the vantage-ground of the superscriptions. Thus
Ewald says of Ps. cxl.— cxliii: "A series of songs so similar in
matter, and so much of one stamp, that one can hardly doubt
that they were the production of the same poet." Koster
agrees and adds : " I take them for a supplement of the old
Davidic songs. For in place of the liturgical expansive cha
racter of the preceding Psalms, we are here at once brought
back to the lively alternation of feelings which prevailed in Ps.
iii. ss." Hitzig remarks on Ps. cxl.: "The three following
Psalms are of a quite similar kind, and appear to have been
composed by one author much about the same time."
Seventy-two Psalms of David have gone before. These eight
bring up the entire number to eighty. We may perhaps
regard Ps. cxxxviii. as the governing castle; and the remain
ing heptad as divided into three and four. The section would
then be denoted by the extended superscription of Ps. cxiii.

psalSi cxxxviii. 487

PSALM CXXXVIII.
The Psalmist, who from the superscription was David, praises
the Lord for the high and glorious promise, which in his loving
kindness he had granted hin^ giving his own faithfulness in
pledge for its fulfilment, ver. 1-3 ; announces that some time
after its fulfilment, all kings of the earth would praise him on
account of that promise, ver. 4-6 ; and, leaning on the promise,
utters forth the joyful assurance that he would go on to the
very end of the world victorious Over all evil, and bringing his
enemies under him, ver. 7 and 8. — The* Psalm falls into three
strophes, the two first of three, the last of two verses, but whicli
together have six members. Ver. 2, which marks the great
object of the song, stands prominently out by its great length.
The Psalm belongs to that chain of Davidic Psalms which
was called forth by the promise in 2 Sam. vii., and which
rest upon it, Ps. xviii., xxi, lxi., ci-ciii, ex., comp. Ps. lxxii.,
Ixxxix., cxxxii. That the promise here celebrated is no other
than that, is clear as day. Here, as well as there, the subject
handled has respect to a promise of blessing of surpassing
greatness, — the idols, which could exhibit nothing similar, must
retreat before it ashamed, vOr. 1 ; the Lord has glorified him
self more by it, than by all his earlier wonders, ver. 2 ; all kings
of the earth will one day praise the Lord on account of it.
Farther, here as well as there, we have to do, not with a parti
cular blessing, but with a chain of blessings, which reaches even
into eternity, ver. 8. Finally, the promise has here the same
subject as there. This is described more pointedly here in ver.
6 and 7 : God elevates the oppressed David above all height, re
vives him in the midst of trouble, brings doWn all his enemies.
If the Psalm refers to the promise in 2 Sam. vii., there can
be no doubt of the correctness of the superscription, which
ascribes it to David. For he, on Whom the promise has been
conferred, himself stands forth as the speaker. It is a proof
also of David's authorship, the union, So characteristic of him,
of bold courage (see especially ver. 3), and deep humility (see
ver. 6). And in proof of the same comes, finally, the hear re
lationship in which it stands with the other Psalms of David,
especially those which likewise refer to the promise of the

488 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
everlasting kingdom, and with Dayid's thanksgiving in 2 Sam.
vii, the conclusion of which : " And now, Lord God, the word
which thou hast spoken upon thy servant and upon his house,
that fulfil even to eternity, and do as thou hast spoken," re
markably agrees with the conclusion of our Psalm.
In the times when David's race was greatly depressed, this
Psalm must have been very consolatory for Israel. It was a
pledge to them, that one day this race, and with it the people,
would be quickened from death to life.

Ver. 1—3. — Ver. I . Of David. I will praise thee with my whole
heart, before the gods will I sing praise to thee. Ver. 2. i" will
worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name, on account
of thy mercy and thy truth ; for thou hast made glorious thy word,
above all thy name. Ver. 3. When I called, thou answeredst me,
thou gavest me in my soul proud strength. — On ver. 1, comp. Ps.
xviii. 49, ci. 1, where the ascription of praise refers to the same
object; also vii. 17, liv. 7, Ivii. 9. The expression: with the
whole heart, as in Ps. ix. 1, points to the surpassing greatness
of the benefit received, which filled the whole heart with thank
fulness, and did not proceed, as it were, from some particular
corner of it. Corresponding also, bearing respect likewise to
the greatness of the benefaction, is the expression : before the
gods, — demanding of these, whether they would verify their
godhead by pointing to any such boon conferred by them on
their servants. The benefit which could afford such a demon
stration, and give occasion and ground for raillery, must have
been a surpassingly great one. The expositions : before the
angels (LXX. Vulgate)( which never bear the name of Elohim,
and before God, who is directly addressed, and besides through
out the whole Psalm is named Jehovah, are to be rejected. As
a proof of the true godhead of the Lord, in contradistinction to
idols, the fact in question is also considered by David in his
thanksgiving, in 2 Sam. vii. — comp. ver. 22 : " The Lord God
is great, for no one is like him, and there is no god beside
him," and the frequently recurring there Jehovah-Elohim, q. d.
Jehovah, thou who, from the evidence of this fact, and of every
thing else which thou hast done for Israel, and to which those
can point to nothing like (comp. ver. 23, Deut. iv. 7, 34), art
alone true God. Against the explanation : before God, is also

PSALM CXXXVIII., VER. 1—3. 489
Ps. cxxxv. 5. That the Psalmist addresses the Lord without
naming him, shows, that his whole soul was really full of him.
— On the words : I will worship toward thy holy temple, ver. 2,
comp. the literally coinciding parallel passage, Ps. v. 7. The
latter shows that we are not here to think of heaven. Parallel
there is the expression: " I will come into thy house." Loving
kindness and truth are here united as in Ps. xxv. 10 ; the lov- ¦
ing-kindness which the promise guarantees, the truth which
will be verified in its fulfilment, and which was already pledged
by anticipation ; comp. 2 Sam. vii. 28 : " Thou art God, and thy
words are truth." — Above all thy name, above all through which
thou hast hitherto manifested thyself. The word of the Lord
is his word of promise, comp. Ps. xviii. 30. To make the word
glorious, is not simply " to exhibit it as faithful by the fulfil
ment," but according to Ps. xviii. 50, as much as to confer a
glorious promise ; comp. the expression, " all this greatness,"
maximum hoc et summum beneficium, Michaelis, 2 Sam. vii.
21. ' It is substantially said thereby, that the bestowal of the
promise rises above all the earlier deeds of the Lord among his,
people, with whicli the goodness promised to David is also, in
2 Sam. vii. 22, ss., compared. It would be a ridiculous hyper
bole, if we were to think of any other promise than that in
2 Sam. vii. In the prayer of David, in 2 Sam. vii., the singu
larity of what God had done to him is the principal idea
Luther's translation: for thou hast made thy name glorious
above all through thy word, breaks up arbitrarily the connec
tion of "73 with ^Q^, and just as arbitrarily supplies a through.
— The first member of ver. 3 is to be explained according to the
parallel passages, Ps. xxi. 3, 5, lxi. 5, according to which the
promise in 2 Sam. vii. was the answer of a prayer to David : he
prayed to God, that he might live in his posterity, and this
desire was richly fulfilled by God. As the first member marks
the fact of the answer, so the second marks more exactly the
how : God has filled David's soul with strength and vigour, by
the promise of the everlasting supremacy of his seed, and of the
protection they should experience against all the assaults of
the world. ypy^ *n Hiph., to make proud, fy aceus. with
power. The high spirit of David is not of such a kind as goes
before a fall ; for it rests upon God, upon his word and power,
comp. Ps. xviii. 29, " By thee I run through troops, and by my

490 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
God I leap over walls." Luther, who renders : " When I call
upon thee, do thou hear me, and give great strength to my
soul," has quite mistaken the sense.
Ver. 4-6. — Ver. 4. All kings of the earth will praise thee,
when they hear the words of thy mouth. Ver. 5. And sing upon
the ways of the Lord, that great is the glory of the Lord. Ver. 6.
For the Lord is lifted up, and looks upon the lowly, and Mows
the proud from afar. — Beside the present praise of a particular
king, there is placed here the future praise of all the kings of
the earth. What is to be understood by ihe words of the Lord,
in ver. 4, is to be determined from ver. 2. Accordingly, we are
not to think of the doctrine of Jehovah, but of his promise
granted to David. That we must not substitute for the words,
without anything farther, the fulfilment, is self-evident. Still,
it is only through the fulfilment that the promise makes such
an impression upon the kings, only when they were able to
compare the history with the prophecy, and had the wonderful
faithfulness of the word of God before their eyes. The kings
arc to be thought of as those who are converted to the service
of the true God. This appears from the nature of the subject
(from others no such ascription of praise was to be expected) ;
it is expressly declared in ver. 5 ; and according to other pas
sages also David gives a clear announcement of the future con
version of all the kings of the earth to the Lord — compare Ps.
lxviii. 29, " Because of thy temple at Jerusalem will kings
bring presents unto thee :" ver. 31, " Princes will come out of
Egypt, Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands to God;" Ps.
cii. 15, " And the heathen shall fear the name of the Lord, and
all the kings of the earth thy glory," according to which Psalm,
it was precisely the fulfilment of the promise given to David,
the glorious work of the elevation of the humbled David, which
the Lord would employ as the chief means for drawing the
hearts of sinners to himself. Accordingly, in the expression in
ver. 5 : upon the ways of the Lord, entering upon them, the
thought is to be thus made out : upon which they will be led
by the consideration of this glorious work. The way of the
Lord is such a walk as is conformable to his law, and well-
pleasing to him. The exposition : And sing of the ways of the
Lord, for great is the glory of the Lord, is to be rejected, be
cause verbs of singing never, and verbs also of saying very

PSALM CXXXVIII., VER. 7, 8. 49,1
rarely, are united with ^ of the object. It would certainly not
have been thought of if the announcement of a future conver
sion of all kings to the Lord had not been inconvenient. In
ver. 6 the lofty elevation of the Lord forms the ground, on
account of which he lifts up the lowly, brings down the proud ;
not : and yet; but : and therefore. By the lowly is to be under
stood such a person, as at the same time feels his lowliness; as
also under the proud, he who is such in his own eyes, is to be
thought of; comp. Ps. ci. 5. In regard to what is actually
meant, the lowly is David and his stem, the high is the power
of the world lifting itself up against him ; comp. ver. 7. For,
as the elevation of the lowly David above all his enemies shows,
the Lord in his glorious majesty beholds the lowly, whom the
world generally regards as forgotten by him, and lifts him up;
and eyes the proud from afar, from the distant heights of hea
ven, into which their pride has driven him, and casts them
down ; so .that the lowly can triumph over them, as the proto
type David in respect to Saul. The verse is of a genuine Da
vidic character ; comp. Ps. xviii. 27, "for thou helpest the poor
people, and thou bringest down the lofty eyes;" 2 Sam. vi. 22,
where David says, " And I will be still less than thus, and will
be lowly, ^'r^, in my own eyes, and with the maidens of whom
thou speakest, will I come to honour," Ps. cxxxi. 1.
Ver. 7, 8. — Ver. 7. When I walk in the midst of trouble, thou
revivest me ; against the wrath of mine enemies thou stretchest
forth thy hand, and deliverest me with thy right hand. Ver. 8.
The Lord will complete for me, Lord thy mercy endures for ever;
the works of thy hands thou wilt not forsake. — On the expression:
when I walk, in ver. 7, comp. Ps. xxiii. 4. (Calvin already
beautifully remarks: " Here David declares, how he would trust
that God would prove a saviour to him; namely, by restoring
life to him when dead, if that should be necessary. It is a pas
sage worthy of being well noted. For, as the flesh is tender,
every one would fain preserve his own secure against the darts
of evil ; hence, nothing more painful, than to fight hand to
hand with the enemy in constant danger of death. Nay, as
soon as some trouble has risen up in our way, we presently be
come appalled, as if our difficulties would render all deliverance
from God impossible. But this is the true property of faith, in
the very darkness of death to behold the light of life, nor only

492 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
to lean upon the grace of God, as able to rescue us from all that
annoys, but as able every moment to quicken us anew in the
midst of death. Whence it follows that God exercises his peo
ple by a perpetual conflict, so that, having one foot in the grave,
they may fly for refuge under his wings, and there enjoy tran
quillity.") On the expression : thou revivest me, compare Ps.
xxx. 3, Ixxi. 20. i^i'tyin is the second person, as in 2 Sam.
xxii. 3, and -nifti accus., comp. Ps. xvii. 13, lx. 5. On the first
member of ver. 8, compare Ps. Ivii 2, Phil. i. 6. The beginning
is all that the Lord had hitherto done for David, including the
promise imparted to him. The completing has its topstone in
Christ, in whom David was raised to the supremacy of the
world. On the expression : thy mercy or favour endures for
ever, comp. 2 Sam. vii. 13, 26, Ps. ciii. 17. The works (not the
deeds) of the hands of the Lord, indicate all that he had till
now accomplished for David, from his deliverance from the
hand of Saul till the bestowal of the promise. God lets none
of his works lie unfinished, least of all one so gloriously begun.
As true as he is God, he must bring it to a glorious consumma
tion. PSALM CXXXIX.
God, thou who knowest all things, and art everywhere pre
sent, searchest me and knowest me, ver. 1—12. For thou hast
formed me, ver. 13-18. Before thee, to whom my heart lies
open, I protest that I have no fellowship with the wicked, but
that I hate them in my heart, and I pray that thou wouldst
keep with me the everlasting favour promised to me, from which
I have not excluded myself by any guilt of my own, ver. 19-
24. The Psalm falls into four times three pairs of verses.
That the Psalm is not accidentally placed beside the preced
ing one, that it rather unites with it by an internal connection,
appears most distinctly from the relation of the " lead me upon
the everlasting way" of the conclusion here, with the " Lord, thy
mercy (toward David and his race) endures for ever," at the
close of Ps. cxxxviii. Besides, the pin"TD> in ver- % also refers
back to that Psalm, as do also ver. 9-12; comp. them with ver.
7 there. If this relation is rightly ascertained, then the view to be

PSALM CXXXIX. 493
taken of the present Psalm is the following. The preceding
Psalm praises the Lord on account of the promise of everlasting
favour which had been granted to David. Here David comes
forth before the Lord, showing himself here as always deeply
penetrated by the conviction, that the righteous alone can par
take in salvation, comp. on Ps. xxvi., and protests before him,
as the searcher of hearts, that he had not made the promise
void through his guilt. David speaks here not merely in his
own person, but in that of his whole race; and so the Psalm is
an indirect exhortation to his successors on the throne, and, at
the same time, to the people, whose predominant spirit was re
presented in them. The Lord's favour endures for ever — so
David exclaims to them — but take good heed that ye allow
yourselves in no sin, nor act contrary to the commands of God.
For only if ye can comfort yourselves by submitting to the trial
of the Omniscient, only if ye can confidently address to him the
" search me and know me," can ye hope to have a share in this
salvation. If, on the other hand, you are among the wicked,
you can never hope to escape the avenging hand of the Al
mighty, comp. on ver. 7 and 8.
The consideration of the divine omniscience and omnipresence,
however, has not merely this admonitory import, which is the
only one commonly brought out by interpreters — (in that point
of view Ps. ci. exactly corresponds, and the introduction there
ought to be compared; there also the other analogies from the
Davidic Psalms are produced) — but it has also a consolatory
import; and the overlooking of this has done great harm to the
exposition, and led the way to a mistaken view of a series of
passages, where it decidedly comes out; comp. especially ver.
9-12, ver. 13-16. The Psalmist grounds upon the declaration:
thou searchest me and knowest me, in the conclusion which
exhibits the practical result, not merely the prayer, " search me
and know my heart," but also the further request, " lead me in
the everlasting way." The Omniscient knows not only our guilt
and innocence, he knows also the straits of his people. The All-
present is not only always at hand with his judgments to chas
tise the apostate, but also there with his salvation to support
the faithful.
There can be no doubt about these two references. But a
third, which has been discovered by some, is to be rejected, viz.,

494 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
that David invokes Ood for judgment on the wicked. Through
out the whole Psalm, and especially at the beginning and the
close, which contain the sum, the Psalmist has to do only with
himself, and such a turning toward what is without, would have
been a violation of its character; tho more so as he speaks only
of the wicked as such, not of his wicked enemies; ver. 19—22,
the verses in whicli they are mentioned, contain rather a pro
testation of innocence on the part of the Psalmist, in. the form
of a renunciation of the wicked, and a declaration of his sincere
and cordial hatred toward them.
The Davidic authorship of the Psalm is attested, besides the
superscription, the contents, and connection with Ps. cxxxviii.,
by the various points of contact it presents with the other
Psalms of David, and by the depth and original character of
the feelings described. An objection has been sought by several
in the Chaldaisms that occur, but an explanation is given of
these in ver. 6, 17, and 18. Penetrated by the loftiness of his
subject, the Psalmist shuns also in the form what is of common
and daily use.

Ver. 1-6.- — Ver. 1. To the chief musician, of David. Lord,
thou searchest me and knowest. Ver. 2. Thou knowest my sitting
down and my rising up, thou understandest my thoughts afar off.
Ver. 3. My way and my couch thou markest, and art familiar with
all my ways. Ver. 4. For there is not a word upon my tongue,
lo, Lord, thou knowest it all. Ver. 5. Behind and before thou
dost beset me, and layest upon me thy hand. Ver. 6. Such know ¦
ledge is too wonderful for me, high and I cannot reach it. — Ver. 1
contains the sum of the whole Psalm. At the word: thou
knowest, we are not simply to supply me — also in ver. 23, it is
not the suffix, but my heart, which is found— but all that is
here generally to be known, all that belongs to the subject in
hand : the expansion of the idea is given in what follows, where
the expression, " thou knowest," again returns. For the very
purpose of pointing to this relation, the knowing here is left
without its object, The matter on which the searching and
knowing are employed is not merely the guilt or innocence of
the Psalmist, although this comes more immediately into view
— comp. in reference to this the parallel passages, Ps. xliv. 21,
Job xiii. 9, — but also his position and state: God knows also

PSALM CXXXIX., VER. 1 — 6. 496
" the necessities of the soul," " he knows thy pain and domestic
sorrows, and the time when to come to thee,"— The sitting in
ver, 2 denotes rest; the rising up, the raising of one's self to go
to work — oomp, Ps, cxxvii, 2 — q. d., what jn a state of rest or
of activity, I think, feel, speak, act, and how it goes with mo.
Understood thus, the mention of the thought in the second
member is quite suitable. ^ with ^ to have insight in regard
to something, y^ in the signification of thought only here, and
in ver, 17; in a third place, often quoted in support of the same,
Job xxxvi, 4J3, it is used in its common acceptation, friend.
Afar off, according to some, must mean: long before they come
into my mind. But that we must rather explain; the far dis^
tance between heaven and earth sets po bounds tp thy know
ledge, is clear from Ps, cxxxviii. 6, and from Jer. xxiii 23,
" Am I a G®d nigh at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God
afar off?" Schmid: "As if being in heaven I should not know
the things which are done on earth," comp. ver. 24, David
utters here a, contradiction against the error of ungodliness seek
ing to banish God into heaven, as expressed in Job xxii, 12-14:
" Dwells not God in the height of heaven? and behold the stars,
how high they are. Therefore thou sayest, How doth God
know? Can he judge through the darkness? The clouds are
a covering to him, and he seeth not; and he walketh in the
circuit of heaven." God's being in heaven is, according to
the view ©f Scripture, no limitation of God, but a designation
of his absolute being: not merely although, but just because
God is in heaven, he is not far from every one of us. Calvin-
" God is not shut up in heaven, as if he delighted in an idle
repose (as the Epicureans feigned), and neglected human
affairs; but though we live at a great distance from him, still
he is not far from us." — The yy) in ver. 3 is the poetical form
of vy\, reappearing again in the Chaldee. This never signifies
the lying, but always the couch, the place of rest. To this also
agrees the mN> not the going, but the way, the poetical ex
pression for the common *rp-j used in the second member. My
way and my resting-place, for, me as I feel and act on the way
and in the place of my rest, what I there do and experience.
By the way, also, is not merely to be understood the deeds, but;
also what happens. n"\t> properly, to sift, then poetically, to
prove, to know. Luther's translation : thou art about me, is

496 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
grounded upon the false Rabinical derivation from -fl, crown.—
The grounding (for) is given in ver. 4 simply by expanding the
idea further. It is only when the preceding context is viewed
in a mistaken light, that something higher is found here than
there. We must not explain : For there is still no word; but
the expression : Lo, Lord, thou knowest it all, rather stands, as
Luther correctly perceived, for, which thou Lord dost not all
know. — In ver. 5, the Psalmist already proceeds from the
territory of the all-knowing, to that of the all-present — an easy
and gentle transition, since, according to the view of Scripture,
the omniscience of God is founded in his omnipresence. To
the : behind and before, there is supplied from the last mem
ber; from above; so that I am on all sides surrounded and
environed by thee, can do nothing, and suffer nothing, with
out being seen by thee, and being always in thy power, either
to be punished or assisted. — Before the Psalmist advances
farther in the representation, begun in ver. 5, of the divine
omnipresence, he breaks out in ver. 6, into admiration of this
superhuman glory, so far exceeding even all human concep
tion; comp. B-om. xi. 33. The reading of the text H^Vq is
the feminine of ifc^g, wonderful. The Masoretes would sub
stitute for this the fem. of the uncertain form j^i^q. There is
a similar wrong Kri in Judg. xiii. 18. Comp., on the expres
sion: it is too wonderful for me, Deut. xxx. 11, to which per
haps an allusion is made, and Prov. xxx. 18. The knowing
must, according to several interpreters, be the divine; but then
either the suffix or the article would have been used. What is
meant is rather, the human knowledge of the divine omni
science and omnipresence, which always infinitely falls short of
its infinite object, and worships before it, without being able to
penetrate its depth.
Ver. 7-12. — Ver. 7. Whither shall I go from thy Spirit?
And whither shall I flee from thy presence? Ver. 8. If I ascend
into heaven, thou art there; and if I should make my bed in hell,
behold thou art ihere. Ver. 9. Take I the wings of the morning-
dawn, would I dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Ver. 10.
Even there would thy hand lead me, and thy right hand hold me.
Ver. 11. And if I say: Surely the darkness shall crush me, and,
at night was the light about me. Ver. 12. So even the darkness

PSALM CXXXIX., VER. 7 — 12. 497
darkens not before thee, and the night shines as the day; darkness
is as the light. — Ver. 7 and 8 cut off all hope of deliverance from
the sinner, by pointing to the omnipresence of God. The thought
is to be supplied: If I had cause to fear thy judging eye, and
thine avenging hand, and to hide myself from them. Amos ix.
2 is to be compared: " If they (the sinners) should break through
into hell, there will my hand take them; if they climb up to
heaven, thence will 1 bring them down." The Spirit of the
Lord is his power and presence operating in the world; comp.
on Ps. cvi. 33, the history of the creation, and Ps. xxxiii. 6.
Incorrectly some: the Spirit who knows all things. yv£T\ is
denom. from yyp, to make a couch, bed, or something for a
bed; precisely as here in Is. lviii. 5, and the Hiph. Is. xiv. 1 1,
Esther iv. 3, comp. Ewald § 122. The accus. ~)^'^ finds in
this an obvious explanation. Job xxvi. 5, 6 is to be compared.
On ver. 9, 10, comp. Ps. Iv. 6, 8: " Oh that I had wings like a
dove, then would I fly away and abide. Lo ! I would fly far off,
I would lodge in the wilderness. I would make haste to a re
fuge from the strong wind, from the tempest." This very
similar passage shows, that we are not to think of a desire of
being at a distance from God as the motive for flight, but the
desire of escaping from the enemies. To the same result also
are we conducted by the expression : " thy hand will lead me,"
under which we can think only of a friendly leading; compare
Ps. lxxiii. 24, xxiii. 3, v. 8, xxvii. 11, &c, and of this Ps. ver.
24. (Falsely, therefore, many: manus tua, ex qua elabi conarer.)
The right hand also is to be regarded as that which is ready to
help, comp. Ps. xviii. 16. That in both members: thy hand
will lead me, and: thy right hand will hold me, God's omni
presence is applied for the consolation of the helpless, apparently
quite excluded from his aid, yet still, wherever he may be, se
cure within the territory of God, still farther appears quite
clearly from the reference which they carry to ver. 7 of the in
ternally related Ps. cxxxviii: "Against the wrath of mine
enemies do thou stretch forth thy hand, and deliver me with
thy right hand." Hence ver. 7, where the Psalmist speaks of
his fleeing from the presence of God, belongs not to the whole
section, ver. 7-12, but only to ver. 8, with which it is united
into a pair. The morning-dawn is brought here into notice in
respect to the speed with which its rays dart from one end of
*> K
VOL. III. " *

498 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
the earth to the other. Such extraordinary means needed to
be called into requisition, in order to reach the distant end, that
could not be attained in the common way. It is better to
translate: take I (comp. the had I in Ps. Iv. 6) than lift I, with
comparison of Ezek. x. 16, 19. In order to lift up wings, one
must still first have them. The uttermost parts, the ends of
the sea, are at' the same time the ends of the earth. As the
furthest point in the breadth, stands here in connection with
the furthest depth and the furthest height in ver. 8, for the
purpose of expressing the thought, that in the whole universe
there is no point where God is not present. The usage, ac
cording to which qi also means the western regions, is not to
be thought of. — Ver. 11 and 12 become plain, as soon as we
adhere, in the explanation of lio^t itself to the more certain
usage, and are not driven hither and thither after conjectural
meanings, W& signifies, in the two other passages where it
occurs, Gen. iii. 15, Job ix. 17, unquestionably to bruise, and
this signification, which the LXX. (xaracrar^rt;) and the Vul
gate (conculcabit) retain also here, will be found quite suitable,
when we do not miss the proper interpretation of the two pre
ceding verses, and are not led generally to suppose, that the
Psalmist had in view only a one-sided application of the divine
omnipresence. The darkness is here brought into considera
tion, not as a sort of covering for the heart and actions of men
from the presence of God, or from his avenging hand, as in Job
xxxiv. 21, 22, Jer. xxiii. 24, but as exposing to danger, from
being that in which robbers and murderers execute their de
signs. Besides darkness in this natural sense, respect is also
had to darkness in the very common figurative sense; comp. Is.
1. 10, "Whoever walks without light, let him trust upon the
name of the Lord, and stay himself on his God;" so that the
words in Ps. cxxxviii. 7, " When I walk in the midst of trouble,"
are quite parallel. Thine all-seeing eye, thine almighty hand,
is at work also in the deepest- darkness, where no human eye
penetrates, no human hand avails: Thou, the all-present, to
whom the contrasts of heaven and earth, earth and hell, one's
settled home and the end of the earth, import nothing, so,
neither do the contrasts of light and darkness. Thou art with
me when I walk through the valley of death-darkness, and de-
liverest me from it. What is generally found in the passage in

PSALM CXXXIX., VER. 13- — IS. 499
a direct manner may certainly be deduced from it. If helpless
innocence, veiled in darkness, is not concealed from God, neither
assuredly can guilt be so, when attempting to hide itself in
darkness. >^, only, has here the import of a strengthening
particle, comp. Ps. lviii. 11, lxviii. 7, 22. It serves to indicate,
that the crushing power of darkness appears as a thing about
which there cap beno manner of doubt. Luther renders tho
second member : so must the night become also light about me.
But according to ver. 9 and, 10 the minor is more properly
begun at ver. 12. The light about me, the light that encircles
me for my protection. Upon Tp^nni 'n ver- 12, always to
make dark, to darken, never to be dark (Luther : even darkness
is not darkness to thee) comp. on Ps, cv. 28. Before thee, so
that thou couldst not see through it. In reference to the
double ^ at the end, see Ew: § 347.
Ver. 13—18. — Ver. 13. For thou hast my reins in thy power,
thou icert over me in tny mothers womb. Ver. 14. / praise thee
on this account, that I am greatly distinguished; wonderful are
thy works, and that my soul well knows. Ver. 1 5. My strength
was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, when I was
woven in the depths of the earth. Ver. 16. Thine eyes saw me,
when I still was unprepared, and in thy book were they all written,
the days which were still to be, and of which none then teas. Ver.
] 7. And how precious are to me, 0 God, thy thoughts, how great
is their sum! Ver. 18. / will number them; there is more of
them than the sand, I awake and am still with thee. — The for in
ver. 13 does not refer specially to what immediately precedes,
but to the fundamental thought which pervades the whole sec
tion, ver. 1-12: thou searchest and knowest me. This is proved
by the fact that man already belongs to God from the first be
ginnings of his existence,- that God glorifies himself in his first
formation,: and has even then pre-arranged all his destiny.
How could such a being be strange to. God! How could his
heart be hidden from him ! or his troubles be unknown-, indif
ferent, or accidental! It appears that the: for thou, here refers
back to the thou in ver. 2. The reins are known as the seat of
the desires and feelings, the region where sinful passion boils,
and where pain also plants its seat. This region God has in
his power as the creator of man, as is more fully declared, in
what follows, and so nothing can be concealed from him which

500 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
passes in this secret workshop, j-jjp always signifies to possess;
to hold possession of, never to make. i^Dn ^s rendered : thou
hast covered or protected me, by the LXX., Vulg. Pesch.;
Luther: thou wast over me. It is commonly translated now :
thou hast woven me, with comp. of Job x. 1 1. But 'rpo signi
fies always to cover, and, what is decisive, it is used thus in the
closely-related following Psalm, ver. 8. This signification is
quite suitable here also. The covering and protection consists,
according to what follows, in the oversight and protection
which is exercised by God in regard to the germ of life, which
is perfectly impotent in itself. How could he, who had pro
duced these, be indifferent and careless in respect to the work
of his hands, comp. Ps. xxii. 9, Job x. 12. Let him, whom sin
ful lust or despair in regard to God's omniscience and omnipre
sence would cause to err, ascend to the original of his being,
and he will be ashamed of himself, and reverently adore. — Ver.
14 does not form a sort of side-thought, but the more glorious
the formation of man is, so much the stronger the proof of
God's absolute omniscience and omnipresence, so much the
more striking the testimony it furnishes against those who
abandon themselves to sin, under the idea that God sees not
and judges not, or surrender themselves to despair, saying:
My way is hidden from God, Job x. 9-1 1 . The roots -j^g and
n7D are never interchanged, comp. on Ps. iv. 3, xvii. 7, but
they are nearly related both in form and meaning. r\1K1"l3
found also in David's mouth in Ps. lxv. 5, 2 Sam. vii. 23, and
elsewhere, is used here adverbially, as J-yiN^C} iQ *J°') xxxvii.
5. Qjjy in ver. 15 undoubtedly signifies strength in the two
other places where it occurs, and is there also in the female
form. This meaning is therefore to be retained also here. But:
my strength, is a poetical expression, for: my bones or skeleton,
Ojjy, so named from the strength .connected with it, with the
addition perhaps of the sinews, which, together with the bones,
make up the strength of the body — comp. Job x. 11, "with
bones and sinews hast thou interwoven me." It was not hidden
from thee, for thou hast prepared it for me, since thou hast
woven me together with bones and sinews. By the depths of
the earth Sheol is indicated, comp. Ps. Ixiii. 9. As no trace is
to be found of the pre-existence of man in Sheol, as here also
the subject discoursed of is the bodily formation of man, while

PSALM CXXXIX., VER. 13  18. 501
to the Sheol could belong in that case only the soul, and the
Psalmist, finally, has to do here only with what took place in
his mother's womb, there must, therefore, be supposed an ab
breviated comparison: in a place, as dark and concealed as the
depths of the earth. Similar is Job i. 21, " Naked came I out
of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return to it again," in
a state resembling the former. As the point of comparison in,
the parallel: in the hidden, is expressly announced, the asser
tion is to be rejected, that the comparison points " to the region
of the dead as to the womb of a resurrection-life." rybi 'n ver.
16 of the still unformed embryonic mass. The suff. in ryb^
is used by way of anticipation, and refers to the days. If
this should appear too hard to any one, he can with Hupfeld
understand by q^, the ball of the thread of life, and to this
refer the suffix. For, the other constructions are too violent
and constrained. The -irj*1 (here Pii) is elsewhere also often
used of the divine pre-determination, as contrasted with its
execution and its actual introduction. The days are brought
into consideration here partly in respect to themselves, compare
Job xiv. 5, " Seeing his days are determined, the number of
his months is with thee," partly also in respect to the events
which they contain for men, comp. Ps. lvi. 8. And there was
not one among them, the days pre-determined by thee. It is not
worth while to inquire what the Masoretes meant by their Kri,
yy. The consolatory tendency of the Psalm comes here dis
tinctly out. If our whole being is pre-arranged by God, how
then can anything befall us, which he has not in his hand,
which he does not see, or in regard to which he is unable at
the proper time to administer help to us? — The thoughts of God
in ver. 17 are of him, as the searching and knowing, judging
and helping in regard to all that lives upon the earth. In re
ference to the expression: precious = glorious, comp. on Ps.
xiv. 9, xxxvi. 7: " How precious (glorious) is thy goodness, 0
God" — one of the passages very nearly related to this, the more
so, as among the thoughts, the saving and helping have here
also an important place. Against the explanation: how pre
cious, how hard to be reached, how difficult are they, the paral
lelism itself decides. Of the four members of the two verses,
ver. 2 and 3, 1 and 4 correspond, as Ewald has justly remarked.
In the second member of ver. 1 8 the Psalmist does not praise

502 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
his zeal in maintaining fellowship with God, and meditating
upon his thoughts, but the glorious riches of these thoughts
themselves, which so chain him, that he cannot isolate himself
from God, that God is not merely his thought by day, but also
his dream by night. A thinking which is not interrupted even
by sleep, which renders dreams, also of service, must.be, stirred
by some mighty object. Ps. xvi. .7 and Ixiii. 6 are related.
Ver. 19-24. — Ver. 19. If thou only killest, God,, the wicked,
and ye men of blood depart from me. Ver. 20. Those who name
thee for crime, .carry away for lies as thine enemies. Ver. 21.
Shall I not hate, Lord, thy. haters, and abhor those that rise up
against thee? Ver. 22. / hate them in right earnest, they are
enemies to me. Ver. 23. Search me, God, arnd know my heart,
try me and know my thoughts. Ver. 24. And see if there be with
me any way of trouble, and lead me in the way of eternity. — As
the *3fc$ in ver. 19 is not a particle of desire, compare at Ps.
lxxxi 9, there is to be supplied: it will be agreeable to me, I
will cordially praise thee, or something similar. That the
Psalmist declares himself content with the overthrow of the
wicked, shows how little ho participates in their feeling, and
prepares the way for the confident demand : Search me, God,
and know my heart, in ver. 23. Men of blood, a common ex
pression with David, comp. v. 6, xxvi. 9, lv. 23, passages which
have only to be looked at to see what should be made of the
remark: " Men of blood, on account of their libations of blood."
On the words: depart from me, q. d., get you away, I have no
thing to do with you, we are not to comp. Ps. vi. 8, cxix. 115,
but Job xxi. 14 : " And they (the wicked) say unto God, depart
from us," and Matt. vii. 23. Luther falsely, '" And the blood
thirsty must depart from me," as if the Psalmist called in God's
help against the wicked, through which the whole train of
thought in the Psalm is destroyed. In ver. 20 T^i is from
"TnW> w'th the dropping of j^, as in 2 Sam. xix. 14. They who
speak to thee, with poetical boldness, for, they who use thy name
— comp. xl. 11. That we must explain: for crime, for the pro
motion of "that, not criminally (Luther: slanderously) appears
from the second member. In this member, ^^3 is put by a'
poetical transposition for 1^^, comp. Ps. viii 7. It unques
tionably rests upon Ex. xx. 7, to which also Ps. xxiv. 4 alludes:
thou shalt not carry the name of the Lord to a lie, that is, thbu

PSALM CXXXIX., VER. 19—24. 503
shalt leave it unmixed with lies, not use it for the confirmation
of -a lie— comp. on Ps. xxiv. Accordingly the suffix is here to
be supplied from the first member, carry thee away for lying
and deceit. The two members stand in the same relation to
each other, as the two members of Ps. xxiv. 4; only that the
position there is an inverse one: who does not bear away his
soul to a lie, and swears not to deceit. As thine enemies (the -,y
enemy in 1 Sam. xxviii. 16, and Dan. iv. 16, not Isa. xiv. 21), for
every one is an enemy of the Lord, who mixes him up with sin,
and degrades him into the means of compassing his bad ends.
Luther's translation: and thine enemies raise themselves with
out cause, is dissipated by the one consideration, that ^^
never signifies to raise one's self. Besides, there is naturally on -
ly one particular manifestation brought out here of the corrup
tion of the wicked, in order to characterize them as such. — The
expression: shall I not hate, in ver. 21, presents the hatred as
something entirely natural to the true servant of God, a thing to
be understood by him of itself, and consequently a necessary
mark of a gracious state; q. d., how could I do otherwise than
hate them? Calvin: "When he says that the despisers of God
were hateful to him, he vindicates by this eulogium his own
integrity, not because he was himself free from all failings, but
because; devoted to the cultivation of piety, he thoroughly ab
horred all impiety. For never does the love of piety sufficiently
flourish in our hearts, unless it begets in us a hatred of crimes,
such as David here declares. Then, if that zeal for the house
of God burns in us, of which David speaks in Ps. Ixix. 9, it will
be inexcusable coldness in us, if we tacitly allow not only his
righteousness to be violated, but also his sacred name to be in
solently trodden under foot by the wicked. Upon Q'Qlpij-\,
abbreviated from Qmpnft, comp. Ewald § ]f>0, a. — In ver. 22
Luther translates quite erroneously : therefore are they hostile
to me, instead of: therefore are they enemies to me, I judge
and consider them as such ; because they are God's enemies,
they are also mine; which alone suits the connection.' — With
such feeling, as he has expressed in ver. 1 9-22, with such hearty
abhorrence of the wicked and in respect to them, the Psalmist
can call upon God, by way of consolation, to search and prove
him, even to the lowest depths of his heart, ver. 23. He knows
that this inquisition and trial, to which at all events he is sub-

504 THE BOOK OF PSALMS*.
ject, and which he cannot escape, ver. 1, will establish for him a
favourable result.-^-^y, ver. 24, means heavy work, so in Isa.
xlviii. 5: my work, for the idols, which I have laboriously made;
parallel: my carved work, and my graven work — the trouble,
pain. The way of pain is the way which leads to pain.
Such a way of pain, a painful course and manner of life,
including what is experienced as well as done, belongs to those
whose heart departs from the living God, and who walk in the
wickedness of their heart, comp. Ps. xvi. 4. The Psalmist had
no reason to apprehend such a way, so far as the passage,
ver. 19-22, contains the language of truth. The contrast to the
way of pain forms the way of eternity — the way that leads to
eternity. There is an allusion to the close of the preceding
Psalm: Lord, thy favour (toward me) endures for ever; q.d.
upon the way, which leads to the blessed eternity promised me
by thee (the endless continuance and prosperity of the Davidic
stem and kingdom), which I have not lost through any guilt
of mine.

PSALM CXL.
The Psalm is composed of five verses as the beginning, and
five as the conclusion. It is twice divided by three and two.
In the middle a strophe of three verses, the proper heart of the
Psalm, distinguished by the use of the name Jehovah four
times, which, with the occurrence of it thrice in the beginning
and the conclusion, make altogether seven times.
Ver. 2-6 represent in two charges after a short prayer the
wickedness of the enemies, and the danger whicli threatened
the Psalmist from them. The middle strophe, ver. 7-9, pre
sents the distress to God. The conclusion declares in two ap
plications the firm hope of the Psalmist regarding the overthrow
of the enemies, and the deliverance of the oppressed. The
beginning and the conclusion, the distress and the deliverance,
together make up the number ten.
The authorship of David is attested, not only by the super
scription, but also hy the dependance manifested throughout
on the Psalms of David, and only on these, in connection with
a vigorous originality, which does not admit of deriving this

PSALM CXL. 505
dependence from mere imitation; it rather arises from the
striving of David to direct and bring all earlier brooks of con
solation and support into one bed. That the Psalm stands in
close connection with those around it, that it also refers to the
future destinies of David's seed, is clear from this, that it has
in common with them the strong compression of speech, the
predilection for rare words, and generally a more elevated tone,
as also several peculiarities; and, besides, from the mention of
war in ver. 2, and the martial preparation in ver. 7, which ex
cludes a reference to merely private circumstances.
After having placed before the eyes of his struggling pos
terity the great promise, and therein presented them with the
true anchor for the storm, Ps. cxxxviii, David had further in
Ps. cxxxix. conducted them, both for their admonition and
tlieir comfort, into the presence of the all-seeing and ever-pre
sent God. Now, he brings them into nearer contact with the
prospective circumstances, sets before their eyes the frightful
danger which threatened from their enemies, and teaches them
to view these as in the light of God.
Just as here David triumphs also in 2 Sam. xxiii. 6, 7, over
the future enemies of his seed and kingdom foreseen in the
Spirit, and besides this Psalm the following also rest upon the
pre-supposition of heavy trials and dangers awaiting the kingly
house and kingdom, viz., Ps. xviii., and the two trilogies, Ps.
ci.-ciii. (comp. Introd. cii.) and Ps. cviii.-cx. No one exercised
with the cross as David was, who has had such experiences of
the malice of men, can ever surrender himself, in regard to the
future prospects of his race, to fantastical illusions of a per
petually untroubled prosperity; it will be a matter of satisfac
tion to him, if the Lord should only bring all to a glorious issue
at last.
The old opinion, that the Psalm refers to the relation be
tween David and Saul, has a certain measure of truth for its
foundation. David has here, as also in Ps. cix., borrowed the
colours from this relation: in Saul, the most powerful and
malignant enemy of the past, he beholds the type of the future
enemies of his seed. We find, in particular, also here a strong
emphasis upon calumny and false accusations, which is charac
teristic of the Sauline Psalms. Besides, it is precisely from
these Psalms that this Psalm more especially borrows.

506 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
To the Chief Musician, a Psalm of David.— Ver. 1-5." — Ver.
1. Redeem me, Lord, from wicked men, from the man of violent
deeds defend me. Ver. 2. Who meditate evil in their heart, every
day they gather themselves for wars. Ver. 3. They sharpen their
tongues like serpents, the poison of adders is under their lips. Se
lah. Ver. 4. Preserve me, Lord, from the hands of the wicked,
from the man of violent deeds defend me, who purpose to overthrow
¦my goings. Ver. 5. The lofty conceal gins and cords for me, 4hey
spread out the net on the way, they lay traps for me. — The man
of violent deeds, in ver. 1, is an ideal person, as also in Ps, xviii.
48: " from the man of violent deed (in 2 Sam. xxii. 49, as here,
the stronger plural, QiDOn) deliver thou me." Still, the
Psalmist there, and probably also here, has Saul especially in
his eye, who was the type of all the future enemies of David,
as he was also the most formidable and malignant of the
past. In Ps. Iii, for example, the character of Saul is
drawn in a quite similar manner to the character of the
man of violent deeds here. On ly^JHJ-'i, compare Ps. xii. 8.
•y\% in ver. 2, in the sig. to gather themselves, as in Ps. lvi. 6,
lix. 3. The other explanations are to be rejected on the ground
alone of these two parallel passages, which, in a Psalm like the
present, are of special weight. The rendering : raise themselves
up=|-|^ is, besides, not grammatically certain; and the ex
planation ; they inhabit war, for they are constantly in it, is not
natural, and also without analogies. rnftrPO) accus., for wars,
is used only of wars in the proper sense, not of altercations. —
In the first member of ver. 3, the parallel passage, Ps. lxiv. 3:
" who sharpen their tongue like a sword," shows that we must not
explain: as the serpent sharpens its tongue ; but only: with like
venom as the serpent, as, indeed, this point of comparison is
expressly mentioned in the second member. Comp. regarding
it Ps. lviii. 4. Peculiar here is only the ntyiy, which does
not occur elsewhere. On the expression : under their lips,
conip.: under his tongue, in Ps. x. 7- — The beginning of the
second charge, in ver. 4, is marked, not only by the preceding
Selah, but also by its repeating the beginning of the first, with
only some small deviations. On the last member, comp. Ps.
lvi 13. — The lofty, in ver. 5, points back to Ps. cxxxviii. 6.
The image of the net and of the pit is particularly dear to
David, comp. Ps. xxxi. 4, Ivii. 6, lxiv. 5, cxiii. 4. The heaping

PSALM CXL., VER. 6 — 13. 507
up of so many names here serves to bring together all that had
formerly been said and complained of regarding hostile plots.
David sees the past, with its horrors, reviving again in the
future. But the past has also taught him where the help is to
be found.
Ver. 6-8. — Ver. 6. / said to the Lord: thou art my God;
hear, Lord, the voice of my crying. Ver, 7. The Lord God is my
salvation- strength; thou coverest my head in the day of armour.
Ver. 8. Grant not, Lord, what the wicked desires; yield not to
him his will, they will lift up themselves. Selah. — The first mem
ber of ver. 6 is taken verbatim from Ps. xxxi. 14. In the first,
member there, literally: I trust upon the Lord. On the second
member comp. Ps. v. 1, xxviii. 2, 6. — On the first member of
ver. 7, comp. Ps. lxii. 1,11. My salvation-strength, upon which
I, in myself impotent, ground all my hope. of salvation. On
the expression: thou coverest— the preterite marks the past
stretching into the future — comp. Ps. v. 11, cxxxix. 13. The
head, because there the stroke is deadly, comp. 1 Sam. xxviii. 2,
and Ps. lx. 7. The day of armour is the day of battle. — On the
first member of ver. 8, comp. Ps. xxvii. 12: " Give me not over
to the will of mine enemies." On TQ-Qf comp. Ps. xxxi. 1 4,
xxxvii. 12. On the expression : they shall lift or elevate
themselves, comp. Ps. Ixvi. 7, and, as regards the matter, Deut.
xxxii. 27.
Ver. 9-13. — Ver. 9. The head of those that compass me about
— the injury of their lips will cover them. Ver. 10. Burning
coals will be thrown upon them, into the fire will he precipitate
them, into water-floods, that they rise not up again. Ver. 11.
The man of the tongue will not prosper in the land, the man of
wicked violence, he will pursue him, thrust upon thrust. Ver. 12.
/ know, the Lord maintains the right of the poor, the judgment of
the needy. Ver. 13. Surely the righteous will praise thy name,
the upright shall dwell before thy face. — In ver. 9, the head of
the enemies, with its destructive covering, forms the contrast to
the head of the Psalmist, with its covering of loving-kindness,
in ver. 7. To bring prominently out this contrast, the t^-i
is placed first in the nomin. absol. i^DO is plural of ygi2>
surrounding, which is determined here by the connection to be
a hostile one, comp. 2 Kings xxiii. 5; it is not the partic. in

508 THE BOOK OF 1'SALkS.
Hiph. ; for this has a transitive meaning, comp. Jer. xxi. 4.
The injury of their lips is the injury which they sought to inflict
by their calumnious malice. Ps. vii. 16 is exactly parallel. In
the last word the reading of the text is ^B^i without iod.
The vau only serves the purpose of drawing attention to the
marginal note, whicli gives the regular form, according to the
rule of Hiller: Joth medianum in altera lectione quiescens post
chirec aut tzere, in altera defectum, in symbolo vel in vau con-
vertitur vel transponitur, comp. on Ps. lxxiv. II. — ^iqi, in
ver. 10, they bend, for, one bends, or throws down, comp. Ps.
Iv. 3, occupies, as very often happens, the place of the passive,
which is substituted on the margin. Coals, comp. Ps. xviii. 12,
13. While, in the first member only, the punishment itself is
represented, in the second the author of it, the Lord, is dis
tinctly mentioned. Deep waters are suitably placed beside the
fire, comp. Ps. Ixvi. 12, Is. xliii. 2. rynftrTO* whicli occurs only
here, is to be explained, by comp. with the Arabic, of such, and
not of deep pits in the earth, with Luther and others. — The
counterpart to the man of the tongue, in ver. 1 1, is formed by
the man of wicked violence, and by means of this counterpart,
the tongue is more nearly characterized as malignant. On this
account alone y-) must not, contrary to the accents, be separ
ated from DEn- On the expression : he will not prosper, comp.
Ps. ci. 7, cii. 28. The subject in 12*1T2'1 ^s the Lord, as also in
fy^ffi in ver. 10, comp. Ps. xxxv. 6. — On ver. 12 comp. Ps. ix.
4. Calvin : " All now think me miserable, because, while ex
posed to the pleasure of wicked men, I am not immediately
rescued by the hand of God. I do not, however, abandon my
self to despair; because I know it to be the part of God to
undertake the cause of the poor." — On the expression: with
thy face, in ver. L3, comp. Ps. xvi. 11, lxi. 7.

PSALM CXLI.
The Psalmist entreats from the Lord power to withstand the
internal dangers with which he was threatened from the assaults
of a hostile world, the temptation which pressed upon him to
murmur against God and his providential dealings, and to pass

PSALM CXLI., VER. 1  4. 509
over into the path of prosperous sinners, ver. 1-4. In ver. 5-7
he brings to his recollection the reasons which might fortify him
against such a temptation: what he had hitherto suffered was
the gracious and gentle chastisement of a righteous God, and
in his time the wheel will turn, the enemies be appointed to
destruction, the death of the Psalmist change into life. Finally,
in ver. 8-10, he prays that the Lord would bring such hopes in
to fulfilment, by giving deliverance to him, and overthrowing
the enemies.
The whole is completed in the number ten, which falls into
seven, divided by four and three, and three. The name Jehovah
is thrice used.
The superscription, which ascribes the Psalm to David, is
confirmed by the close affinity it bears to the Psalms of David
in connection with undoubted originality. The pregnant brevity
of the language extorts, even from De Wette, the confession :
" I consider it, with Ps. x., to be one of the oldest." That the
Psalm, like the whole cycle to which it belongs, refers to greater
relations than those of a private individual, is evident from the
expressions, " their judges," and " our bones," in ver. 6 and 7.
It is also fitly assigned to this cycle on the ground, that ver. 9
and 10 connect themselves with the preceding Psalm, while ver.
6 refers to Ps. cxxxviii. 4 ; and lastly, on account of the predilec
tion peculiar to this cycle for rare words and unusual forms.
The centre of the Psalm is formed by ver. 3 and 4, especially
the latter, which is also indicated by its disproportionate length.
David would fortify his successors upon the throne, and their
people, against the strong inward temptations which the coming
cross was sure to bring with it, temptations which had pressed
hard upon himself during the troubled past, and the danger of
which he well knew from his own experience.

Ver. 1—4. — Ver. 1. A Psalm of David. Lord, I cry to thee,
make haste to me, give ear to my voice when I cry to thee. Ver.
2. Let my prayer prosper before thee as the incense, the heaving
of my hands as the evening meat-offering. Ver. 3. Set, Lord, a
guard to my mouth, keep the door of my lips. Ver. 4. Incline
not my heart to an evil thing, to commit deeds in wickedness with
evil doers, and let me not eat of their dainties. — Ver. 1 and 2 form
the introduction, not to the whole Psalm, but to ver. 3 and 4.

51 0 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
For there only are purposes concealed behind the prayer, of
whicli the second member of ver. 2 speaks. We are led also
to the same result by the formal division of the Psalm, accord
ing to which ver. 1 and 2 are closely united to ver. 3 and 4,
while they would form a strophe by themselves as an introduc
tion to the whole Psalm. On the expression : I cry to thee,
ver. 1, comp. xvii. 6. On the expression: make haste to me,
which shows that the temptation against which the Psalmist
prays for support in ver. 3 and 4, lay heavy upon him, and even
in idea was ready to overwhelm him, comp. Ps. xxii 19, lxx. 2,
lxxi. 12. On the words: give ear to my voice, Ps. cxl. 6; and
on: for I cry to thee, iv. 1. — \y^r\> *n ver- 2, is to be taken,
after Ps. cxl. 11, in the sense of: let it prosper. We must not
explain as an incense-offering, but as (spiritual) incense, spiri
tual frankincense. The smoking, sweet-smelling incense is in
scripture the standing symbol of the prayer of believers,
which is precious before God — comp. Apoc. v. 8, viii. 3, 4,
Luke i. 10. The Psalmist comes forth here as an expositor
of the Mosaic law, in which the offering of incense every morn
ing and evening -(Ex. xxx. 7 ss.) symbolized prayer, and re
minded the faithful of their obligation to present it, and the
blessing which arises from it. He who prayed brought to the
Lord the substance of this incense-offering. With the presenta
tion of the true incense he connects that of the true meat-offering.
The meat-offering, the nourishment presented to the Lord by
his people, is in the law the symbolical representation of good
works, which were thus exhibited as objects of desire, and com
mendation for God's people, comp. Ps. xl. 7. A heart disposed
to good works^ the Psalmist presents to the Lord in ver. 3 and
4, where he prays for power to perform such works, for preser
vation from the deceitfulness of sin. 135 rWlWD ^s now com
monly understood, after the example of Luther, of the lifting
up of the hands as a gesture in prayer, but we must rather ex
plain: the heaving or the offering, the gift of my hands. The
signification of present or offering, for j-*N**lifl*2 is perfectly cer
tain; and is the rather to be retained here, as j-jroft has a^s0
originally the same signification, and as fiNtyft *s specially used
of the gift of food, which one man presented to another, Gen.
xliii. 34, 2 Sam. xi. 8. The mincha was such a, gift of food.
The signification: the lifting up, never elsewhere occurs, and

rSALM CXLI., VER. 1 — 4. 511
from the form alone the word could scarcely have that mean
ing. Finally, it is a decisive matter-of-fact ground, that the
lifting up of the hands, prayer, has nothing to do with the
meat-offering. The question is asked, why the meat-offering of
the evening should here in particular be named. This question
is often quite erroneously answered, in particular by those, who
with Kimchi suppose, that the Psalm was intended to be sung
in the evening, in opposition to the character of this whole
Psalm-cycle, which excludes the idea of such specialities. We
are guided into the right track by the fact, that whenever,
excepting in the Pentateuch, the meat-offering is more exactly
determined, it is only the evening one that is named — comp. 1
Kings xviii. 29, .36, where it is carefully to be remarked, the
evening meat-offering is simply named the meat-offering. Dan.
ix. 21, Ezra ix. 4, 5. A farther light is afforded by 2 Kings
xvi. 15: " And the king Ahaz commanded Urijah, the priest,
and said, Upon the great altar present the burnt-offering of the
morning, and the meat-offering of the evening." Hence, it
would seem, that the burnt-offering was regarded as having
the most prominent part in the morning sacrifice, with the
meat-offering only as an appendage, so that the whole was
named from the burnt-offering, while, on the other hand, in
the evening sacrifice the meat-offering was regarded as having
the chief place — good works had rightly their first place assigned
them at the end of the day — and the whole was named from it.
Accordingly, the meat-offering of the evening here does not
form a contrast to the meat-offering of the morning, but it
occupies the place of the meat-offering generally. — In ver. 3
the Psalmist prays for preservation from the danger of sinning
in word, which the temptation brought with it; and in ver. 4
from that of sinning in deed. Ps. xxxix. 1, and what was said
there, form a commentary on ver. 3. The subject is not, as
Calvin and others suppose, respecting hard speeches against the
enemies, but of impatient, irreverent complaints against God,
a quarrel with him, an expression of doubt respecting his power,
righteousness, and grace. The reasons, which ought to have
prevented him from making such complaints against God, to
which the human heart is much inclined, the conviction that*
the sufferings were a deserved and fatherly chastisement, the
prospect that the wicked would at the proper time come to a

512 THE BOOK OF PSALM3.
frightful end, while his sufferings would bear a rich harvest of
joy, these things are brought to remembrance by the Psalmist
in ver. 5-7. mfttlk onty here, guard. ;-n33» the imperat. in
Kal with He parag., and Dagesh euphon., as in Prov. iv. 13. fyj
is here only used for Ji^-f, gate, (comp. Mic. vii. 5 : keep the
doors of thy mouth.) Frequently in poetry the masculine form
is employed in place of the feminine, elsewhere in common use,
and vice versa, as here in ver. 9 piytypfo. We must not con
clude from the poetical employment of such forms, that they
were in current use. The same freedom is also taken by the
poets with verbs in forming conjunctions not found elsewhere;
for example, the Hithpo. in ver. 4, comp. on Ps. xviii. 26. On
the expression: incline not, in ver. 4, comp. on Ps. cxix. 36.
Weakening and evacuating the import, many render it: do not
permit it to be inclined, suffer it not to be prone. With the
obstinately wicked, God actually inclines the heart to evil things,
though the guilt always remains with themselves and- their per
verse wills. The heart is named as the source of actions. The
subject is the heart here, as in the preceding verse it is the
words. Under the " evil thing," and " deeds in wickedness,"
we must not think specially of revenge against his enemies.
The comparison of numerous parallel passages in the Psalms,
for example Ps. xxxvii., xlix., lxxiii, and the consideration of
the last words of this Psalm itself, show that the discourse is
rather of an apostacy to wickedness in general. Whoever has
lost his way respecting God, because not perceiving his righteous
retribution, to him the temptation lies very near of seeking to
make good his salvation by himself, without troubling himself
farther with the heavy and irksome restraints of the divine law.
The dainties of the wicked (?iqj^D only here) are not " their
treacherous speeches," also not " their temporal enjoyments and
delicacies," as such, but the prosperity and fulness, which they
acquire through their misdeeds, and a regard to which might
so easily lead others to participate in the same — compare the
graphic delineation of these dainties of the wicked in Ps. lxxiii.
As here under the image of delicate food, so there in ver. 10,
this prosperity is represented under the image of a copious
drink, which is sipped up by the thirsty.
Ver. 5-7 contains the ground on which the purposes and
vows of the Psalmist, concealed under the prayers of the first

PSALM CXLI. VER. 5 — 7. 513
strophe, rest. Ver. 5. The righteous smites me in kindness and
chastises me, oil for the head my head refuses not. If still,
then, I shall pray against their wickednesses. Ver. 6. Their
judges shall be thrown down in the force of the rock, for they
hear my words that they are sweet. Ver. 7. As when one with
the plough cleaves the earth, so are our bones scattered on the
brink of hell. — pvj^ in ver. 5, properly the righteous one, God
(to whom already Amyrald rightly referred the word) in his
property as righteous, or according to his righteousness. This
he manifests towards his own, in that he tempers zeal with
mercy, and does not surrender them to such overwhelming
destruction, as is appointed to the wicked, but only to fatherly
chastisement — comp. the expression in Ps. cxliii. 1: Hear me
after thy righteousness, *-TDn> which belongs to both verbs, is
ace, which describes more minutely the way and manner of
the striking and reproving — comp. Jer. xxxi. 3, where the word
is used precisely in the same way, Ew. § 279, c. Chastisement,
indeed, always proceeds from the principle of anger; but behind
the anger there is concealed for the righteous mercy, which
causes the manifestation of anger itself, and watches regarding
it, that it should not overstep the boundary which separates
the righteous and the wicked from each other — compare the
full elucidation of what is here only briefly indicated in the
speech of Elihu, Job xxxvi. 5 ss., and in the New Testament,
Heb. xii. 6. The whole of this first member rests upon 2 Sam.
vii. 14, 15: "I will be to him a father, and he' will be to me a
son. If he fails, I will chastise him with the rod of men, and
with the stripes of the children of men; but my loving-kindness
shall not depart from him, as I caused it to depart from Saul,
whom I removed from before thee," (compare on the meaning
of the passage Ps. Ixxxix. 33, 34, where in like manner a re
ference is made to it.) It is also from this original passage, as
to the substance, that the word ryyn> to beat, strike, peculiar
to the passage before us, is derived. For it rests on the circum
stance, that the chastisement there appears under the image of
a beating. The reference borne to that original passage is so
far of importance, that it furnishes a testimony for the correct
ness of the import we attach to this Psalm, and to the whole
cycle it belongs to, as bearing upon the destinies of David's off
spring. The oil of the Head is always the oil, with which on
vol.. Hi. " L

514 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
festive occasions persons were wont to. anoint themselves before
sitting down to meat,, the oil of joy, comp, Ps. xxiii. $,. xly, 7,
civ. 15, Matt. vi. 17. 131 is Fut. Hiph. of n**"*], for t-yo"-, compare
Ew. § 224, b. j^j has everywhere but one signification, that
of keeping off, hindering, which it preserves also in Ps. xxxii,i
10: " The Lord holds off the thoughts of the people/' viz.,
from gaining their end, q. d., he brings them to nothing- Every
exposition is, therefore, to be rejected, as arbitrary, which, does
not take the word here in this signification. The sense of the
words: oil of the head refuses not my head, is this: because I
discern through the clouds of the divine anger the sun of the
divine mercy, I will not abandon myself to. sorrow and despair,
after the manner of the world, when the hand of the Almighty
rests upon it, but I will, and can, and must be joyful in the
midst of tribulation — this is my precious privilege, of which I
shall never bereave myself. Su°k an utterance of joy in the
midst of suffering is thoroughly Davidic, comp. Ps. iv. 7,- " thou
givest joy in my heart more than in the time when their corn
and their wine abound," Ixiii. 3, xlii 8. The words refer to the
eating of dainties, or fine morsels on the part of the wicked, at
the end of ver. 4. The Psalmist has still his joy even in suffer
ing, his festive entertainment, so that he does not need to
hanker after their sinful enjoyments, can give up to them their
ill-gotten goods, comp. Ps. iv. 7. In the last member the j-fljn
are not sufferings, but acts of wickedness, comp. Psr cxj: 2,
" who imagine misphiefs in the hea*rt." The words: if still, are
not to be supplied from the preceding: if still he chastises me;.
but from the following : if still their wicked actions proceed, if
they overstep the due measure of paternal chastisement. So,
or then my prayer (comp. on the \ Ew. § 335), then have I a
mighty weapon for prayer to my God against them, since he,
indeed, uses the wicked as a rod of chastisement for his people,
but constantly says to them in his own time: hitherto shalt
thou come but no farther; comp. Ps. Ixix. 13, cix. 4. The
verse before us has had the misfortune of being generally mis
understood. Quite erroneous is the translation of Luther : Let
the righteous smite me in a friendly manner, and chastise me,
this will be as good to me as, a balsam on my head, for I pray
continually, that they may not do me hurt, So also the trans
lation of De Wette and other? : Let the righteous smite me, it

PSALM CXLI. VER. 5  7. 513
is love, let him punish me, an ointment of my head, declines
not my head; he repeats: still my prayer is against their
wickedness, q. d., from friends I can indeed suffer what is not
pleasant for my improvement, but the malice of enemies I can
not bear. It is against the connection, into which the thought
would be, as it were, cut in, against the accents and the natural
connection of the words: oil of the head refuses not my head,
against the signification of fyy^, which is never used of " strik
ing with words, blaming," against the radical passage in 2 Sam.
vii; instead of the ^ in ij-^Qm there would then be required
a stronger particle bringing prominently out the contrast. We
pass over other arbitrary interpretations, as their refutation has
already been given in the positive grounds advanced for our ex
position. — With the last words of ver. 5: then is my prayer
against their wickedness, ver. 6 and 7 connect themselves, and
describe the consequence of this prayer, the overthrow of the
wicked, and the deliverance of the righteous, and thereby fur
nish a temptation to the second rod. The taattf. *n ver- 6>
signifies to let loose, then to let fall down, to throw down; comp.
2 Kings ix. 33, where it is used of Jezebel, itq signifies as
certainly in the power, as, yyifo in ver. 9 out of the power. The
judges are, therefore, thrown from the rock (which is not ex
pressly said) upon the rock or against the rock— yboTl Vn> Ps-
cxxxvii. 9; so that the rock receives and dashes them in pieces;
comp. 2 Chron, xxv. 12, where in a war against Edom, as it
appears, a premature practical application was made of this
passage. The judges are the possessors of the world's power,
who. rebel against the kingdom of, David; comp. Ps. ii. 2, 1 0,
where also in ver. 9, as here, a dashing in pieces is threatened
to the enemies of David's kingdom. The second half alludes to
Ps, cxxxviii. 4: "All the kings of the earth will praise thee,
0 Lord, when they hear the words of thy mouth." My words,
by which I invite them to submit themselves to the Lord's
anointed, comp. Ps. ii. 10-12. Brought to discretion by the
injuries they had received, they would find precious to them
these hitherto despised words. The enemies of the kingdom of
David are the subject in ytfryv, to which the suffix refers in:
their judges. That, they precious, for, as precious,— In ver. 7:
like one who ploughs and cleaves, is, g. d., as when one by
ploughing cleaves the earth, -j-jq occurs in Ps. liii. 5, in the

516 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
sense of scattering, and that, too, in connection with bones*.
<iq^ at the mouth, or opening, Jos. x. 18, 22, Prov. viii. 3.
The bones are scattered, as it were, at the mouth of Sheol, into
which the souls have descended. Several understand by the
mouth of Sheol its devouring rapacity; comp. Is. v. 14; Michaelis:
ad os usque mortis devoratura?. Sheol, however, may well be
regarded as devouring souls, but not bones. The sense of the
passage is this: as in ploughing the tearing up of the earth is
not the ultimate design, but only the means of a fruitful result,
only serves the purpose of making the earth yield its produce;
therefore, with an equally beneficent design, or in order that,
through the present injury, new life may arise, our bones also
are scattered about. While the enemies are conducted from
life to death, ver. 6, we are conducted from death to life. We
have here the first germ of Is. xxvi. 19, Ezek. xxxvii. How un
tenable the views of this verse are, which deviate from the one
now given, and find in it only an expression of sorrowful la
mentation, is clear alone from such remarks as those of De
Wette: "After the preceding wish this thought follows incon
veniently," and from the manifold arbitrary explanations of v^,
at the beginning of ver. 8, which those different views have
given rise to. (Hitzig : indeed, Ewald : however, Tholuck : but,
Stier : nevertheless; Maurer leaves it its common signification,
for, but refers it to ver. 4, 5 !) That the substance of the verse
must be of a joyful and consolatory kind, is rendered necessary
by its connection with the preceding verse, and equally so with
the following one. The prayer, which, in ver. 8, is grounded
upon the declarations contained in this verse, is directed to the
preservation of the being, and of this, therefore, must the dis
course also be in the declaration before us. As the prayer in
ver. 8-1 0 has a double object, self-preservation and the destruc
tion of the enemies, so has also the declaration according to the
view we have given of it.
Ver. 8-10. — Ver. 8. For to thee, Lord God, are our eyes, upon
thee do I trust, pour not out my soul. Ver. 9. Preserve me from
ihe power of the snare, which iliey have laid for me, and from the
pits of ihe evil-doers. Ver. 1 0. Let the wicked fall into their nets
altogether, till I pass over. — On the first member of ver. 8 comp.
Ps. xxv. 15; On the expression : upon thee I trust, Ps. xxxi. 2.
jTiy *n Hiph. to be poured out, Is. xxxii. 15, in Pi. to pour

PSALM CXLII. 517
out, Gen. xxiv. 20; and so also in Niph., and indeed precisely
as here of the soul, in Is. liii. 12: " Because he has poured out
his soul to the death." The expression passed over to the soul
from the blood, in which the soul is. The soul or the life is
here not that of the individual, but of the family, and conse
quently also Of the people, whose existence was rooted in that
of the anointed house — comp. Lam. iv. 20. Luther falsely:
expel not. That the fut. in ver. 1 0 is to be taken as a wish,
and not as a prophetical announcement, is clear from the con
nection with the preceding context. The suff. in YHft372 refers
to the ideal person of the wicked : in tlieir own nets, comp. Ps.
cxl. 10, vii. 15. To -|j-p, the enemies altogether, comp. xl.
15, we must supply from the first member: let them fall in.
Luther, without injury as to the sense, has drawn this much
tortured — jj-ji to the first member. Till I pass over, Vulg. donee
transiero, viz., unhurt by the nets. The destruction of the
enemies brought about by their own machinations must proceed
till they have been completely annihilated, and David has be
come entirely free.

PSALM CXLII.
The superscription reads: an instruction of David. When he
was in the cave. A prayer. On "n^'t^ft, instruction, comp. at
Ps. xxxii. This designation is here proved to be original by
the conclusion of the Psalm, which, in conformity with that,
points to the general import of what primarily applied only to
David, thus corresponding to the relation which ver. 8 bears to
the superscription in Ps. xxxii. The : in the cave, refers not
to some particular cave, but only indicates that the Psalm con
tains cave-thoughts — comp. at Ps. Ivii. On n^SD' n°t prayer
generally, but supplicatory prayer, entreaty — comp. on Ps. cii.
supers, cxli. 5.
That the situation indicated in the superscription was not
the proper occasion of the Psalm, but that David here only
applies what he then experienced for the edification of others,
appears not simply from the expression, " an instruction," in
the front of the superscription, out of which the following
words : when he was in the cave, derive their more definite

51 S THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
import, but still more from the fact, that the Psalm stands in
close contact with the rest of the cycle of which it forms a
part — comp., for example, ver. 3, with cxli. 9, cxl. 5, cxliii. 4,
and the exposition.
David sees in his desperate condition, when he was in the
cave, a type of the future condition of his race and of the
church. His cave-reflections he sets before them as an instruc
tion. When it might come with them to an extremity — this is
the posture of affairs contemplated, and such must come, for it
cannot go otherwise with the son than with the father, they
too must have their Saul to withstand — they should still not de
spair, but pour out their complaint before the Lord.
The whole is completed in the number seven, divided by the
four and three. The name Jehovah occurs three times, twice
at the beginning of the first, and once at the beginning of the
second strophe.

Ver. 1-4. — Ver. 1 . I cry to the Lord with my voice, I make
supplication to the Lord with my voice. Ver. 2. I pour out
my complaint before him, and show before him my distress. Ver.
3. Because my spirit is ovenvhelmed with me, and thou knowest
my path: upon the way that I should go they hid snares for
me. Ver. 4. Look to the right hand, and lo ! there will no one
know me, every refuge is lost for me, no one concerns himself for
my soul. — On i^ip, in ver. 1, comp. Ps. iii. 4. To the Lord —
who once so gloriously listened to he progenitor, when he
was hopelessly lost. On the second member comp. Ps. xxx. 8.
On ver. 2 comp. the superscription of Ps. cii., a Psalm of David
" Prayer of the miserable when he is in distress, and pours out
his complaint before the Lord;" also Ps. lxii. 8, lxiv. 1. — Ver.
3 declares what caused the Psalmist to go with supplication and
prayer to the Lord. This was the deep prostration of spirit
corresponding to his desperate condition, coupled with the con
viction that God knew his way, and, as is further mentioned
with the view of presenting a more exact and extended descrip
tion of it, the dangers which threatened him in the way — comp.
Ps. i 6. Others, after the example of Luther, elevate the con
nection between this verse and the preceding, and take the vau
in 'nnNI as the mark of a conclusion from the former member:
when my spirit is overwhelmed, then thou knowest my path, for

PSALM CXLII. VER. 5 — 7. 519
then tho thought comforts me, that thou knowest. On fpy
comp. at Ps. cii. supers., cvii. 5, lxxvii. 3. In regard to i^y, with
me, comp. at Ps. xlii. 4. That we must explain: which I
should go, not : which I go, appears from Ps. cxliii. 8. — The
right hand is named in ver. 4, because, being the instrument of
action, it is the most suitable place for any one who would either
effectually hinder or support one — comp. on Ps. cix. 5, cxxi. 5.
There is no one that knows me, will know, they all make them
selves strange, and no one extends to me assistance, corhp. Ps.
xxxviii. 11. The consideration of this mournful helplessness,
which, according to ver. 3, lay open before God as the omni
scient, must move him to come forth as the present help in
trouble. " When there is no longer any one on earth in whose
aid thou canst confide, then will he be thy comforter, and will
look on thee for thy good." ryyy^, refuge, as in lix. 16.
Ver. 5—7. — Ver. 5. I cry to thee, Lord, I say: thou art my
confidence, my portion in the land of the living. Ver. 6. Attend
to my supplication, for I have become very thin ; deliver me from
my persecutors, for they are too powerful for me. Ver. 7. Bring
my soul out of prison, that men may praise thy name; the righteous
shall compass me about, when thou dealest kindly with me. — The
beginning of the second strophe, in ver. 5, takes up again the
beginning of the first. On the expression : thou art my confi
dence, comp. Ps. lxii. 7, lxxi 7. On: my portion, q. d. my
helper and bestower of salvation, comp. On Ps. xvi. 5, lxxiii. 26.
On: in the land of the living, at xxvii. 13, Iii 6. — On the words:
attend to my supplication, ver. 6, comp. xvii. 1, lxi. 1. I have
become Very thin, comp. Ps. Ixxix. 9, rests, as it appears, On
Judg. vi. 6, " and Israel was very thin before Midian." On:
deliver me from my persecutors, comp. Ps. vii. 1. The allusion
to this passage warrants us to read between the lines: thou,
who didst once so wonderfully aiiswer the same prayer. On:
for they are too powerful for me, comp. Ps. xviii. 17. — On:
bring me out of the prison, comp. xxv. 1 7: " Bring me out of my
distresses," and Cxliii. 11: "Thou wilt bring my soul out of dis
tress." Upon the prison as an image of trouble and distress,
see on Ps. cvii. 10. There is, perhaps, an allusion to the his
tory of Joseph, q. d., lead me out of distress, as formerly in the
type Joseph was delivered from the prison, comp. on Ps. cv. 1 7,
ss. My soul, the distressed, ver. 3, the endangered, cxli. 8.

520 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
That the expression: to praise thy name, comp. Ps. vii. 17, cxl.
14, must be explained: that men may praise, I in company with
the righteous, not with Luther: that I may praise, appears from
the following words. -|;-q means in Hiph. only to compass
about, comp. Hab. i. 4, Prov. xiv. 8; as also in Pi. comp. Ps.
xxii. 12, with the single exception of Job xxxvi. 2, where the
Aramaic usage is employed. **a marks the tender fellow-feeling
with which they surround him, pressing closely upon him.
The allusion to the sympathy of the righteous, in regard to the
deliverance granted to the Psalmist, is one of frequent occurrence
with David; comp. for example, Ps. xl. 16, xxxv. 27. On \>ry}
with ^, to give, to deal kindly, comp. on Ps. xiii. 6, ciii. 10.

PSALM CXLIII.
The Psalm is completed in the number twelve, and falls into
two main parts, each of six verses, divided by Selah — the first
(after an introductory prayer in ver. 1 and 2) containing a
representation of the distress and the complaint, the second
containing the prayer and the hope. The six is again divided
by the three, so that the whole falls into four strophes, each of
three verses. To the number of verses corresponds the fourfold
Jehovah, which makes up the number seven, when added to
the threefold use of the name in the preceding Psalm. So also
the number of the preparatory petitions, ver. 1 and 2. To the
number of particular strophes corresponds the threefold men
tion of the loving-kindness of the Lord, and of his righteous
ness and truth, which is also thrice noticed. It corresponds to
the division into two halves, that the Psalmist twice designates
himself, in ver. 2 and 12, as the servant of the Lord. The
whole number of verses corresponds to the twelve times utter
ance of prayer and hope in the second part, in each verse a
double one, with the exception of ver. 7, where there are three
petitions, and of ver. 9, where there is only one — in each
strophe six petitions, corresponding to the number of verses in
the two divisions. The representation of the distress in the
first division, ver. 3-6, presents ten particulars, in the first
strophe three, in the second seven, according to one of the two

TSALM CXLIII. VER. 1 — 6, 521
ordinary divisions of the ten. In like manner the second part
presents a tenfold grounding of the prayer and hope, in each
strophe a fivefold one, according to the other of the two ordin
ary divisions of the ten, 2. 2. 1. — 1. 2. 2.
In unison with the superscription, the Psalm bears evidence
throughout of David's spirit and David's mode of expression.
It is almost wholly composed of the sounds of complaint, sup
plication, and hope, which had already been uttered in the
earlier Davidic Psalms (only in such), and had sunk deep into
the heart. These clear brooks were drawn from all sides into
the channel of this smooth-flowing Psalm, which was designed
to provide quickening for the fainting souls of David's race
during future times of oppression. With so much of depen-
dance the Psalm still bears throughout the character of origin
ality, not merely where the dependance ceases, as in ver. 2,
which has become of such importance for the church, and to
which the Psalm owes its place among those of the penitential
class, though, from its predominant tendency, it does not be
long to that class, but also in the dependant passages them
selves, in the thoughtful and artificial manner of their collection,
which could only have proceeded from the person, out of whose
breast the utterances originally welled forth. There is nowhere
any trace of " a flat compilation;" all is feeling and life. Along
with this there is the repose and self-possession of one who does
not find himself immediately involved in the distress, but looks
down upon it as from a high tower, and prays and intercedes
for the afflicted of his seed, as Moses of old did upon the Mount.
That the Psalm must not be viewed apart from those that
surround it, is clear already from the connection with Ps. cxiii,
comp. ver. 4 here with ver. 3 there, ver. 8 with ver. 3, and ver.
11 with ver. 7. That David calls himself so expressly at the
beginning* and the end the servant of God, establishes a con
nection with 2 Sam. vii, where, in David's thanksgiving, this
appellation occurs almost in every verse.

Ver. 1-6. — Ver. 1. Lord, hear my prayer, attend to my sup
plication, in thy faithfulness hear me, in thy righteousness. Ver.
2. And enter not into judgment with thy servant, for before thee
no one living is righteous. Ver. 3. For the enemy persecutes my
soul, crushes to the ground my life, makes me to dwell in dark

522 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
places like one eternally dead. Ver. 4. And wearied is my spirit
with me, my heart is confounded to me in my body. Ver. 5. /
think of the days of old, I reflect upon all thy doing, meditate upon
the work of thy hands. Ver. 6. / stretch forth my hands to thee,
my soul is to thee as a faint land. Selah. — In ver. 1 the hearing
is rested upon a double foundation, the faithfulness and right
eousness of God, corresponding to the double prayer in the first
half of the verse. The appeal to the faithfulness presupposes
that the Psalmist had received definite promises from God,
comp. 2 Sam. vii. Righteousness gives to every one his Own;
to the righteous — and only such must venture, after Ps. cxxxix.,
to take into their mouth the words of this Psalm — in spite of
their failings, the forgiveness of which is itself the work, of
divine righteousness (comp. on Ps. li. 15), salvation; to the
wicked, destruction. In Ps: xxxvi. 5, 6, as here, righteousness
and faithfulness are united together. — Enternot. into judgment
with thy servant, ver. 2, on account of the human infirmity, which
still always cleaves to thy people, along with the righteousness
which they also possess as the indispensable condition of salvation.
The Psalmist had appealed in ver. 1 to the divine righteousness.
The appeal to this has for its foundation a consciousness of person
al righteousness, compare on Ps. xvii. 1. But with the mention of
this there is quite naturally introduced also the thought of its
great imperfection, and on this account thePsalmist betakes him
self to the forbearance and pardoning mercy of the Lord, which
can never be withdrawn from his servants, which he must grant
them precisely according to his righteousness (comp. on Ps. xix.
13), not because they could demand it, but because he would
otherwise deny his own nature. The accuser goes into the
judgment with the accused, Job ix. 32, xxii 4; but here the
accuser is, at the same time, judge, and appears as such in the
second member. God does go in point of fact into judgment
with those who have offended against him, by suspending over
them desolating punishments. The expression : with thy ser
vant, contains the grounding of the prayer ; with his servants
God cannot go into judgment; he chastens them indeed, but he
does not give them over to death. No one living', no servant
even, who constantly needs the forgiveness of his sins, and must
perish, if thou dost not grant it to him, 1 Pet. iv. 18. The
passage before us has left distinct impressions upon other parts of

PSALM CXLIII. VER. 1 — 6. 523
Scripture. There is an entire series of similar expressions rest
ing upon it in the book of Job; for example, ix. 2, xiv. 3, xv.
14, then Rom. iii. 20. — The for in ver. 3 grounds the preceding
prayers: not that merely in ver. 1, but the one also in ver. 2.
For the request: enter not into judgment, is as to the meaning,
q. d. surrender me not on account of my failings to destruction.
On the first member comp. Ps. vii. 5. The Psalmist must, in
spite of his innocence (comp. Ps. cxxxix.) suffer what, accord
ing to that fundamental passage, could permanently and conclu
sively rest only upon those who are laden with guilt. The fem.
form 'nTli m the sig. of life only poetically, occurs in this sig.
also in another Psalm, of the time of David, Ps. Ixxviii. 50. In
regard to the dark places in the third member, compare on Ps.
lxxxviii. 6. What is only briefly indicated here, is there en
larged upon in ver. 3-6, a passage in other respects also con
taining various marks of dependance. This third member is
literally borrowed in Lam. iii. 6. As a commentary on the
words: dead of eternity, or eternally dead (Clauss: "Who lie
in the long-continuing night of the grave and of death, out of
which no return can be found to this life,") those in Ps. lxxxviii.
5 may serve : " whom thou rememberest no more, and they are
cut off from thy hand," q. d., who have for ever ceased to be the
objects of thy providential care. Several: as those who have
been long dead ; but whether long ago or recently makes no dif
ference. Luther falsely: as the dead in the world. — On the
first member of ver. 4 compare Psalm cxiii. 3. JXrt£?> to be
prostrated in soul, faint, compare Ps. xl. 15. — From the con
nection the mention of God's active energy in the bestowal of sal
vation upon his people during the past, the wonders he wrought
for tlieir deliverance, cannot be as an object of hope (several :
sperans quod mihi etiam nunc ita sis facturus) as in Ps. xliv.
1-3, but only a doleful one, as in Ps. xxii. 3-5. For we find
ourselves here in the region of sorrow. In the dependant pas
sage also, Ps. lxxvii. 5, the remembrance of the past serves,
not to mitigate, but to increase and deepen the pain. On the
second and third members, comp. the dependant passage, Ps.
xcii. 5. — The second member of ver. 6 rests upon Ps. Ixiii 1 :
"My soul thirsts after thee in a dry land, and faints without
water." As a parched land stands related to the rain, so my
soul to thee, and to thy .salvation. The relation is only indi

524 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
cated in a general way. The more exact description would
have been : as faint land thirsts after the rain, so thirsts my
soul after thee. Stier : " Faint land mixes the image in a lively
manner, since properly only nS"*1}? t£J02> a faint languishing
soul, could be used."
Ver. 7-12. — Ver. 7. Make haste, hear me, Lord, my spirit is
exhausted, hide not thy face from me, otherwise I shall be like those
that go into hell. Ver. 8. Let me hear in the morning thy loving
kindness, for on thee I trust, make known to me the way, wherein
I should go, for to thee I carry my soul. Ver. 9. Deliver me from,
mine enemies, Lord, to thee I hide myself. Ver. 10. Teach me to
do thy will, for thou art my God, let thy Spirit, the good, lead me
upon a plain land. Ver. 1 1 . For thy name's sake, Lord, wilt thou
quicken me; in thy righteousness wilt thou bring my soul out of
trouble. Ver. 1 2. And in thy loving-kindness wilt thou extirpate
mine enemies, and destroy all who make war against my soul, for
I am thy servant. — On the words : make haste, hear me, in ver.
7, comp. cii. 2, Ixix. 17. On : for my spirit is exhausted,
through the heavy, long-continued suffering, Ps. xxxix. 10:
" Through the blow of thy hands I am exhausted ; " on the
second half, Ps. cii. 2, and xxviii. 1. The prayer in both mem
bers is grounded upon this, that matters had now come with
the Psalmist to an extremity. Where this is the case with the
servants of God, there the divine help cannot be longer with
held. In ver. 8 and 9 the prayer rests upon the heartfelt con
fidence which the Psalmist entertained toward God, on the
principle, that whoever places his confidence in God, cannot be
abandoned by God. On the expression : let me hear, ver. 8,
through a matter-of-fact speech, a proof of loving-kindness,
comp. Ps. li. 9. On : in the morning, Ps. lix. 16. That in the
prayer : make known to me the way wherein I should go, the
discourse is not of a moral guidance, but that the way is the
way of salvation from trouble, appears from Ps cxiii. 3, and
the fundamental passage, Ps. xxv. 4. Calvin : " When he seeks
that the way should be made patent to him, in which he should
walk, the matter is to be referred to his anxieties. For it signi
fies, that he stood as it were astonished, incapable of lifting a
foot, unless by having a way of escape divinely laid open to him;
as if he should say : Lord, all the desires of my soul are borne
upwards to thee ; therefore in a time of so great perplexity do

PS/ILM CXLIII. VER. 7 — 12. 525
thou administer counsel to me." The words, " On thee I
trust," and " to thee I carry my soul," are taken from Ps. xxv.
1, 2. On :' deliver my soul from my enemies, in ver. 9, comp.
lix. 1, cxiii. 6. The second member literally : to thee I cover
or conceal myself; ;-|D3 to cover one's self, Gen. xxxviii. 14,
Deut. xxii. 12, Jon. iii. 6. The unusual and strange manner of
expression was called forth by the reference had to Ps. xxvii. 5:
" for he conceals me in his tabernacle at the time of adversity,
he covers me in the secret of his tent," andPs. xxxi. 20, "Thou
hidest me in a tabernacle from the strife of tongues." The pj*^
here is the transposed p^p there. The allusion points in this
direction, that God must conceal those who conceal themselves
with him. It is commonly explained : for I discover myself to
thee, or confide myself in secret. But the expression : to con
ceal to any one, for to discover one's self to him, is very hard (be
sides, the parallel : I confide, I carry my soul, in ver. 8, shows,
that here also the discourse must be of confidence), and what
then could be the meaning of: confide in secret 1 The matter in
hand here was not a secret grief, for the distress of the Psalmist
lay open to all the world. The correct view was given by Cal
vin. — In ver. 10 many expositors find only a prayer for moral
strength, others only a prayer for the granting of deliverance.
Both views are beset with difficulties. The first member cannot
without violence be understood otherwise, than of moral instruc
tion, and the bestowal of strength — comp. Ps. xl. 9, nor can we
without violence fail to recognise in the " good Spirit," the
Spirit, which teaches the well-disposed to do good. But it is at
the same time impossible to understand by the leading upon a
plain land something else than external preservation and pro
sperity. Leading is a term in regular and constant use for
guiding one in the path of salvation, comp., for example, Ps.
cxxxix. 10, 24 ; and the parallel and fundamental passages in
the Psalms of David for the whole manner of speech, leave no
shadow of doubt upon the subject — comp. ver. 8, xxvii. 11, and
xxvi. 12, " My foot stands upon the plain," where the plain
stands opposed to a difficult piece of ground, full of steep rocks
and pits. The exposition : pathway of manners, righteousness,
is therefore decidedly to be rejected. The difficulties connected
with both the expositions may be removed by the following
view. David's proper regard is directed to the obtaining of

526 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
deliverance, which is the, object, of all his prayers, in the preced
ing and following verses. But he shows himself throughout
deeply penetrated with the conviction, that the, foundation of
the deliverance is righteousness-r^that it never can come, where
this foundation is wanting, but that it of necessity must come,
where this foundation exists. He knew, also, that nothing could
be done here by one's own power — comp., for example, Ps. xix.,
li. Hence he prays here, expanding his views farther, that the
Lord would (internally), teach him to do his will, convinced that
this first gift must necessarily draw the second in its, train, that
of salvation; so he prays that the good Spirit of God would
make him good, and consequently would guide him upon the
path of salvation. We must explain : Thy Spirit, good. q. d.,
which is a good one, or, and indeed the good, as opposed to the
evil spirit, to the dominion of which Saul was given up in right
eous judgment, and which hurried him onward into sin and
perdition — comp. 1 Sam,, xvi. 14, 15, xviii 1,0, and correspond
ing to the Holy Spirit in Ps, li. The good Spirit works good in
tliose who partake of the gift. — The. expression : for thy name's
sake, ver. 11, is a standing one with David— comp. xxiii. 3,
xxv. 11, xxxi. 3, cix. 20. On: thou wilt quicken me, comp.
Ps. cxxxviii. 7. On this : after thy righteousness, ver. 1, and
Ps. xxxi. 1. On the- last words, Ps, cxiii. 7, xxv. 15, xxxiv. 17.
— On the first member of ver. 12, comp. Ps. xxxi. 16, xviii. 40.
rrnNrT' the pret., as an expression of confidence, to, which the
Psalmist rose from the prayer through the intermediate stage
of hope (the fut, in the preceding verb), points distinctly to
Deut, vii, 24. On the last words : for I am thy servant, Calvin
says : " By naming himself the servant of God, he by no, means
extols his own services, but rather commends the grace of God,
to which ought to be referred1 what he had done with accept
ance.: For not by our own prowess or labour is this dignity
acquired, that we should be reckoned among the servants of
God, but it depends on his free election, which even before we
were born has graciously appointed us to the number and rank
of his people."

PSALM CXLrV. 527

PSALM CXLIV.
Thanks be to the Lord, my helper in all trouble, ver. J and
2 ; thanks, that he should have so regarded a poor mortal, ver.
3 and 4 ; Lord, manifest thyself to me now as a helper in
trouble by giving deliverance from the wicked, my enemies, ver.
5-8. I thank thee for the help, which is certified to me through
faith, ver. 9 and 10. Nay, deliver thou me from the hand of
the sons of strangers, and let thy blessing return to rest on thy
people, ver. 11 and 12, ver. 13 and 14. An epiphonem forms
the close in ver. 1 5.
The Psalm is ruled by the numbers ten and seven. Ten
verses complete the first part of the whole, which falls into two
divisions. This contains^ in ver. 1 and 2, ten predicates of
God, three and seven, the last divided by four and three. In
like manner, ten requests to God in ver. 5-7, divided precisely
as the predicates. To this significance of the number ten for
the first part, allusion is pointedly made in ver. 9. — The whole
contains, apart from the epiphonem, which, as usual, stands out
side the formal arrangement, seven strophes, each of two verses.
Seven blessings are prayed for in the second part, four in ver.
12, 13 (valiant sons, beautiful daughters, full store-houses, nu
merous flocks), and three in ver. 14 (labouring oxen, no breach
and diminution, no cry). — The number of the names of God,
Jehovah four times, and Elohim once, corresponds to the number
of verses in the second part (the Elohim for the epiphonem), and
the strophe of the first part.
In unison with the superscription, David comes forth speak
ing, comp. especially ver. 2, which alone suffices to dispose of
the supposition, that Israel is the speaker here ; and the de
claration : who constrains my people under me, cannot, without
great violence,"be brought into accordance with that supposition.
David, as the author, appropriates also from Ps. xviii. It is an
arbitrary supposition, that here a transference is made to Israel
of what was then said originally of David. The confirmation
which the superscription here derives from the contents, comes
also in support of the whole cycle, to which the Psalm belongs.
An objection has been brought against the Davidic authorship
from the " traces of reading" it contains. But one would re-

528 THE BOOK OF PSALMS
quire to consider more exactly, what sort of reading is here to
be thought of. It is only the Psalms of David which form the
groundwork of this. But that it is one of David's peculiarities
to derive from his earlier productions a foundation for new ones,
is evident from a variety of facts (comp. Introd. to Ps. cviii),
which, if any doubt might still be entertained on the subject,
would obtain a firm ground to stand upon in this Psalm, which
can only have been composed by David, Then the way and
manner of the use made of such materials is to be kept in view.
This is always of a spirited and feeling nature, and no trace
anywhere exists of a lifeless borrowing. That we cannot think
here of such a borrowing, that the appropriation of the earlier
did not proceed from spiritual impotence, but rests upon deeper
grounds, is manifest from the consideration of the second part,
where the dependance entirely ceases, and where even the op
ponents of the Davidic authorship have"not been able to over
look the strong poetical spirit of the time of David. They be
take to the miserable shift of affirming, that the Psalmist had
borrowed this part from a much older poem now lost.
The situation is that of an oppression through mighty exter
nal enemies. As this Psalm rests upon Ps. xviii., which was
composed by David toward the end of his life, after he had
obtained deliverance from all the perils of war, it cannot be re
ferred to the personal relations of David ; David rather trans
ports himself here, as in the whole of the cycle, into the future
of his race.
This Psalm forms the transition from the two prayer-Psalms,
cxiii., cxliii, to the song of praise, cxlv. The cloud of adversity
begins already to disperse, and the sun of salvation is on the
eve of breaking forth. Ver. 9 and 10 show that the Psalmist
already stands on the threshold of praise and thanksgiving.
The cry from the deep has ceased ; at the very commencement,
the exclamation, " Let the Lord be praised," &c, breathes the
spirit of victory, and leads on to the : " I will praise thy name,"
in Ps. cxlv.

Ver. 1-10. — Ver. 1 . Of David. Praised be the Lord, my rock,
who instructs my hands for battle, and my fingers for war.
Ver. 2. My kindness and my fortress, my. strong tower and my
deliverer to me, my shield and on whom I trust, who constrains

PSALM CXLIV. VER. 1—10. 529
my people under me. Ver. 3. Lord, what is man, that thou
takest knowledge of him, the son of the mortal, that thou regard-
est him! Ver. 4. Man is like to vanity, his days are as a fly
ing shadow. Ver. 5. Lord, bend thy heavens and come down :
touch the mountains, that they may smoke. Ver. 6. Lighten
with lightning and scatter them, send forth thine arrows and
confound them. Ver. 7. Stretch out thy hand from the height,
redeem me, and deliver me from many waters, from the hand of
the sons of tlie -stranger. Ver. 8; Whose mouth speaks deceit,
and whose right hand is a right hand of lies. Ver. 9. God, a
new song will I sing to thee, upon the psaltery of ten strings will
I play to thee. Ver. 10. Who gives salvation to kings, who re
deems David his servant from the hurtful sword. — The words :
Praised be my rock, ver. 1, are taken from Ps. xviii. 46, comp.
ver. 2 ; the second member rests on Ps. xviii. 34. There the
subject is not David as" an individual, but the whole seed of
David. Accordingly, we must here also translate, not:- instruct,
but only: instructs. In ver. 1 and 2 the Psalmist lays a firm
and solid foundation by pointing to the relation in which he
stands to his God. Oh this, after he has celebrated in ver. 3
and 4 the depth of the divine condescension, he grounds, in ver.
5, the prayer, that he might act agreeably to that relation, as
it had partly been confirmed by past experience, and partly by
the promise in 2 Sam. vii., that he might beat down his enemies.
— The Psalmist calls God, in ver. 2, his kindness, because he
was nothing but kindness toward him; comp.: my kindness-
God, for my gracious God, in Ps. lix. 17. The five following
predicates, and therefore the half of the ten predicates in ver.
1 and 2, are taken from Ps. xviii. 2, where the predicates of
God, in like manner, as in this verse, are completed in the num
ber seven. To I'vj^aQ there is here, precisely as in the text in
2 Sam., added i^j. The expression : and on whom I trust, is
abbreviated from : my God is1 my rock, in whom I trust, which
is found there. The designations of God, in Ps. xviii. 2, con
tain not only the expression of thanks for the past, but also
that of hope for the future; they mark a standing relation, out
of which the future salvation must, with like necessity, proceed,
as the past had already done; hence we must explain here, not :
the Lord was, but only: the Lord is. David had this great
advantage, that what had already been accomplished, had been
VOL. III. 2 M

530 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
in no respect obtained by his own power and prudence, but only
through the help of God. And it was in this that the vitality
of his hope respecting the future destiny of his race rooted
itself. The last member rests on Ps. xviii. 43, " Thou deliver-
est me from the strivings of the people," where in 2 Sam. we
have my people, and, in ver. 48, " and constrains peoples under
me." The i^y, my people, rendered certain by 2 Sam., only
presents a difficulty when the Davidic composition is denied,
and the idea is carried through at all hazards, that Israel speaks
in the Psalm. In that case also, it is necessary to resort to the
unfortunate supposition of a " rare plural form" (comp. on the
contrary at Ps. xiv. 8), or of an error in the text. The refer
ence to both passages at the same time shows, that here by the
people of David his subjects generally are to be understood
(comp. Ps. ii, where it is described, how God constrains the
people of the anointed under him). To* the people of David be
longs also, according to Ps. xviii, a wide heathen territory ; and
that we are here to think pre-eminently of this, is manifest
from the circumstance that the sentence before us forms the
foundation for the subsequent prayer for victory in respect to
" the sons of the stranger." — The relation of ver. 3 and 4 to
ver. 1 and 2, was quite correctly and profoundly discerned by
Calvin ; while more recent expositors with their interpretation:
" God be praised, who helps me — man without God is helpless,"
(where is this found?) have entirely missed the right view.
David, after having declared what God was to him, considers, after
the example of Jacob: Lord, I am too little for all thy loving-kind
ness, &c, what he himself is, and while he brings into view his
own nothingness, and that of mankind generally, the adorable
greatness of the divine grace first discovers itself in the proper
light, and he can with full cordiality embrace it in his heart.
Euniility is the mother of confidence. That this view is the
correct one, is plain from the original passage, Ps. viii. 5, and
from the beginning of David's prayer in 2 Sam. vii: " Who am
I, Lord God, and what my house, that thou hast brought me
so far; and that is still too little to thee, Lord God, and thou .
hast spoken to the house of thy servant for a long time yet to
come, and thus thou dealest with the man, Lord God." To
know, is, q. d., to take notice. For the first member of ver. 4,
comp. Ps. lxii 9, xxxix. 5, 6; and for the second, Ps. ciii. 15,

PSALM CXLIV. VER. 1  10. 53t
¦ch. 11. He, whose being is confined within such narrow limits,
cannot be anything great and glorious, he cannot have anything
which could make him worthy of the divine favour and loving
kindness. — What the Lord is for David, that it behoves him
now to prove by fact ; hence the prayer in the two strophes,
ver. 5, 6, and 7, 8. The first member of ver. 5 rests upon Ps.
xviii. 9 : " And he bowed the heavens and came down." The
preterite there lays an excellent foundation for the imperative
here. What the Lord had once done for him during the perse
cution from Saul, formed a pledge for what he here prays the
Lord still to perform. In reference to the second member, comp.
on the dependant passage, Ps. civ. 32. The mountains are here
also brought into notice as the symbol of kingdoms. — Ver. 6
rests on Ps. xviii. 14: " and he sent out his arrows and scattered
them, lightnings (here, the singular as in Sam.; the Psalmist
has throughout both texts before him, which may also be re
garded as a proof, that both must have proceeded from David),
much, and confounded them." The allusion rests also here
upon the consideration, that all God's acts are prophecies. The
verb p-Q occurring only here, was probably formed for the oc
casion. — Ver. 7 rests on Ps. xviii. 16: "He sends from the
height, takes me, draws me out of many waters." Peculiar
here is the: thy hands, and the j-*r>}Q> elsewhere to open, here in
the rare signification of setting free, whicli is elsewhere found
only in the dialects. The sons of the stranger, is an expression
taken from Ps. xviii. 44, 45. — On the first member of ver. 8,
comp. Ps. xii. 2, xli. 6. By the right hand every one thinks
primarily, not of an oath, but of shaking hands, 2 Kings x. 1 5,
and we are led to think of this also by the parallel passages, as
the deceit of the mouth, mentioned there, also consists in false
assurances of friendship. We may compare : " the sons of the
stranger feign to me," in Ps. xviii. 44, conceal their hatred un
der the appearance of love. This representation of the charac
ter of the sons of the stranger rests upon many personal ex
periences through which David had passed. — Ver. 9 rests on
Ps. xxxiii. 2, 3: "Sing praise to him on the psaltery with ten
strings. Sing to him a new song." The new song must here be a
song of thanksgiving to the Lord for the new manifestations of
favour which David had already received in faith: the church
of God, which in faith anticipates the future, possesses the

532 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
great privilege of being able to thank God even before the
benefit has been actually received, and to celebrate his praise,
comp. on Ps. Ixxv. Everywhere, when a new song is spoken
of, the song itself is meant in which the expression is found.
And so here also the new song is primarily our Psalm, which
begins at the very outset with '-' God be praised," and is full of
triumphant confidence; so that, behind the prayer, thanksgiving
everywhere discovers itself; and in the last strophe it comes freely
out. ' But the continuation and completion of the new song is
given in Ps. cxlv. The mention of the psaltery of ten strings —
comp. on Ps. XXiiii— contains an allusion to the formal ar
rangement of the Psalm : on every string a verse. — The words:
thou who givest salvation to kings, ver. 10, signify, in accord
ance with xxxiii. 16, "a king is not helped by his great might,"
that it is from God, not frOm their own power, that all the sal
vation flows which is experienced by kings. It forms the pre
paration for the second member: thou who, since it is from thee
that all salvation comes which is obtained by kings, the sup
posed gods of the earth, &c: We must not translate with 'the
Vulgate: thou who hast redeemed/but only: thou who redeemest.
The redemption is a continued one, comp. ver. 1, 2; and here it
is spoken of in reference to a still future preservation; j-^jq al
ludes to the I'j-jgj in ver. 7 and 11. Even on account of the
parallel *i]-flj, the participle can only indicate the present. That
the phrase: David his servant, stands for: me his servant, is
abundantly manifest from the: of David, in the superscription,
and from ver. 1 and 2, according to which no other than David
speaks here. The Psalmist expresses his name David, so that
it might be clear from the first that the song-composed by him,
according to the superscription, also spoke of him. Precisely
in the same manner does David speak of himself in the third
person in Ps. lxi. 6> Ixiii. 11 , and especially in Ps. xviii. 50,
2 Sam. vii. 26. The expression: his servant, joins on to Ps.
cxliii. 2, 1 2, and contains the ground of the deliverance. In
regard to the sword, comp. on Ps. xxii. 20.
Ver. 11—15. — Ver. '11. Redeem me and deliver me from the
hand of tM sOns of the stranger, whose mouth speaks deceit, and
whose right hdnd is a right hand of lies. Ver. 1 2. That our sons
may be as plants, vigorously shooting up in their youth, our daugh
ters like projectures, hewn as a palate. Ver. 13. That our gar-

rSALMOXLIV.VER.il — 15. 533
ners may be full, supplying one kind after another, our sheep
increased to thousands, to ten thousands in our streets. Ver, 14.
That our yoke-oxen may be loaded, no breaking and no loss, and
no cry in our streets. Ver. 15. Happy the people with whom it
goes thus, happy the people of whom the Lord is its God, — The
beginning of the second strophe, ver. 11, is from ver. 7 and 8.
The T*£^ in ver. 12, in the sig. of so that, comp. Deut. iv. 40,
Ew. § 327, a. Hence, everything which is mentioned in this
and the next verse, must be regarded as a consequence of the
deliverance from the enemies, in ver. 11. In times of war there
are pale countenances and emaciated forms, sickly and dying
children. Remarks, such as those of Amyrald, "All these
things are to be chiefly referred by Christians to spiritual bless
ings," have truth in them, but would have found little response
in such periods as those of the thirty years' war. A false
spiritualism has led various expositors of name into the mon
strous supposition, that ver. 12-14 form a discourse of worldly-
minded strangers! That the comparison with plants refers to
the fresh vigorous increase, appears from £31713*0, not educati,
but made, or become great, powerful. As this refers to the sons,
so must jTQtoriD refer to the daughters, not to the corners —
comp. the jrvyj in Zech. ix. 15 (improperly some: corner pillars);
hewn=as hewn. The comparison indicates the beauty. Palace
is the general, corners the particular : after the fashion (comp.
the j-yOin in Ps- CY1- 20) of a beautiful palace with its fine
projectures, the shining points of its beauty. The comparison
is of the simplest kind possible. — ft in ver. 13, kind, sort. —
hyj *n ver- 1^ always means to bear, therefore in Pi, to make
to bear, to load, in Pii. to be laden. Oxen were not only used
for ploughing, thrashing, and drawing, but also for bearing
burdens, comp. 1 Chron. xii. 40, which passage is peculiarly
fitted to throw light on the verse before us. Laden oxen pre
suppose a rich abundance of produce. The exposition: that
our cattle may be prolific, vanishes before the one consideration,
that n^N does not signify oxen or cattle in general, but only
taught oxen. The rendering : that our princes might be up
right, is quite arbitrary. Along with the sheep oxen are very
fitly named, as in Ps. viii,, but not princes; nor does jp1^
mean prince in general, but it is the peculiar designation of
the Edomite princes, and occurs only in Zechariah, when tlie

534 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
language had become dead, catachrestically, in a general signi
fication, ix. 7, xii 5, 6 — see Christol. there; the meaning, of
standing upright, is derived from the air. What is said posi
tively in the first member : all abundance and fulness, is said
negatively in the second: no disastrous loss, w-^q is never used
of breaking in, but always of breaking, or breach in the passive
sense, also in Job xvi. 14. Here, as in Judges xxi. 15, 2 Sam.
vi. 8, breaking, rent, is = hurt ; Geier : infortunium quo felici-
tatis nostra? integritas laceratur. Nothing going out, is, accord
ing to the connection with V"ig, with which it forms a member,
and according to the following, as much as, no diminution or
loss. It is not. allowable to supply a definite noun to it. No
cry, over breach and diminution, comp. Is. xxiv. 11: "There is
a cry over the (failing) wine on the streets."- — The Epiphonem in
ver. 15 rests upon Ps. xxxiii. 12. The relation of both members
to each other, which is quite missed by Luther, who shoves in a
but at the beginning of the second, is clear when one supplies
at the end: for to those, with whom it thus goes well, though
it may be through many tribulations, there shall be a blessed
state at last. Ven. : " There is subjoined a celebration of the
blessedness of a people rejoicing in these benefits, and, at the
same time, the fountainhead of this felicity is indicated."

PSALM CXLV.
This Psalm is a song of thanksgiving and praise on the part
of the house of David and the Church after all their tribulations -
have come to a close. It is parallel to Ps. ciii. The Psalm is
an alphabetical one, and hence the thoughts must be expressed
from the first in the form of a close organization; they must
not stand loosely in an alphabetical Psalm. The alphabetical
arrangement is exact, excepting that the letter ^ is entirely
omitted. It scarcely deserves notice, that in the Alexandrine
version this anomaly is removed by the introduction of a nun-
strophe. From the whole character of that version, in general,
and in particular that of the Psalms, it is at once manifest
what is to be thought of this addition, of which none of the
other ancient translations know anything, the occasion for

PSALM CXLV. VER. 1—7. 535
which also so readily occurred, and which was so cheaply ob
tained — being plainly borrowed from ver. 17, and the «<ft-o's at
the commencement from the nun-strophe of the alphabetical
Ps. cxi. The ground of the anomaly is the same with that
which occasioned the deviations from the alphabetical arrange
ment in Ps. xxxvii., which was also composed by David. Along
with the alphabetical arrangement the Psalmist observed a
division of the whole into three strophes, each of seven verses,
and it was necessary, on this account, that one of the twenty-
two letters of the alphabet should be left out. A break between
each seven verses manifestly has place, which is especially
marked at the end of the first seven verses.
To the three-number of the strophes corresponds the three
fold three-number of the name of Jehovah, and in like manner
the three-number of the glorious attributes of God celebrated
by the Psalmist : greatness, goodness, righteousness.
In unison with the seven-number of the verses of each strophe,
the Psalmist declares seven times the purpose of praising God's
glory (six times in ver. 1-6, once in ver. 21). The declaration,
that the pious shall praise the Lord, occurs ten times.
In the superscription: Praise-song of David, *rH>nr\ stands
only here as the designation of a Psalm employed in the super
scription (corresponding to *-)i*^ in Ps. lxviii. &c.,) comp. Ps.
xxxiii., in manifest reference to n^On ™ ^s- cx^- suPers- an(*
cxliii. 1. In the kingdom of David there constantly follows
on the n^Dn a H^nn ; uPon the crying to the Lord out of
deep distress, a giving praise and thanks to the Lord. The re
turn of rrVnr* iu the concluding verse is a proof of the origin
ality of the superscription, of which, indeed, the delicate refer
ence to the n7Dn d°es n°t permit us to doubt.

Ver. 1-7. — Ver. 1. I will extol thee, my God, thou king, and
praise thy name for ever and ever. Ver. 2. Continually will I
praise thee, and celebrate thy name for ever and ever. Ver. 3.
Great is tlie Lord and very glorious, and his mighty deeds are
unsearchable. Ver. 4. One race praises to another thy works, and
thy mighty acts they proclaim. Ver. 5. Upon thy beautiful
majesty and glory, and upon thy wonders will I meditate. Ver.
6. And of the terribleness of thy frightful deeds they speak, and ^
thy wonderful works will I proclaim. Ver. 7 The memory of

536 THEB00K OF PSALMS.
thy great goodness they celebrate, and rejoice over thy righteousness.
— On: I will extol thee ver. 1, conip. Ps. xxx. 1: "I will
extol thee, for thou hast lifted me up." The latter stands
also here in the back-ground. On: thou king, q. d., thou, who
truly art our king, thou who givest salvation to kings, and
deliverest thy servant David, Ps. cxliv. 10, comp. Ps. xx. 10,
xxiv. 8, 10, xxix. 9. Calvin: "By calling him his king, he
compels himself and all earthly princes to keep their proper
place, that no elevation of a worldly kind may obscure the
glory of God." David feels it a happy thing for himself, that
he not merely knows the address: thou, king, but that, he can
use it for himself. He would despair, if it were not so with
him. On the second member, comp. Ps, xxxiv. 1, The refer
ence to the commencement of both Psalms is certainly not
accidental. The expression : for ever and ever; has often been
explained in an unsatisfactory way ; Calvin : although he should
live for many ages: Geier: as well in this as in the future life.
The right view at once suggests itself, when it is perceived that
David speaks here, not as an individual, but as the repre
sentative of his race. As such he has a security for everlast
ing continuance, for the perpetual enjoyment of the divine
favour, comp. Ps. cxxxviii. 8 ; and so long as his being lasted
in'the loving-kindness of God, he must also continue to give
praise. — On the first member of ver. 2,- comp. Ps. lxviii. 19 ; on
the second, Ps. Ixix. 30. — In ver. 3, the rich meaning of the
name of God is more nearly described. The first member is
literally borrowed in Ps. xlviii. 1, and should there be marked
as a quotation. Upon ^niD comp. on Ps. xviii. 3. On
nV"*0> never greatness, always great, comp. on Ps. lxxi. 20; his
great = his great deeds, corresponding to the works and the
mighty deeds in ver. 4. On: unsearchable, comp. Ps. xl. 5: " I
will declare and speak of them (thy wonders), they are not to be
numbered." — The fut. in ver. 4, and also in ver. 6, 7, are to be
taken according to ver. 10, 11, not as a designation of what
should be done, but as a simple announcement of what is done.
Allusion is made to the fulness and plenteousness of the deeds
of God, and the powerful impulse lying therein to the constant
celebration of praise. On the first member, comp. Ps. xix. 3.
The works of God are here, as in ver. 17, the glorious displays of
his mercy and righteousness. — On the first member of ver. 5,

PSALM CXLV. VER. 8 — J 4. 537
Geier : " By this accumulation of words, the incomparable glory
and majesty of God are set forth." Remarks like the following.
" In such a heaping up of synonymes, the poetical power shows
itself to be sinking," are natural if one cannot sympathize with
the thankful heart of David, and his striving after a suitable
mode of expression for his exuberant feeling. But for its refu
tation, it is sufficient to point to Ps. xviii. 2, lxii. 7. In regard
to the objects calling forth wonder, comp. Ps. lxv. 6, cv. 27. —
The Kri "TnT1""^ the singular, in ver. 6, has arisen from a com
parison with ver. 3, and from the mistaken idea, that nV"T3
means greatness. The correctness of the text is confirmed by
the parallel nifcOl] > the expression : thy mighty deeds, points
back to the beginning of ver. 3, and shows that the whole in
termediate matter belongs to the idea of God's greatness. There
follow then, in connection with this, the goodness and righteous
ness, in ver. 7 ; so that the three-number of the glorious pro
perties of God celebrated in the Psalm, fully appears even in
the first heptade, which bears a sort of introductory character.
— The iia-3,"i, in ver. 7, is a kind of compound noun : much-
goodness. On y\T2, goodness = the essential goodness, the
goodness of being in the Lord. comp. on Ps. xxv. 13. That the
21 is an adjec. appears from Ps, xxxi. 19, Is. Ixiii. 7. JVQ*n
prop, to cause to splutter forth, Ps. xix. 3, lix. 7. i;i with the
accus. also elsewhere in David, Ps. lix. 16, li. ]5.
Ver. 8-1 4. — Ver. 8. Gracious and compassionate is the Lord,
patient, and of great goodness. Ver. 9. Good is the Lord toward
all, and is merciful in all his works-. Ver. 10. Lord, all thy
works praise thee, and thy saints bless thee. Ver. 11. Of the
honour of thy kingdom they speak, and talk of thy power. Ver.
12. Since they make known to the children of men his mighty deeds,
and the glorious majesty of his kingdom. Ver. 13, Thy kingdom
is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion lasts for ever and ever.
Ver. 14. The Lord upholds all who fall, and raises up all the bowed
down. — On ver. 8, see Ps. ciii 8. In place of the y^ there, we
have here bT\i> witli allusion to ver. 3 and ver. 6: to the great
ness of God in the common sense = his almightiness, corres
ponds the greatness of his love. Toward all, ver. 9, how much
more, therefore, toward his own, to whom the praise of the
general goodness of God everywhere has respect. On the
second member, comp. Ps. ciii. 1 3. His works, even the young

538 THE BOOK OF PSALMS'.
ravens, Ps. cxlvii. 9, how much more, then, his works in the
kingdom'of grace, Ps. cxxxviii. 8, the kingdom of David set up
by him. — Praise thee, ver. 10, either with the mouth, or at least
through their very being, comp. Ps. xix. 2 ss., Ps. ciii. 22. — On:
of thy kingdom, ver. 1 1, comp. Ps. ciii. 19. The kingdom of
God is his government of the world. The glory of it becomes
especially conspicuous in this, that he raises the dominion of his
anointed over all the kingdoms of the world, comp. Ps. cxxxviii.
6. — Thy kingdom is a kingdom of all eternities, ver. 13, and so
must also the kingdom of thine anointed be an eternal one, and
will survive all the transitory kingdoms of this world, however
highly they may puff themselves up. On this passage rests
Dan. iii. 33, iv. 31, where Nebuchadnezzar repeats what
he had received from Daniel, the zealous inquirer into the im
port of the ancient scriptures, comp. ix. 2. On the first mem
ber of ver. 14, comp. Ps. xxxvii. 17, 24. The two partic. supply
the place of nouns, from which the b is to be explained, more
rare than the accus., which was put in the late imitation, Ps.
cxlvi. 8. All that fall, all the bowed down, that is, among the
righteous. Ver. 15-21. — Ver. 15. All eyes icait on thee, and thou givest
them their food in its season. Ver. 16. Thou openesl thine hand,
and satisfiest all living with what they wish. Ver. 17. Righteous'
is the Lord in all his ways, and holy in all his works. Ver. 18.
Nigh is the Lord to all who call upon him, to all who call upon
him in truth. Ver. 19. He does what they that fear God desire,
and hears their cry, and helps them. Ver. 20. The Lord preserves
all who love Mm, and all the wicked he destroys. Ver. 21. The
praise of the Lord shall my mouth speak, and all my flesh shall praise
his holy name for ever and ever. — Ver. 15 is almost literally bor
rowed in Ps. civ. 27. The all is of his works or creatures, ver.
9, all living, ver. 16. How can he, who fills all desire on earth.
allow his elect to wait on him in vain? — To 'm-i, in ver. 16, cor
responds in the dependant passage, Ps. civ. 28, "they are satis
fied with good," the y^ ; the former, therefore, must also de
note that with which they are satisfied — comp. besides Ps. ciii.
5. That we must explain : with wish = that which they wish,
is manifest from ver. 19, a passage which we may the rather
bring into comparison, as here also the proper regard is directed
toward the fearers of God : how can he who satisfies all with

PSALM CXLVI. 539
what they wish (comp. Acts xiv. 17, "filling our hearts with
food and gladness ") abandon those who fear him ? The funda
mental passage is in Deut. xxxiii. 23 : " Naphtali is satisfied
with what he wished," p^"l JJltt?. where, according to the gene
ral tenor of the words there spoken, that is specially applied to
a particular part of God's people, which holds good of the whole.
— On "fiDn> ver- J "> comp. on Ps. iv. 3. The love of God to
wards his own is rooted in his righteousness, according to which
he gives to every one his own ; and remarks such as those of
Geier : " let the wonderful intermingling of the divine justice
and mercy be noted," miss the right point. It is not according
to the Biblical mode of contemplation to think presently of a
punishment, as soon as one hears of righteousness. On ver. 18
comp. Ps. xxxiv. 18, 6. The truth forms a contrast to lies,
semblance, hypocrisy; it is the true, internal, and heartfelt
righteousness. — On ver. 19, comp. Ps. xxxiv. 15, xxxvii. 40.
In the place of those who fear the Lord, in ver. 19, come in
ver. 20, those who love him, to show that the fear is not of a
slavish, but of a childlike sort.

PSALM CXLVI.
It is happy for Israel that he trusts, not like the heathen upon
men, but upon the Lord his God, ver. 1-5, for God alone can and
will help, he is a deliverer of the poor and needy, and governs
for ever, ver. 6-1 0. The whole number of verses, ten, is divided
by the five. The predicates of God are twelve, four times three.
The name Jehovah occurs thrice in the first half, thrice in ver.
7, and thrice in the remaining verses of the second half.
That this Psalm forms the close of the dodecade, beginning
with Ps. cxxxv., has already been mentioned. That it is not
contemporaneous with the immediately preceding Davidic Psalm,
with which it is placed in intentional connection through the
borrowing here in ver. 8, of ver. 14 there, but was only set next
to it in order, is clear from the ceasing of what is so usual there,
the resting on the Davidic Psalms, and from the traces it con
tains of a late post-exile period — the halleluiah, which is never
found in Psalms that bear the name of David — comp. Introd.

540 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
to Ps. civ., where it first occurs, and Ps. cv., the borrowing of
ver. 1 and 2 from Ps. civ., which was composed after the exile,
and of ver. 3 from Ps. cxviii., which was sung at the laying of
the foundation of the second temple. That the Psalm was
composed in a period of depression for the people of God, is
indicated by the predicates given to God, which are all of a
kind fitted to elevate the distressed, to console the afflicted, and
give them confidence in their God. The right view regarding
the time of composition was already recognised by the LXX. in
their : Haggaei et Sachariae, which both the Vulgate and the
Syriac repeat. Still, much stress cannot be laid on this, as
they give the same superscription also to the following Psalms.

Ver. 1-5. — Ver. 1. Halleluiah. Praise, my soul, the Lord.
Ver. 2. i" will praise the Lord, while I live, play to my God, so
long as I am in being. Ver. 3. Trust not in princes, in the son
of man, in whom there is no salvation, Ver. 4. Goes his breath
forth, then he returns back to his earth, on the sam,e day his thoughts
perish. Ver. 5. Happy he, whose help is the God of Jacob, whose
hope is in the Lord his God. — As the halleluiah, so also the ex
pression : praise the Lord, my soul, in ver. 1, is taken from Ps.
civ. Ver. 2 also rests upon ver. 33 of that Psalm. — On ver. 3
comp. Ps. cxviii. 8, 9. According to this* fundamental passage,
the princes are to be regarded as heathenish, the possessors of
the world's power ; and the address is not directed to Israel,
who rather appears here as the speaker, but to the world, comp.
Ps. Ixxv. 4, 5. A dissuasion from something, to which the
Israelites from the circumstances of the time had.no tempta
tion, has also an unnatural appearance. In the second member
the folly of confidence in princes is shown by allusion to the
evanescent species of beings to which they belong, however
loftily they may carry themselves. In whom there is no salva
tion, neither for themselves, nor for others : man, be he beggar
or king, has no salvation in himself, but must first receive it
from above — comp. Ps. cxliv. 10. — On ver. 4 compare Ps. civ.
29 : " Thou gatherest their breath, then they expire and return
again to their dust." The reference to this passage is put be
yond a doubt by the peculiar expression : to his earth. Accord
ing to this fundamental passage we are not to explain : it goes
forth, but goes forth. The thoughts which go to the grave

PSALM CXLVI. VER. 6 — 10. 5 il
with the dying man are his vain projects. Calvin : " Like that
frenzied Macedonian Alexander, when he heard there were
more worlds, wept that he had not yet obtained the mastery of
one, but shortly afterwards had to content himself with a sarco
phagus." With the descent to the grave perishes also the hope
placed on him.— Happy he, ver. 5, = happy I, in opposition to
the world. The y^fo is to be explained, according to the fun
damental passage, Ps. cxviii. 7 : under his help, for, among the
number of his helpers. ^ properly, strength, in contradis
tinction to human weakness and evanescence.
Ver. 6-10. — Ver. 6; Who made heaven and earth, the sea and
all that therein is, who keeps tr-uth eternally. Ver. 7. Who
executes judgment for those who suffer oppression, who gives bread
to the hungry. The Lord looses the prisoners. Ver. 8. The Lord
opens the eyes of the blind, the Lord raises up the bowed down, the
Lord loves the righteous. Ver. 9. The Lord protects the strangers,
widow and orphan he raises up, and the way of the wicked he bends.
Ver. 10. The Lord reigns eternally, thy God, Zion, for ever and
ever. Halleluiah. — With ver. 6 begins the grounding of the
¦""¦"TtyN in allusion to what the Lord is to his own, and grants to
them, first by unfolding that whicli is contained in " the God
(strength) of Jacob, and Jehovah Ms God" — his power to help
them, according to his almightiness, as displayed in the crea
tion of the world, against the sheer impotence of the highest
earthly powers — and then his will. The latter is pledged to the
people, to whom he has given such precious declarations and
such glorious promises, through his truth — comp. on Ps. Ixxxv.
10. — :On the first member of ver. 7 comp. Ps. ciii. 6. By the
persons oppressed is meant here also, his own people in all their
oppressions. On the second member comp. Ps. xxxvii. 19, cvii.
5, 9. The hungry represents/ generally all who stand in need of
help. Those in prison or chains are such in the proper sense,
and those also who are in the prison of distress, Ps. cvii. 10. —
The first member of ver. 8 alludes to Isaiah xxxv. 5. To open
the blind, stands here for, to open their eyes, which comes the
more naturally out, as j-ng is most commonly used of the eyes
(according to Stier twenty-one times). The blind are the natu
rally blind, and such as cannot discern the way of salvation,
without wisdom and help; blindness occurs as an image of want
of wisdom and support in Deut. xxviii. 29, Isa. lix. 10, Job xii

542 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
25. The second member is from Ps. cxlv. 14. — In reference to
the stranger, the widow and the orphan as representatives of
persons in a miserable condition, ver. 9, comp. on Ps. lxviii 5,
6. In the background stands : and therefore also his poor peo
ple. The way is the lot, the fate, comp. on Ps. i 6. He bends
their lot, q. d., he transfers them into a depressed condition. —
It is by no means accidental, that ver. 10 begins with the tenth
letter of the alphabet. The first member is taken from Ex. xv.
18. The everlasting kingdom of God is presented, in contrast
to the short continuance of the kingdoms of this world. The
people who have such a king, can already behold great realities,
and should not presently sink into despair, if all does not go
according to their wish. All's well that ends well.

PSALMS CXLVII.— CL.
That the four following Psalms constitute one whole, is clear
from the Halleluiah at the beginning and the close of each of
them, by which they also connect themselves with the close of
the preceding cycle; from their entirely joyful tone without
any background of lamentation, in contradistinction to all the
other psalms belonging to the period after the exile, a time to
which the Psalms before us were directed, both from their posi
tion and their whole character and contents; from the peculiar
combination of the praise of God in nature, with the praise of
his grace toward his people; finally, from the circumstance of
their being throughout pervaded by a reference to a great sal
vation, which restores Israel.
The starting-point, shines out with the utmost clearness in
Ps. cxlvii., which opens the cycle. The establishment of Je
rusalem and its security toward what is without, appears there
as the occasion. In Ps. cxlviii. 14, it is the elevation of the
people and the invigoration of their courage. In Ps. cxlix. we
are told of a great salvation, which the Lord grants to his peo
ple. This Psalm and the following one proclaim their destina
tion to be sung on the occasion of a great festival of thanksgiv
ing and joy in the temple.
All these references find their explanation when it is under-

PSALM CXLVII. — CL. 543
stood that the Psalms in question were composed for the con
secration of the walls under Nehemiah, of which Neh. treats in
ch. xii. What Jerusalem was before Nehemiah — an open, thinly
inhabited village, exposed to all manner of insults from the
neighbouring people — and how much Judah owed of its great
ness to the favour obtained through his interposition, has al
ready been set forth at length in my Christol. Th. ii., s. 524, ss.
Supposing, then, that these Psalms belong to the age of Nehe
miah, we can easily understand how the tone of lamentation
should at once disappear from them, which through all the
earlier post-exile Psalms intermingles even with the joy; here
again the people show themselves right glad of their existence.
The connection of the point displayed in Ps. cxlviii, the in-
vigoration of the courage of the people and the elevation of their
state, with the erection of walls mentioned in Ps. cxlvii., is
rendered plain by Neh. i. 3: "The remnant are in great afflic
tion and reproach, and the wall of Jerusalem is broken through,
and its gates are burnt with fire ;" where their " being in great
affliction and reproach," and " the walls being broken through
and the gates burned," stand to each other in the relation of
effect and cause — comp. also Neh. ii. 17, where the building of
the walls of Jerusalem, and their being no longer in reproach,
are placed in casual connection; then also ch. vi. 15, 16, where
the completion of the building of the walls is represented as to
its effect on the surrounding people: " And the wall was finish
ed — and when all our enemies heard thereof, all the heathen,
which were around us, were afraid, and tlieir courage failed
them, for they perceived that this work was of God." ,
On the supposition of that being the occasion, we can also
understand the warlike tone which meets us in Ps. cxlix. It
was at the building of the walls that Judah again, for the first
time after the Babylonian catastrophe and with good success,
drew the sword against the heathen. At the same time this
Psalm throws light on the origin of reports among the heathen,
such as those mentioned in Nehemiah vi. 6, 7. — With Ps. cxlvi.
the prayer of the Levites in Neh. ix. 6, remarkably coincides :
" Thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their
host, the earth and all that is therein, the sea and all that is
therein; and thou preservest all, and the host of heaven wor
ships thee." With Ps. cxlvii. 19, comp. Neh. ix. 13, 14, x. 29.

544 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
With Neh. xii. 27: " And at the dedication of the walls of
Jerusalem they sought the Levites from all places, and brought
them to Jerusalem, to keep the dedication in gladness with
thanksgiving, with singing, with cymbals, harps, and psalteries,"
comp. Ps. cxlvii. 7, cl., where all the three instruments are
mentioned. Also with ver. 35 and 41, according to which at
the feast of dedication the trumpets were blown by the priests,
comp. Ps. cl. 3. The joyful and exulting tone of the four
Psalms finds its commentary in Neh. xii. 43, " And they offered
on that day great sacrifices, and rejoiced, for God had given
them great joy, and also the women and children rejoiced
themselves, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar
off."

PSALM CXLVII.
The peculiar object of this song of praise and thanksgiving
are the acts of kindness which the Lord had just imparted to
his people. Other proofs, however, of the glory of God were
also drawn into the circle of praise, because the particular does
not receive its proper elucidation till it is viewed in connection
with the whole, and the soul also rises to its due elevation only
when it comes to contemplate the great whole.
The Psalm consists of two decades. The one, divided by five,
is contained in ver. 2-11. The second is formed by the three
verses of the introduction and conclusion, ver. 1, and ver. 19,
20, and by a strophe of seven verses, divided by three and four,
ver. 12—18. Jah and Jehovah occur seven times.
The historical circumstances which the Psalm presents are
the following: — the people are gathered from the dispersion,
ver. 2; Jerusalem is built, ver. 2; fortified and secured against
all hostile assaults, ver. 13, 14. Against the supposition of its
belonging to the time of the Maccabees, though ver.- 13 and J 4,
even by themselves considered, could hardly be explained from
1 Mac. xiii. 10, the connection in which the fortification of Je
rusalem stands here with the gathering of the people from their
dispersion, is at all events decisive. Such a connection only
existed in the time of Nehemiah (already Grotius: optime con-
gruit in tempora Nehemise) : the leading of God, which began

PSALM CXLVII. VER. 1 — 6. 515
with the bringing back of the people, and which is brought
into notice here only at the beginning, but does not form a part
of the circumstances that properly give rise to the Psalm, as
represented in ver. 12-14, reached its conclusion in the erection
of the walls under Nehemiah (the city had first to be built by
him again, comp. Neh. ii. 5, where Nehemiah said to Artaxerxes:
" Send me to Judah, to the city of the sepulchres of my fathers,
that I may build it"). In the time of the Maccabees, the return
from the exile lay much too far back for being drawn within
the sphere of this song. We therefore need not fall back on
the general grounds, which decide against the composition of
any Psalms in the time of the Maccabees.1
Ver. 1. Halleluiah; for it is good to sing praise to our God,
because he is lovely, praise is becoming.— Three commencements
of Psalms are here intentionally brought together. The first
member rests on Ps. xcii 1 , the heginning of the second on Ps.
cxxxv. 3, " Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good, sing praise
to his name, for he is lovely" (comp. on the loveliness ot the
Lord at Ps. xxvii. 4), and the last words are from Ps. xxxiii. 1,
"Rejoice ye righteous in the Lord, to the upright becomes
praise" The explanation : because this (the singing) lovely,
praise is comely, overlooks the second original passage, cuts up
in an unseemly manner the second member, and supposes that
the second y^ is co-ordinate with the first — a supposition about
which one must be very cautious, filEf hif- Pi with py parag.;
•yyi to celebrate in song, as in Ps. vii 1 7.
Ver. 2-6. — Ver. 2. The Lord builds Jerusalem, gathers the
scattered of Israel. Ver. 3. He, who heals those that are broken
in heart, and binds up their pains. Ver. 4. He determines the
number of the stars, he names them all by name. Ver. 5. Great
is our Lord and rich in power, and incomprehensible is Ms under
standing. Ver. 6. The Lord lifts up the meek, and brings down
the wicked to the ground. — The Psalmist begins, in ver. 2, im
mediately with his proper subject, what the Lord had done to
his church. The second member rests upon Isa. xi. 12, lvi. 8.
1 Let ver. 2. and ver. 13 and li of this Psalm be compared with Jesus Sirach
xlix. 13: " *N*ehemias, whose renown is great, who raised up for us the walls that
were fallen down, and set up the gates and the bars, and raised up our ruins
again;" — a passage which plainly seems to allude to ver. 13 of the Psalm.
VOL. III. 2 S

546 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
What the prophet had foretold of the then still far off disper
sion, and of the gathering out of it, which was still farther off,
now stands fulfilled before their eyes; comp. Ps. cvii 3. At
the close of the salvation-period, as it began with the deliver
ance from exile, and ended with the setting up of the walls
under Nehemiah, the whole of the salvation wrought for the
people of God passed before the thankful soul. — On ver. 3 comp.
Ps. xxxiv. 1 8, ciii. 3, Is. lxi. 1. What is spoken apparently in
quite general terms receives its limitation to the people of the
Lord by its connection with what precedes, on which it even
formally leans. The pains are spiritual wounds. — In ver. 4,
the Psalmist turns from the consideration of the work of God
on earth to heaven, so that God might be more clearly recog
nised in the former, that the thanks given to him might be the
more cordial, and the hope of his future salvation might be
more deeply rooted. That the Psalmist has properly and alone
to do with that which the Lord had accomplished for his people,
and what they had further to expect from him, is evident alone
from the way and manner, in which here, what refers to the
power of God in nature, is compassed round by that which
arises from his relation to his people. j-j^E stands here as in
Gen. xiii. 16. Numb, xxiii. 10 (see my work on Balaam, p. 91
ss.), Is. lxv. 12, in the original sig. of determining, which is de
manded by the -)QQ, that excludes the sig. of numbering. Still,
however, the discourse is not here of the determination of the
number of the stars before their creation, but of the numbering
of those that have been made, which, according to Gen. xv. 5,
alluded to here, lies beyond the province of the human mind.
Beside the numbering stands the naming, which presupposes an
intimate acquaintance with the peculiar properties of each star,
of whicli the name is the reflex. The original foundation of
the whole passage is in Is. xl. 26, " Who brings out, numbers
their host, calls them all by names, on account of the fulness of
his power, and because he is mighty in strength, not one is
missing." As there allusion is made to the Lord's relation to
the stars for the purpose of consoling his afflicted people —
comp. ver. 27, " Why sayest thou, 0 Jacob, my way is hid from
the Lord," &c. — so here it is mentioned with the view of raising
the spirit of thanksgiving among the redeemed. — On ver. 5,
comp. besides Is. xl. 26, also ver. 28, "Unsearchable is his un-

PSALM CXLVII. VER. 7  11. 547
derstanding." The understanding of God comes here into con
sideration so far, as in consequence of it he ever has at com
mand an infinite fulness of ways and means for helping his own.
Ver. 7-11. — Ver. 7. Answer to the Lord with a song of praise,
play to our God on the psaltery. Ver. 8. Who covers the heaven
with clouds, who prepares rain for the earth, who makes grass to
grow on the mountains. Ver. 9. Who gives to the beast Ms fodder,
to the young ravens that cry. Ver. 10. He has not delight in the
strength of the horse, nor pleasure in the legs of a man. Ver. 11.
The Lord has pleasure in those that fear him, those who wait on
his mercy. — All here is spoken in celebration of the Lord's
mercy, which manifests itself thus also in respect of his
church. But she roams, in seeking for proofs of the mercy she
has received from the Lord, through the whole circle of his
benevolent agency, which extends even to the smallest of his
creatures, so that the feeling may be more deeply impressed,
and along with thanksgiving hope also invigorated. But the
whole runs out in praise of the Lord's loving-kindness toward
his own, in like manner as all had proceeded from him. Answer
(comp. on Ps. cxix. 1 72) to the Lord, who has addressed us in
so friendly a manner by bestowing on us his salvation. — The
clouds are referred to in ver. 8 only in so far as they produce
the rain, which is one of the instruments of blessing. In re
gard to the question : why, precisely the mountains are men
tioned, comp. on the original passage, Ps. civ. 13. — On the first
member of ver. 9 comp. Ps. civ. 14, 27, 28. The young ravens
are introduced here, partly as being creatures of an unprofitable
and disagreeable kind, partly on account of their croaking
(Bochart: corvus vocem clamosam habet et obstreperam tan-
quam importuni flagitatoris), which seems to call upon the
heavenly Provider for help. We must not translate exactly
with Luther: who call upon him; however, the croaking should
certainly be regarded as a sort of unconscious crying to the
Creator for help, comp. Job xxxviii. 41, where the young ravens
cry to God, Ps. civ. 21, cxlv. 15.— Ver. 10 and 11 rest upon
Ps. xxxiii. 16-18. Here, as there, the horse stands as a repre
sentation of the kind, over against him man. In the legs of a
man, and their strength, this is to be supplied from the first
member— comp. also: through his great strength, in Ps. xxxiii.
16. How glorious is God's loving-kindness 1 In contrast to

548 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
the world, which experids its love only on the strong, from
whom it can expect recompense and returns of favour, he has
no pleasure in the heathen world ever boastful of its might, but
in Israel prostrated on the ground in its impotence, yet looking
with the eye of faith to him, that he will lift it up from its de
pression in the dust, as he had already begun to do — comp.
ver. 12 ss.
Ver. 12-17. — Ver. 12. Praise, Jerusalem, the Lord; praise,
Zion, thy God. Ver. 13. For he has strengthened the bars of
thy gates, blessed thy children within them. Ver. 14. Who makes
peace in thy borders, satisfies thee with the fat of the wheat. Ver.
15. Who sends his discourse upon the earth, his word runs very
quickly. Ver. 1 6. Who gives snow like wool, hoar-frost scatters
like ashes. Ver. 17. He casts forth his ice like morsels, who can
stand before his frost? Ver. 18. He sends out his word, and
causes it to melt, makes Ms wind blow, then the waters flow; — In
ver. 13 and 14, first security in respect to what is without, then
the blessing within. On ver. 14 comp. Ps. lxxxi. 16. In ver.
15-18 there is probably not only an allusion to the omnipotence
of God as manifested in nature not less than in the government
of his people, but at the same time an allegorical representation
of this government, so that the Psalmist perceived in the opera
tions of God in nature the image of his administration in grace
— in the snow, hoar-frost and frost, an image of the now no
longer existing time of trouble, in the spring, ver. 18, an image
of the returning "salvation; comp. the similar figurative repre
sentations in Ps. cvii. In ver. 15, the discourse and word of
God are represented as servants, which he sends upon the earth
to execute his will. Their quick course marks the speedy re
sult of what takes place in the will.- — The comparison denotes,
in ver. 16, 17, generally the ease with which God accomplishes
the greatest things, not otherwise than man the least, such as
causing some locks of wool to fly, or scattering a few ashes.
Those things are taken which present some* kind of resemblance
to the snow, hoar-frost, and ice. The great flakes of ice are
compared with the morsels of bread which man throws out to
his domestic animals. The question: Who can stand before
his frost? Israel had known to put from painful experience.
The suff, in QCft'-i, ver. 18, refers to the snow, the hoar-frost,
and the ice. The wind is the thawing breeze.

^ -6 -i -i i

PSALM CXLVIII. 549
Ver. 19. He declares to Jacob his wqrd,fo Israel his statutes
and judgments. Ver. 20. He has done so to no heathen, and
judgments know they nQt. Halleluiah. — This epiphonem points
to the ground of the special care which, God exercised over
Israel, which had now again manifested itself. Israel was, the
people of the Revelation, the only people on tlie broad earth
which stood under the supremacy of the divine will, as ex
pressed by way of command in the laws of Moses, The heathen
knew not, as they did, ^.ny rights, and Jie$ce were without
God, ver. 20, For what they called by that, n^nie was only the
shadow of that which reajlly deserved it, a sad mixture of right
and wrong.

PSALM CXLVIII.
The occasion of the Psalm is brought distinctly out in. its
conclusion. According to this, it was called forth by a great
act of divine beneficence, whereby God had raised his people
from the dust of depression, and filled them anew with power
and energy. The grateful h.e*8>rts pf the people were thus
opened to, all other manifestations of the glory of God, and they
praise him in the manner that he ought to be glorified, for all
that in heaven and ,cm .earth bears, the traces pf hi,s glory. In
respect to heaven, commencement is made with the Angels^ and
thep, passing through the intermediate stage of the star?) the
clouds are at. last, discoursed of. In respect to the eayth, the
Psalmist begins with the deepest parts, the sea, the more appro
priately, as, in the first part; the waters, above the earth had
last heen spoken of; then he ascends up to the highest, to the
manifestations in the region of air, ver; 8, whence he; Again de
scends to the earth, beginning .at the highest ppiuVthe moun
tains, and last of ajl discourses cf man.
The Psalm consists of a main part pf twelve verses, divided
by six, containing the call addressed .to all creatures to praise
God, and a conclusion cf two verses, announcing the occasion
of the Psalm; so that the whole consists of fpurteep , verses,
The call to praise God is delivered in all twelve times, in the
first part nine times, tljree times, three, and in the first verse
three times. .

550 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
Ver. 1-6. — Ver. 1. Halleluiah. Praise the Lord from the
heavens, praise Mm in the heights. Ver. 2. Praise him, all Ms'
angels; praise him, all his hosts. Ver. 3. Praise him, sun and
moon; praise him, all shining stars. Ver. 4. Praise him, ye
highest heavens, and ye waters which are above the heavens.
Ver. 5. Let them praise the name of the Lord, for he commanded,
and they were created. Ver. 6. And he established them for
ever and ever, gave them a law which they never transgress. — To
the expression :¦' from the heaven, in ver. 1, stands opposed that
in ver. 7 : from the earth. It primarily determines pnly the place
from whence the praise must issue; the persons celebrating the
praise are first described more nearly afterwards. — The hosts of
God, in ver. 2, are the sun, moon, and stars, which in ver. 3 are
individually named — comp. on Ps. ciii. 21 . In the first, mem
ber the spiritual, in the second the material portion of the hea
venly servants of God is given. The latter praise God through
their very being — comp. on Ps. ciii. 21. The only thing pe
culiar here is the call to praise God. But this merely expresses
the satisfaction of the Psalmist regarding that which is done
at any rate. — The heavens of heavens in ver. 4, precisely as in
Deut. x. 14, 1 Kings viii. 27, where they are named by way of
gradation beside the heavens generally, Ps. lxviii. 33, Neh. ix.
6, are the highest heavens. The explanation: ye heavens
everywhere (Luther : " all heavenly regions, however vast and
infinite," Maurer) has no justification in the usus loquendi. We
have the less reason for setting aside the allusion here to a gra
dation in the heavenly regions — comp. 2 Cor. xii. 2 — since an
indirect one was already given in the mention successively of
the angels, the stars, and the clouds, which cannot properly be
ascribed to one and the same region. The waters above the
heavens can only be, according to the original passage, Gen. i. 7,
the clouds — comp. on Ps. civ. 3. Of other heavenly waters
scripture knows nothing; they know nothing of the " celestial
fire-watery ether." If, therefore, we hold it as certain, that in
the first member, the highest heavens are mentioned, in the
second, the clouds, we must also hold, that the parallelism is not
a mere synonyme, but that the highest regions of heaven and
the lowest are set in opposition to each other. The mere hea
ven, as contradistinguished from the highest heaven, can only
be the lower heaven. — Those who must praise the Lord, are

PSALM CXLVIII. VEIL 7 — 12. 551
six, in unison with the number of verses in the half strophe. In
ver. 5, 6, reference is made to the grounds on account of which
they should praise. — The first member of ver. 6 excludes all
change in what has been made, that would be contrary to the
will of the Creator, from whom the different parts of creation
can never emancipate themselves to all eternity — comp. on Ps.
cii. 27. On the second member comp. Job xxxviii. 10: "And
I gave it (the sea) an unchangeable law, and set bars and
bolts;" and Job xiv. 5, where, in regard to the period of
man's life, it is said : " Thou hast made his law, which he
does not trangress." From allusion to the latter passage, it
is probable, that the singular ^¦QJ?'*"*1 ^as arisen, in which the
parts of creation mentioned are united into one whole. The
law is, according to these parallel passages, the sphere of being,
which is appointed to each part of creation, and in which it
is held by the divine omnipotence; as, for example, the stars
must pursue their course, the upper and lower waters must
remain continually distinct. In regard to the reference of #b
yQSF1 *° ^e several parts of creation, comp. besides Ps. civ. 9,
Jer. v. 22.
Ver. 7-12. — Ver. 7. Praiss the Lord from the earth, ye whales
and all floods. Ver. 8. Fire and hail, snow and smoke, stormy
wind which fulfils his word. Ver. 9. Mountains and all hills,
fruit-trees and all cedars. Ver. 10. Wild beast and all cattle,
creeping things and all feathered fowls. Ver. 11. Kings of the
earth and all peoples, princes, and all judges of the earth. Ver.
1 2. Young men with young women, old with young. — Those, who
should praise the Lord in the water and the air, are seven;
those upon the land are four times four — the four being the
signature of the earth. — In reference to o^i]-'., in ver. 7, comp.
on Ps. lxxiv. 13. The reason of their being named in particu
lar, is, that by their gigantic size they more especially proclaim
the omnipotence of God's creative power. The same end is
served by the description of leviathan in the Book of Job. — In
ver. 8, fire and smoke, which elsewhere are inseparably united,
are separated, in order to give to the fire as its attendant the
cold hail, and to the dark smoke the white snow. The accom
paniment to the fire shows, that by the fire we are not to un
derstand lightning, which would besides have been more closely
described, -fliaip is in accordance with the accompaniment of

552 THE BOOK OF *PSA*LMS.
the fire, with Gen. xix. 28, Ps. cxix. 83, and with the sig. of
the verb, the common smoke;, not fog, nor vapour,— as if the
Psalm had been written in Westphalia? The stormy wiiid,
which, with all its wild impetuosity, that apparently obeys no
rule and no law, stijl executes the commands of God not, less
than the angels,, Ps. ciii. 20. — The cedars are named in ver. 9,
because they especially proclaim the creative power of God
through their greatness and majesty; on which account they
are called the cedars of God in Ps. lxxx. 1.0.— Kings are named
in ver, 11 at the head of men, because God has especially glori
fied himself in them. But they are not alone a living proof of
the greatness pf God, rather aU, down even to the least, show
forth his gfory.-r-The old, ver. 12, in whose long life is contained
a series of proofs of the divine greatness, the young, whose, fresh
vigour is a matter-of-fact praise of God.,
Ver, 13, 14.— -Ver. 13. Let thempraise the name of the. Lord,
for his name alone is, extolled, with Ms splendour earth and hea
ven are crowmd- Ver. 1 4. And he lifted up< the horn of his
people, the renown of all ,Ms. saints, the children of Israel,: the
people that is near to him. Halleluiah. — The expression in
ver. 13: earth and heaven, shows that the injunction: let them
praise him, belongs not merely to ver. 7-*-! 2, but .to ver. 1-12;
comp. Ps. civ. 27- On the second member comp. Ps. viii 2.—
He lifted, up. the horn of his people, ver. 1 4, which before was
sunk in the dust, Job xvi. 15,, comp. on Ps, xcii. 10. Instead
pf : he lifted, up the renown of all his saints, which till now had
been covered with shame, Luther erroneously: aU his saints
must praise. The expression : the people that is near him,
comp. Lev, x, 3, Ezek. xlii. 13, furnishes the reason for the
divine goodness, as in Ps. cxlvii. ver. 19, 20. The people that
is near him, may indeed, be abandoned by the Lord for a short
peripd, but he must ever again give them to partake in his
great goodness.

PSALM CXLIX.
The Psalmist calls the people, in ver. 1-5, to thanksgiving
for a great deliverance whieh they had experienced, and ex
presses, in yer. 6-9, the hope of a future victory pver the slavish

PSALM CXLIX. VER. 1 — 9. 553
heathen world, rising on the ground of their present strength
and elevation. — The Psalm consists of an introduction of one
verse, and two strophes, each of four verses. The Jehovah and
Jah occur four times.

Ver. 1. Halleluiah. Sing to the Lord anew song, his renown
in the congregation of the saints.-— His renown, which he has
acquired by raising the renown of his saints, Ps. cxlviii. 14.
The beginning of the Psalm, therefore, is purposely connected
with the close of the preceding one.
Ver. 2-5. — Ver. 2. Let Israel rejoice in his Maker, the chil
dren of Zion be joyful in their king. Ver. 3. Let them praise
his name in the dance, with timbrel and psaltery play to him.
Ver. 4. For ihe Lord has pleasure in his people, he adorns the
meek with salvation. Ver. 5. Let the saints be joyful in honour,
exult upon their beds. — His Maker, ver. 2, who has proved him
self to be such in giving deliverance. That Qv-jy, ver. 4, signi
fies not afflicted, but, as always meek, is clear from the opposite
to it, the wicked, in Ps. cxlvii. 6. On n^W comp. Ps. cxlvii.
10, 11. The expression: in honour, in ver. 5, marks, as in Ps.
cxii. 9, the state that had given rise to the joy. The honour
in which they now rejoiced, forms the contrast to the shame
with which they had hitherto been covered, Neh. i. 3, and
Neh. iii. 36. Upon their beds, where before in the loneliness of
night they consumed themselves with grief for their shame,
comp. Hos. vii 1 4.
Ver. 6-9. — Ver. 6. The praises of God in their mouth, and a
two-edged sword in their hand. Ver. 7. That they may execute
vengeance on the heathen, punishment among the people. Ver.
8. To bind their kings Uiith chains, and their nobles with fetters
of iron. Ver. 9. That ihey may . execute upon them the judg
ment whereof it is written. Such honour have all Ms saints.
Halleluiah. — )yry\"\ in ver- ®» Praise> song °f praise, as in Ps.
Ixvi. 17. As formerly at the work — comp. Neh. iv. 1 1 : "With
the one hand they did their work, and with the other they held
the sword" — so now also after the completion of the work they
still carried weapons in their hand while giving thanks and
praise. Neh. xii. 31 ss. gives notice of a great military procession
to the temple at the consecration of the walls. — That they may
execute vengeance, ver. 7, namely, as God wishes it to be done

554 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
and at the time appointed. Israel had experienced a great
deliverance, but his state was still far from that which became
the people of God and was promised them. They were still
servants in the land which the Lord had given to their fathers,
that they might eat its fruit and enjoy its food — compare the
description in Neh. ix. 36, 37. The new elevation of the
people's consciousness, in which for the 'first time, after a long
period, the warrior spirit was again revived, filled them now
with a hope that rose superior to present appearances, the hope
of dissipating what still remained of evil in their condition.
This hope, legitimate in every respect, and, as to its substance,
resting upon an everlasting foundation (for the people of God
can never in the nature of things continue long in a servile
condition), which is sufficient to put to shame our pusillanimity,
as it was certainly meant to have its primary fulfilment in an
external manner, so it primarily received an external fulfilment
in the time of the Maccabees, the occurrences of which had
their root in what had been done by Nehemiah. Unspeakably
more glorious, however, and beyond what they themselves un
derstood, was the vengeance which Israel exercised in the days
of the Messiah, when they took the sword of the Spirit in their
hand, and thereby prevailed over their heathen neighbours:
The earlier external revenge, as Calvin suggests, was but a
shadowy prelude to this. The judgment whereof it is written,
ver. 9, not in Deut. vii. 2, for the passage refers to the entirely
peculiar relation to the Canaanites, but in Deut. xxxii. 41 ss.,
where the subject discoursed of is the judgment which the
Lord would execute upon the future oppressers of his people
after the period of chastisement had gone by. There, as here,
mention is made of judgment, of vengeance, and of the sword.
The conclusion, like the beginning, brings to the remembrance
the close of the preceding Psalm. An honour this is still more
glorious than the renown whicli they already enjoyed — the
second half, as it were, of that.

PSALM CL.
We have here a full-toned call to the praise of God, quite ap
propriate te the close of this Psalm-cycle and of the whole

PSALM CL. VER. 1 — 2. 555
Psalter, in which especially toward the end, in the Psalms be
longing to the time of Israel's depression, the praise of God
forms the predominating element. The Psalm falls into three
strophes, each of two verses. In the first strophe the discourse
is of where praise is to be given, in heaven and on earth, and
on what account, because of the greatness of God, and his
glorious deeds ; then, in the second and third strophe, where
with, viz., with all that has sound and voice. In unison with
the three-number of the strophes stands the use three times of
Jah. The i^Vn> Praise, occurs twelve times ; the instruments
of the praise of God are ten, three in ver. 3, four in ver. 4,
three in ver. 5, 6.1

Ver. 1, 2. — Ver. 1. Halleluiah. Praise the Lord in his sanc
tuary, praise him in his mighty stronghold. Ver. 2. Praise him
on account of his mighty deeds, praise him according to his great
,glory. — In ver. 1, several would understand by the sanctuary
the heavenly one. But ^y\p is never used of that ; the refer
ence to the earthly place of honouring cannot, for the sake of
what follows, be dispensed with, and the connection of heaven
with earth in the call to praise God, is found also in Ps. cxlviii,
the subject of which is here again briefly resumed. In his
mighty, comp. Ps. lxviii. 34, stronghold, where the hosts of
heaven, the angels, and sun, moon, and stars, praise him.
Ver. 3-6. — Ver. 3. Praise him with sound of trumpets, praise
Mm with harp and psaltery. Ver. 4. Praise him with timbrel
and dance, praise him with stringed instruments and pipes.
Ver. 5. Praise Mm with loud cymbals, praise him with cymbals
of jubilee. Ver. 6. Let every thing ihat has breath praise the
Lord. Halleluiah. — In ver. 4, the pipe, yx\y, as a wind in
strument, forms a contrast to the stringed instruments. There
is no trace elsewhere to be found of the pipe being used in
the public worship of God; and the only instruments in use
for blowing upon were the trumpets, comp. Introd. to Ps. v.
Beyond doubt, the pipe, which otherwise did not belong to the
temple-service, was brought into requisition here, only because
1 These points were noticed by Amyrald as remarkable and significant. The
Big. of the number ten he rightly determines thus : '' That nothing might be awant-
ing to the perfect celebration of God's glory :— the tenth number denotes, accord
ing to the use of scripture, complete fulness of anything."

55*6 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
the feast had at the same time the character of a popular re
joicing. In like manner also timbrels and dances. The tim
brels were mentioned also in Ps. lxviii. 25, and in 2 Sam vi. 5,
where we find a similar enumeration of the musical instruments:
" David and the whole house of Israel played there before the
Lord." As here also, the extraordinary was brought into play,
and it was, besides, difficult to make out the number ten, we
may the rather expect, that the usual instruments would he
reckoned up ; and we thus, from our Psalm, arrive at the result,
that the sacred music was extremely simple; and the readiness
of many expositors to find in every dark word of the super
scriptions a new musical instrument, is very ill applied. — In ver.
5, cymbals of the hearing are audible, high-sounding cymbals. As ¦
the first member marks the sound, so the second marks the joy
ful character of the tone. This was the peculiar character of
the cymbals, which were used only at festivals of a joyful kind,
comp. 2 Sam. vi. 5, Ezra iii. JO. Neh. xii. 27. r*W*in> jubilee,
comp. Ps. xxvii. 6, Ixxxix. 15, Numb, xxiii. 21. nfttyi, breath,
ver. 6, denotes very often that which has breath' — here, in con
trast to the dead instruments, comp. Gen. xiv. 21. At the
sacred feasts there was not merely playing but also singing,
comp. Ps. lxviii. 25, Neh. xii. As the life of the faithful, and
the history of the church, so also the Psalter, with all its cries
from the depths, runs out in a Halleluiah.

APPENDIX.

TEEATISES.

I. ON THE DESIGNATIONS, CONTENTS, AND DIVISIONS OF THE PSALMS.
Theke is no general name in Hebrew for the Psalms. This suffi
ciently appears from the circumstance, that where the whole should be
designated, names are employed, which manifestly belong in strictness
only to a part, and can be made to comprehend the whole only a potiori.
Thus the name ]~|1~)SJ^! prayer-songs, in the closing formula of the
second book, at the end of Ps. lxxii. So also the name commonly
found among the Jews, in the Masoretic superscription to the Psalms,
D^7nn> praise -songs, songs specially appropriated to the praise of
God. It has, indeed, been remarked, with the view of representing
the suitableness of the latter designation, that all the Psalms aim at the
glorification of God. " All the Psalms (says F. L. Stolberg, Abh. iiber
die Ps. in Bd. 2 der. Rei. G.) contain the praise of God ; for even
the deep abasement of the penitent sinner, who, with contrite heart and
confiding love, flies up to the source of mercy, weeps his praise." Clauss
(Beitr. p. 2) rests on 2 Chron. xxxi. 2, Neh. xii. 8, where the whole
charge of the Levites in regard to singing is described as the giving of
praise. But though it is certainly true, that an element of divine praise
pervades the whole Psalms, as also that in them all there is, if not an
express, at least a concealed, " Lord, have mercy on me" — though upon
the existence of these elements the application of the two names to the
entire collection proceeds, and would not otherwise have been gener
ally followed ; yet it is not the less to be maintained, that the designa
tion ^"jj-iri or U'b'nr^' as a^so that of fTl7SJn, is one merely
a potiori. In regard to the latter, this was probable even from
analogy. And that the name nbiiri originally, and as distinguished
vol. iii. a

ii DESIGNATIONS, CONTENTS, AND
from n7Sri' *he ProPer prayer-song, designates only such a composition
as has the praise of God for its most prominent and striking character,
is evident from the superscription of Ps. cxlv. But this character by
no means belongs to all the Psalms. The passage, 2 Chron. v. 13,
shows that the: designation is only given a potiori even in those passages
which are quoted by Clauss. But its application was the more natural,
as it is a distinguishing peculiarity of later times to speak of prayer in
the proper sense as a giving of praise to God, so that to praise God and
laud him always was then represented as the chief function of the
Levites. There is, therefore, no designation in Hebrew, which comprehends
the whole, like the Greek -vj/aA/tis, which has been elevated by the
LXX. to the honour of a general title — music on the string, and a song
accompanied by such music — properly, indeed, only the first, ¦fyaXktiv
signifying only to play, not to sing, excepting in the LXX., and those
who took their usage from it. Stringed music is the natural accom
paniment of such poetry as proceeds from an immediate gush of feeling.
It is only to be remarked concerning this designation, that it does not
specifically distinguish the Psalms from worldly lyric poetry ; for ex
ample, from such productions as David's lamentation over Saul and
Jonathan. This defect, however, is of less moment, as we stand here
on holy ground, and the primary object is only to distinguish the col
lection in question from the other sacred writings, in particular from
those which have in common with it the poetical characteristic.
The name 'yfftf is partly too comprehensive, and partly also too nar
row. Originally, it denotes the song in its widest compass, and is used
of such songs as were sung without any musical accompaniment ; comp.
Is. v. 1 ; Canticles i. 1. So also is it found in the superscriptions of
the Psalms in combinations, such as Schir Hammaaloth, pilgrim's song,
and at Ps. xxx., xiv. But, on the other hand, where it is absolutely
employed in the superscriptions (Ps. xlvi., xlviii., lxv., Ixvi., Ixvii.,
lxviii., Ixxv., Ixxvi., lxxxiii., Ixxxvii., lxxxviii., cviii.), and also in the
text of the Psalms, it always denotes the joyful song -of praise, which
alone deserves, in the fullest sense, the name of song, as only in that
does the breast expand itself, and the voice become elevated to the full
pitch. Comp. on Ps.1 xlii. 8, cxxxvii. 3, and, in reference to the appa
rent exceptions in the superscriptions of Ps. lxxxiii., lxxxviii., see the
Introd. to these Psalms. Indeed, -|Tjy, when standing absolutely in the
superscriptions, cannot have the signification of song in general. For,
in that case, it would really have been meaningless, as every one could
see at a glance, that there was here a song, and not a piece of prose.
Especially in a collection of the sacred songs of the nation would the

DIVISIONS OF THE PSALMS iii
exceptions be extremely rare. The name -yip, therefore, expresses,
on the one side, what is common to the Psalms with everything that
is not prose, and on the other, what belongs only to a particular class of
Psalms. The current view regards •yfiyfQ as the general name of the Psalms,
exactly corresponding to -^aX/thf, by which it is rendered in the LXX,
So, still, with a slight modification, Ewald, poet. B. Th. i. p. 25. He
considers *n2^, ?s- lxxvii. 6, as most thoroughly agreeing with 4/aX-
phg. " But it is certain (he says) that T'-fttft indicates a melodious
song, to be sung probably with an instrument, Gr. pzXog, and as stringed
instruments were the most common among the Hebrews, the rendering
of the LXX. is accordingly justified."
But a series of objections immediately present themselves against this
view. 1. If "Yl*QtJ2 were itself equivalent to ^ak^hg, it would not in
the superscriptions be often coupled with JTU^i Ps. iv., vi., Ixvii.,
Ixxvi. One of the two must, in that case, have been quite superfluous;
' and least of all should we look for anything superfluous in the concise
style of the superscriptions. 2. Even where it occurs without such a
combination, the "TiQtTD would, in that view of it, be unnecessary and
superfluous, especially where it occurs absolutely, as in Ps. Ixvi., Ixvii.,
xcii. It might fitly have been used as a designation of the whole, but
not of the particular parts. It would be not less singular, than if in a
church song-book, particular songs should bear the superscription of
church-song. 3. " "YiJ^'j'Q does not occur excepting in the superscrip
tions of certain Psalms. All the Psalms in the collection are not so
designated, nor is the plural Qi^'DTD use<t as a name for the whol e'
'(Clauss). These facts scarcely admit of any explanation, if the word
has the general import of Psalm. The first fact seems to indicate, that
"VYOVOj Just as Q.TOD an<^ V^ti^Qj itself bore a poetical character;
which is also confirmed by the circumstance that 'yfif, so far as it
refers to playing and singing, is only to be met with in poetry. But if
the verb without any addition, signified to sing and play, and the
noun, Psalm, no reason could be discovered for the merely poetical usage.
The two latter facts manifest, that "Yi^tn is n°t a general name for
the Psalms, but designates the characteristic peculiarity of a part of
the whole. 4. Clauss has already noticed the circumstance as signifi
cant, that "TU2t!2 never occurs with 'y'3'*£fl*2 or QJ-Qft ln one super
scription, as also these two other designations never appear in conjunc
tion. The solitary exception in Ps. lxxxviii. is only an apparent one.
For there two superscriptions are connected together, a general one for
Ps. lxxxviii. and Ixxxix., and a special one for Ps. lxxxviii. This can
not be considered a mere accident. The only rational explanation is,

IV DESIGNATIONS, CONTENTS, AND
that the three designations did not properly admit of being combined
together, which might then, for example, have easily been the case, if
"¦fiftT^! as a^so T'S'tyto an(* OrQQ> pointed to the worth and im
portance of the Psalms it is prefixed to, precisely as O^T1^!*! Tty
in the superscription of the Canticles. A twofold designation in this
respect would scarcely have been proper. On the current view no
reason can be given, why T^J^tQ might not as readily occur beside
S\3t£ft2 an<^ On^O' as ""PtZ?> which is commonly found in connec
tion with it. 5. It admits of no satisfactory explanation by the cur
rent view, that -yyf should be used alike of singing and playing. A
sense of this difficulty, as appears, has led to a denial of the fact, as to
its being so used. Thus Meier in his Wurtzelwbrterbuch, p. 213, says:
" Because the song, according to the rule, was accompanied with play
ing on stringed instruments, "yyf sometimes occurs in the sense of
singing with the accompaniment of an instrument, the latter being
connected with y This, however, never means to play upon the harp,
but is a pregnant expression, as often occurs in Hebrew, for singing
accompanied with the harp, or as we say with like brevity, for the harp
to be sung.'' But in disproof of this representation Ps. xcviii. 5 is alone
sufficient, where T)33^ can only signify with the harp, not for it. It
is also opposed by Ps. xxvii. 6, where 'yy\ cannot mean to sing, because
the singing, ~y$y, goes before — comp. Ps. ci. 1, cviii. 2, civ. 33, cv. 2
where in like manner -yy^ is united with ~)V$}. Against this view
is also ***p~Q3 mOt hi -^m- v- 23, NIOT used of music in Dan. iii. 5,
and the Arabic, where the word possesses, besides the signification of
singing, not merely that of playing, but that also of dancing. 6. Fin
ally, the common construction of "yy^ with the accusative — the Lord,
or the name of the Lord, his strength or his glory — cannot but appear
striking. Having thus, by the way, brought into suspicion the view currently
entertained regarding •yyj and TiJ^tQj ^ we examine more closely, we
shall find, that it rests upon no solid foundation, -yy^ has originally
the meaning, to dress, decorate, adorn, and in this sense alone does it
occur in the oldest records, the Pentateuch. The verb itself is used of
the dressing of a vineyard in Lev. xxv. 3, i. The undressed vineyard
is, in ver. 5, called ""p1*^, incomtus. The noun -^f occurs in Deut.
xivv 5, as the name of a beast of the deer species, whose beauty and
loveliness of form particularly attracted the notice of the orientals, comp.
Prov. v. 19, Gen. xlix. 21 (Gesen. s. v. b^ "it is customary with the
orientals to compare graceful females to animals of the deer species,
especially to the doe") — properly, ornament, decoration, for the orna-

DIVISIONS OF THE PSALMS. v
mented, decorated. In the same category is found also the name v^,
1. splendor, decus ; 2 caprea, dorcas, a formce pulchritudine dicta, Ge-
sen. : then the name b^, the stag, the powerful. Ijjy,, the wild goat,
signifies properly the excellent. We may also compare the word i-^f,
the elegant. In Gen. xliii. II, occurs •pan n-fol, the ornament of
the land, for the best productions of it— commonly with a far-fetched
derivation, cantio terras, for fructus celebratissimus. And also the
TTM21 in Ex- xv- 2, comp. Isa. xii. 2, Ps. cxviii. 14, is better explained
by ornament = j-piNsDn> than by song : my strength and ornament is
the Lord.
In later times, -^f still occurs in the same signification. It is used
of the dressing of the vineyard in Isa. v. 6. In Isa. ii. 4, JTi-iftfE)
denotes the pruning-knives by which the vineyards are cut ; JT'n'QtQ'
usually rendered snuffers, from their accompaniments in 1 Kings vii. 50,
2 Kings xii. 14, 2 Chron. iv. 22, but rather instruments that served for
dressing and cleaning. It occurs in Jer. Iii. 18, along with Qiyi, for
the shovels that removed the ashes. Beyond doubt it means " the pans
for the removing of the ashes,'' in Ex. xxvii. 3, there, precisely as in
Jer., coupled with Qijpi, comp. xxxviii. 3. Then the ]-nftT in Isa- x"-
2, Ps. cxviii. 14. The proper name Simri.
Now, in the song of Deborah, in Judg. v. 3, the verb, in its current
signification, was transferred to song and music, pil'n^S "IOTj a,dorn to
the Lord, namely, in song and music, for : sing and play to him with
grace, comp. v^ ^jain in Ps- xxxiii- 3, 1 Sam. xvi. 17.
From the song of Deborah, which we may gather also from other
indications to have been highly esteemed by David, (comp. on Ps. lxviii.),
he borrowed the use of the verb in the same sense, (comp. on Ps. ci. 1),
which was by him formally incorporated with the Psalmodic poetry.
The emphatic expression accorded peculiarly with his lively spirit,
which could not endure to stand at the common measure of singing and
playing. By him also, doubtless, was the noun TTQ-JQ formed, which
is found only with him and those who copied after him.
They said, to adorn to the Lord, the song and the harp, and also to
adorn the Lord, or the name of the Lord, his strength or his honour,
for: to give praise to him or it in graceful speech, and with well-
executed music, comp. Ps. xxx. 12, vii. 17, xxi. 13, Ixvi. 2.
"¦"fifttQj in so far as it denotes graceful song, song that displayed
much art and skill, was well fitted to serve as a distinctive appellation
for the productions of lyric poetry. For this, as the poetry of feeling
and inspiration, soars farther above the prose of common life, and seeks
also for the most part in the language it employs, the rare, the dark, the

VI DESIGNATIONS, CONTENTS, AND
elevated, as will readily be found on a comparison of the prophetic style
with that of the Psalms. Yet TiQtD does no* occur as such a distinc
tive appellation, excepting, perhaps, to some extent in the supercrip-
tion of Ps. lxviii. It always rather denotes the artificial character of
the Psalms, in the superscription of which it stands, in opposition to a
class of lyric poems, in which the composition assumes a more negli
gent and humbler form. But the designation, as well as Qj-'fift and
7"0*?y0> is to be understood positively and not exclusively, as appears
even from this consideration, that "^Td^q is never used along with either
of these other terms, because a double designation of worth, even though
given from a different point of view, would have appeared unsuitable.
Still there are Psalms to which, from their simple and artless character,
it could not be prefixed, such as Ps. xxv., xxxiv., xxxvii., and those
generally in which David lets himself down to persons of lower capaci
ties, and accommodates himself to the higher demands of popularity.
We turn now to a consideration of the contents of the Psalms. That
the collection contains productions of Israelitish lyrics, and that we find
ourselves here throughout on the territory of feeling, is clear as day.
But this, after all, is not to say much. We require a still narrower
limitation. 1. A hasty glance over the collection itself, a superficial
examination of the whole of the writings to which it belongs, shows that
we have not here a collection of all the productions of Israelitish lyric
poetry, that it presents us only with such lyrics as belong to the strictly
religious territory. The Song of David on the death of Saul and Jo
nathan, preserved in 2 Sam. i., does not lie within this territory, and
hence is not of this collection. 2. All the Psalms are songs of Israel,
as David describes his Psalms in 2 Sam. xxiii. 1. This implies the
whole religious community to have been respected in them,. They all
not only bore a religious character, but were also appointed to be used
in the services of the sanctuary, for which nothing can be proper, but
what the individual sings as the organ of the church. The individual
comes here into account only in so far as he presents a general aspect.
One alone must come out more prominently, " the man, he who was
raised on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob," David — in whom the
community was represented as its head, and even in his case the gene
ral must always discover itself behind the particular. The last words of
David, in 2 Sam. xxiii., however, were excluded from the Psalms, not
because they were too personal, but because they bore a prophetical and
not lyrical character, as is plainly indicated bythe prophetical introduc
tion. If we travel through the whole Psalms, we shall find that the
personal occurs in them only in reference to David. Where this meets

DIVISIONS OF THE PSALMS. Vii
us in Psalms not of David's composition, still the person is not to be
regarded as that of the writer, which always retires modestly into the
background, but that of David. So in Ps. xlii., xliii., Ixxxiv., which
were sung by David's bards, as from 7iis soul. The Psalm of Hezekiah,
in Isa. xxxviii., from its personal character, could not be admitted to a
place in the number of the Psalms ; and, in like manner, Jonah's song
of thanksgiving. 3. The collection contains only such songs as the
church was convinced had been composed under the special co-operation
of the Spirit of God. That this, even in the remotest times, was held
to he a necessary condition of such art as was employed in the service
of the sanctuary, appears from Ex. xxxi. 2, 3. Even the founders of
sacred music are regarded by the author of Chronicles, who wrote at the
time the Psalms were collected, and probably had some hand in the
collecting of them, not as mere ordinary musicians ; they are, in his
view, beings full of God, seers — comp. 1 Chron. xxv. 1, where they are
called " the prophets " of the sacred music, and ver. 5, where Heman is
named " the king's seer in the words of God." How much more, then,
the sacred bards themselves ! David describes himself, in 2 Sam.
xxiii. 1, 2, as one who spoke under the impulse of the Spirit of God.
That he disclosed a higher than human wisdom, is intimated by the
Psalmist himself in the beginning of Ps. xlix. Asaph, the composer of
Psalms, is called a seer in 2 Chron. xxix. 30. That David spake in the
Spirit, was a principle alike held by our Lord and by the Pharisees,
Matt. xxii. 41—46. The use which our Lord makes of the Psalms after
the resurrection, Luke xxiv. 44, rests on the supposition, that they, as
well as the Books of Moses, and the writings of the prophets, were com
posed under divine direction. Only on the national conviction of this
can the admission of the Book of Psalms into the canon have proceeded.
For the divine co-operation was, with the collectors, the distinguishing
mark of a canonical book — see Havernick, Einl. i. § 10.
The bearing of the Psalms may be gathered from this view of their
contents. They present no new doctrine. In this respect they rest
upon the Pentateuch. The instruments used by God for the develop
ment of doctrine, were not the Psalmists, but the Prophets. Only with
one of the writers of the Psalms, David, does the prophetical play into
the lyrical, and in his productions we meet with new representations
concerning Messiah and his kingdom, which served to the prophets
themselves as the kernel of new developments. It is still, however, to
be borne in mind, respecting these portions of the Psalms, that David
owed the groundwork of them to the prophets. His Messianic Psalms
throughout rest on 2 Sam. vii., and, if this had not been the case, they
would have belonged to another region than that of Psalmodic poetry.
The peculiar value of the Psalms turns on this, that they give us an

Vlll DESIGNATIONS, CONTENTS, AND
insight into the heart of the Old Testament saints — that they disclose
their feelings to us in the most sacred and hallowed moments of their
life — that they open for us a deep insight into the more hidden wonders
of the true religion. It is certainly not to be overlooked that in one
respect the songs of Christian poets have a great advantage over Psalmo-
dic poetry. In the knowledge of the redemption brought in by Christ,
in the facts of his life, sufferings, and death, they possess much richer
materials. Accordingly, the practice, of the older Eeformed churches
of confining sacred music to the singing only of the Psalms, sprung from
the misapprehension of a Scriptural principle, and was itself a mistake.
But never can the Psalms be supplanted by " the new song" which the
Christian Church has sung and should still sing. Their peculiar dis
tinction is the buoyancy and freshness of feeling, which here first had
its tongue in a manner loosed, and also the very quality which places
them at a disadvantage, their simplicity; for there exists a profound
necessity for the religious spirit falling back from time to time on the
simplest principles of religion. There is also something very consola
tory and elevating in the thought that what brings us down and lifts
us up again, has powerfully affected the souls of God's people centuries
before. We are wonderfully moved when we accompany the sacred
bards from Moses to Nehemiah, and everywhere discover ourselves and
our God. Finally, the Psalms have in this a high distinction above our
church songs, that they form a part of the word of God. But this we
can only indicate here, not enlarge upon.
In regard to the division of the Psalms, the difficulties of a complete
and proper classification are much greater here than in respect to Chris
tian songs. In the latter, the division must always be formed primarily
upon the succession of facts in the life of Christ and the festivals there
with connected. Other kinds stand plainly distinct from these, in that
they exhibit the peculiar doctrines of the gospel, and represent the life
of believers under the New Testament as rising to its full development.
Still one must not despair, as some do, of making out any division of
the Psalms, the less so, as the principles of a very simple one, and such
as is alone suited to the nature of the case, to the embryo character of
the Old Testament, are obvious enough in the Psalms themselves. The
collection falls into three great divisions. 1. Such Psalms as proceeded
from a spirit chiefly moved and actuated by joy, showing itself in lively
admiration of God, or gratitude for his astonishing goodness in bestow
ing gifts on the people generally, or on individuals, declaring the sense
inwardly cherished of his love, or celebrating in glowing terms the ma
jesty, glory, and grace of God. The most descriptive name for this class

DIVISIONS OF THE PSALMS. ix
1S n^pn in tlle superscription of Ps. cxlv. Other designations are
minS for ascription of praise, in Ps. c, and «,>yjy> in the superscrip
tions of an entire series of Psalms. In some Psalms the place of such
an expressive designation is transferred from the superscription to the
beginning of the Psalm itself. Thus: j-iirT'*-'? yy^f, sing praise to the
Lord, in Ps. xcvi; j-pj-j., j-^ 1^03 ^"11. bless my soul the Lord, in
Ps. ciii., in contrast to the ^-fo^^ the prayer-song in Ps. cii.; *i-j>i-?
mrP**?) praise the Lord, in Ps. cv., and often besides. As a substitute,
also, for an express designation is the halleluiah in a number of Psalms
written during the period of the exile and subsequently, 2. Another
great division consists of such Psalms as proceeded from a depressed
and mournful frame of mind, variations of the " Lord have mercy on
us," which alternates with the halleluiah in the lives of the saints. The
technical designation of Psalms of this class is ^i^ig]-) prayer-song;
see on its sig. at Ps. xc, cii. Besides this there are also the designations
¦^tS for bringing to remembrance, i. e., putting God in mind of his
people's necessities, Ps. xxxviii., lxx.; fi^y''?, touching the conflict,
Ps. lxxxviii.; rtntyn ^fr*' destroy not, as an address to God, in Ps.
Ivii. -lix., and Ps. Ixxv. 3. Psalms which proceeded from a more quiet
reflective state of mind, religious-moral, or didactic Psalms; for example,
Ps. i., xv., xxiv., xxxii., xlix., 1, lxxiii. The term ^l^'^Q, instruction,
which is found at the head of thirteen Psalms, is a suitable designation
for all of this class. The prefixing of this term, however, is no proof
of the Psalm being apportioned to this class to the exclusion of the two
others, nor does the want of it indicate that the Psalm is not of this
class. It was chiefly prefixed to such Psalms as had the instructive
design more concealed, so that it might easily have been overlooked.
The Psalms of this class belong for the most part to the time of David.
In the later periods, when the struggle was for the existence or non
existence of the people of God, the Psalmodic poetry almost entirely
spoke the language of lamentation, hope, and thanksgiving. What en
grosses the whole heart, that always resounds in a nation's songs — as
with us the songs which were composed during the thirty years' war
are chiefly songs of trial and conflict — and, as even now, in times of
deep depression, persons would naturally give vent to their soul in songs
of this description, when looking forward to and sighing for times of
refreshing. It is also worthy of remark, that the necessity which at the
first was met by Psalms of a didactic nature was latterly in great mea
sure removed by the didactic poetry of the Proverbs which flourished
in the age of Solomon, and afterwards by the prophets. The didactic
poetry of the Psalms is distinguished from the latter not only by the

X HISTORY OF THE PSALMODIC POETRY.
form but also by the hearty character of the tone, the descending of the
teacher into the soul of the taught — comp., for example, Ps. xlix. 5,
" Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of
my supplanters compasses me about ?" instead of the prophetic Thou. ¦
The prophet speaks as the representative of God, the Psalmist as the
better self of the person to be instructed; or where this is not the case,
as a paternal friend. The didactic poetry of the Psalms is again distin
guished from that of the Proverbs by the overflow of feeling, the gush
ing forth of a moved heart, as opposed to the repose, the objective and
reflective character of the wise sayings, 'in which the poetical was con
nected with no internal necessity, but was only a suitable form, and
hence was not accompanied by song and music.

II. ON THE HISTORY OF THE PSALMODIC POETRY.
The source of a popular lyrical poetry flowed so richly even in the
age of Moses, that an entire collection of such songs then sprung into
existence called the Book of the Wars of the Lord, Numb. xxi. 14, 17,
18, 27, &c. They re-echoed the impression which the Lord's dealings
with his people were fitted to produce, but in a manner as different
from the Psalms as the songs of Kbrner differ from church songs; see
my Beitr. iii. p. 223, ss.
A second collection of this sort is that cited in Jos. x. 13, and 2 Sam.
i. 18, " The Book of Jasher" (the upright). We might conceive this
collection to have been identical with the Book of the Wars of the
Lord, which may not have been closed in the time of Moses, but con
tinued the national song-book for later generations. Nor would the
diversity of the title of itself prove the reverse; comp. upon the various
forms of citing the same book, Keil comm. on B. of Chron., p. 24. But
it is against the supposition now made, that the Book of the Wars of
the Lord Contained songs in celebration of the wonders wrought by the
Lord for his people, while the book of the upright, from its title, and
the two examples given of its productions, contained songs in praise of
distinguished servants of the Lord. The second collection was cer
tainly indebted to the time of the Judges for much of its matter. The
last mention made of it is in the age of David. It appears, that in
this age, the popular lyrical poetry suffered a check in consequence of
the mighty elevation which the poetical talent then received from being
turned into a spiritual direction; although David himself, as his song

HISTORY OF THE PSALMODIC POETRY. xi
on Saul and Jonathan shows, took an active part in the former. This
kind of song was still farther removed from the Psalms, than the songs
of the Book of the Wars of the Lord. It had no religious colouring,
but bore an entirely worldly character. It was distinguished from
similar poetry in profane literature only by its more refined tone of
feeling. An accompaniment to it is found in the specimen given of a
popular song in 1 Sam. xviii. 7, where undoubtedly we have only the kind
of catch-words which formed the burden of the song. It would seem
that such a power had been wielded by David over the minds of the
people by his spiritual songs, that the mere worldly song afterwards sunk
into the lowest region, occupied by the drunkards, comp. Isa. v. 12, Amos
vi. 5, or at most served only for a harmless private gratification, comp.
Ps. lxv. 13, Job xxi. 12, without having anything like a national stand
ing. Solomon's attempt also to introduce the poetry of the world among
the Israelites — comp. 1 Kings iv. 32, " And his songs were a thousand
and five," and v. 13, " And he spake (probably still in his proverbs and
songs) of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon, even unto the
hyssop that springeth out of the wall; and he spake of beasts and of
fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes" — was for the same reason
productive of little result.
Spiritual and especially devotional poetry had its origin among the
Israelites. It is of itself incredible, that a people whose soul was
formed by religion, whose whole existence had grown up in such close
union with faith in their God, if they had poetry at all, should have
abstained from employing it in the service of God. Among the Egyp
tians, whose customs the Israelites followed, music had obtained pre
dominantly a religious use (Rossellini Mon. ii. 3, p. 78, Wilkinson's
Manners and Customs of Egypt, ii., p. 316). At the feast also of the
golden calf there were singing and music, Ex. xxxii. 18. The high place,
which was attained by poetry in the divine service under David, can
scarcely be accounted for without an earlier foundation of some sort
having been laid. It seems to be implied in 1 Chron. xv. 16, that David
found a faculty of song and music already in existence among the
Levites. But we have several remnants of sacred lyric poetry, and in
particular of that which was adapted for divine worship, from the times
before David Moses" Song, indeed, and his blessing on the tribes of
Israel, are not of the sort now under consideration; for these possess
not a lyrical but a prophetical character. The priestly benediction,
however, in Numb. vi. 22-26, deserves a place here, for it is re-echoed
in various ways in the Psalms. So also the words which Moses, accord
ing to Numb. x. 35, 36, uttered when the ark of the covenant began
to move and again rested; but more particularly the song of the chil-

XU HISTORY OF THE PSALMODIC POETRY.
dren of Israel after the passage through the Red Sea, Ex. xv., though
it was too closely connected with the occasion that gave rise to it, to be
permanently used in the divine service, and so has its proper place in
the history, and not in the national song-book. Next to these, we have
Deborah's Song in Judg. v., to which the last remark also applies; but
its near relation to the Psalms is evident alone from the fact, that David
has almost literally adopted some of its passages. Then, finally, the
Song of Hannah in 1 Sam. ii. contains a proof of the early cultivation
of religious poetry, and in particular of such as was adapted for public
worship. This moves far more nearly along the beaten path than either
the song at the Red Sea, or the Song of Deborah. It further contains
much, that though originally referring to the national relations, is here
transferred to the personal — passages, which have given occasion to
modern criticism, in opposition to the veritable character of the books
of Samuel, entirely to reject the Song of Hannah. Everything that at
first sight wears a strange aspect, admits of an easy explanation, if we
conceive the Song of Hannah to have been an echo of the songs to
which she had just been listening in the tabernacle.
Yet still the whole period that preceded David furnishes no materials
for the collection of Psalms, excepting the one composed by Moses,
Ps. xc. Though devotional poetry existed in the time of the Judges
it bore a sporadic character. What is said in 1 Sam. iii. 1, in reference
to prophecy, " And the Word of God was precious in those days, pro
phecy was not spread abroad," might be said also of it. And its com
paratively not very numerous productions still failed to raise to the full
height of the Israelitish sacred song, so that latterly, when this height
was reached, they fell into neglect, much as the church songs of the
evangelical church almost entirely banished the productions of the pre
ceding centuries. But that they contributed their share to the accom
plishment of this end, we cannot doubt, from the relation in which
we find David standing both to the Song of Deborah and to that of
Hannah. The proper efflorescence of the Psalmodic poetry depended on the
meeting of a threefold condition. The first grand pre-requisite lay in
a national religious awakening. Then this kind of poetry, precisely as
the church song with us, had a thoroughly public character;* the Psalmist
* We may say of the Psalms what Bode1 (Gesch. der. Hellen. Dichkunst 2 s. 8),
has said of the Doric Lyrical poetry: " One of its characteristic traits was its pre
dominantly public character and its relation to the State. The stream of Doric
national lyrics could, therefore, be as little directed upon individual acting or indi
vidual emotions, as it could enjoy itself in the representation of merely personal
relations, tendencies, or passions. The matter of these lyrics must have been of

HISTORY OF THE PSALMODIC POETRY. Xlii
appeared as the interpreter of the sentiments of the community. When
these were cold, dead, and indifferent, the individual, however highly
gifted, could perform nothing rightly. But if the community had first
become alive, then it was of importance for it farther that its Lord
should raise up for it a man, who, being endowed with an especial mea
sure of his Spirit, and along therewith a creative poetical genius, mightgive
noblest utterance to the emotions of the community; so that, what in one
respect was only a representation of what already existed, might in an
other serve as the means of preserving and quickening the religious spirit.
Now, the foundation for the prosperity of the Psalmodic poetry was
laid by Samuel, in the religious revival that was brought about by him.
Of great service in this respect were the schools of the prophets, which
were instituted by him. How they became the floor and the centre of
the spiritual life for Israel, appears from 1 Sam. x. 5, ss., where Samuel
sends Saul to the sons of the prophets, that his cold heart might be
kindled by the flame of their inspiration. The overpowering influence
these exercised is manifest from what is related to have taken place here
and in 1 Sam. xix. 20, &c. But these institutions stood apparently in
a still closer connection with the flourishing of the sacred lyrics. That
the prophesyings in them were very nearly allied to the sacred lyrics, —
as of such an intercommunion between the two we have an older example
in the predictions of Balaam, and a later in the songs of thanksgiving,
which Isaiah has interwoven with his prophecies, — discovers itself in the
circumstance, that they prophesied with harps, pipes, and stringed in
struments, which was not at all customary with the prophets. It is a
proof also of their partly lyrical character, that those who went within
the magical circle, themselves began to prophesy. This could scarcely
have been the case, if their effusions had been regular prophecies.
The two other conditions were realized by the raising up of David.
The connection which he held with the schools of the prophets, is mani
fest from 1 Sam. xix. 19 ss. There can be no doubt that he owed to
his intercourse with Samuel, and his schools of the prophets, if not the
first awakening, at least the further development of his religious life. It
is not to be understood from 1 Sam. xvi. 6 ss., that Samuel was still
unacquainted with David, when he came to anoint him. He probably
had before this the human conviction, that he was the man after God's
own heart. But he, leaves that here entirely out of view, in order more
emphatically to convey the impression, that it was not that which de-
such a kind, as that, while it was derived from particular circumstances or events,
it still admitted of these being treated in so general a way as to awaken the in
terest of the entire community, and especially stood in a close relation to the reli
gious notions of the Dorians."

XIV HISTORY OF THE PSALMODIC POETRY.
cided the matter, but the express and authoritative command of God.
How David became endowed with the Spirit of God, and thus received
his higher consecration to be the singer of the songs of Israel, without
which no poetical gift could have been of any moment, is related in 1 Sam.
xvi. 13: "And Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the
midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David
from that day forward;" comp. v. 14: "And the Spirit of the Lord
departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him;"
from which it is clear, that the Spirit of the Lord is not, with several, to
bs regarded as the kind of principle of the kingly gifts. David was
already in the possession of this Spirit when he was called to Saul, and
the power to counteract the operation of the evil spirit in Saul without
doubt proceeded from the good spirit that dwelt in him. As a pious
singer, he is expressly recommended to Saul in v. 18, a passage which
shows, that he did not employ himself about common music. But it
was the cross which first brought David's gift into full development; his
first Psalms were composed during the time of the persecution from Saul;
and the old saying, " Where would have been David's Psalms, if he had
not been persecuted?" has its foundation in truth. A second great
stage was David's ascension to the throne, and the care which thence
devolved upon him respecting the sanctuary, to have the courts of which
at all times filled with the voice of prayer and praise, he took for one of
the great objects of his life.
That the Psalmodic poetry should at once have struck its roots so
deeply among the people, in the times of David, was owing partly to the
distinguished gifts and the high position of the father of this poetry,
and lastly to the important place which he from the first assigned it in
the service of God. David instituted for the public performance of -the
Psalms a sacred chorus of singers, at the head of which he stood him
self, comp. 1 Chron. xxv. 2, 5, 6; then followed the three masters of
song, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun; then their twenty-four sons
namely, four sons of Asaph, six of Jeduthun, fourteen of Heman.
Each of these sons had a class of twelve singers under him, composed
of their relatives. But while these are to be regarded as the proper
artists, v. 7, distinguished again among themselves as to relative perfec
tion and right of precedence, v. 8, they still formed only the kernel and
the elite of the sacred musicians. Of the 38,000 Levites, not fewer
than 4000 were set apart by David for this department of service.
Asaph, with his company of singers, was stationed with the ark of the
covenant on Mount Zion, with the introduction of which the whole of
the arrangements took their beginning, Heman and Jeduthun with the
holy tent at Gibeon, comp. 1 Chron. xvi. 37 ss.

HISTORY OF THE PSALMODIC POETP.Y. XV
It appears from 1 Chron. xvi., xxv., that the most accomplished per
sons, in this department of service, were those who were alike skilled in
song and music; but that this was not universally the case, is clear from
Ps. lxviii. 25, where the singers and players on instruments are distin
guished. For instruments, with the accompaniment of which the Psalms
were sung, the Psalms themselves name only the harp and the cithara,
as those which were to be constantly and regularly used, comp. xxxiii.
2, xlix. 4, lxxi. 22, xcii. 3, cxliv. 9. In Ps. Ivii. 8, harp and psalter
are used as a sort of compound noun, because the two together give the
idea of music. Other instruments are mentioned only in festival and
national songs of praise, as trumpets, at the thanksgiving for Jehosa-
phat's victory, Ps. xlvii. 5, at the paschal feast in Ps. lxxxi. 3, at the
consecration of the city walls, under Nehemiah, in Ps. cl. That the
cymbals did not constitute a general component part of the sacred music,
but only a necessary requisite of a feast of joy, appears from Ps. cl. 5,
" Praise him with loud cymbals, praise him with high-sounding cym
bals." The high-sounding or jubilee-tone is here marked as character
istic of the cymbals. Hence, they could only be used on joyful occa
sions, in connection with the instruments of a cheerful kind, as the
schalmei in Ps. cl. — That the stringed instruments formed the funda
mental ingredient of the sacred music, and that the others were only
accompaniments added in certain circumstances, is also evident from the
ITU'lIDi la ^le superscriptions, Ps. iv., vi., liv., Iv., Ixvii., Ixxvi., comp.
lxi. — The intimations in the historical books further tend to conduct us
to the same result. In 1 Chron. xiii. 8, it is said, in reference to the
bringing in of the ark of the covenant, which bore the character of a
cheerful public festival, " And David and all Israel played before God
with all their might, with songs, and with psalteries, and harps, and with
tymbrels, cymbals, and trumpets." Psalteries and harps are here men
tioned as the general, then follow, as the particular, the instruments of
a loud, shrill, joyful sound; comp. 1 Chron. xv. 16, 19, 28. The cym
bals, with the exception of 1 Chron. xvi. 5, 42, xxv. 1, 6, 2 Chron. xxix.
25, where the discourse is of the sacred music in general, without every
thing there mentioned being understood to be employed in each parti
cular case, are always named in connection only with joyful feasts, such
as the introduction of the ark of the covenant, 2 Sam. vi. 5, the conse
cration of the temple under Solomon, 2 Chron. v. 12, 13, the laying of
the foundation of the new temple in Ezra iii. 10. The " instruments
of the song of the Lord" are, in 1 Chron. xvi. 42, distinguished from the
cymbals. The trumpets were used at the bringing in of the ark, 1
Chron. xv. 24, " And the priests trumpeted with trumpets before the
ark of the Lord," — at the consecration of the temple, 2 Chron. v. 12.

kVl HISTORY OF THE PSALMODIC POETRY.
13, — at the solemn restoration of the worship under Hezekiah, 2 Chron,
xxix. 26, 27; finally, in Ezra iii. 10, Neh. xii. 35. They occur once
besides as an essential part of the sacred music generally, 1 Chron.
xvi. 6. They are always mentioned in connection with other noisy in
struments. In 2 Chron. xxx. 21, it is said of the passover under He
zekiah, that they " praised the Lord with instruments of strength, which
were to Jehovah;" Michaelis: "musical instruments being employed of such
a kind as gave forth a louder sound;" R. Salomo: " with trumpets " —
comp. xxix. 26, 27. Hence the loud and hoarse sound was the charac
teristic. That the trumpets were always blown by the priests (comp. for
example Ezra iii. 10), had its ground in Numb. x. 8, where the blowing
of the trumpets was committed to the priests. The use in the sacred
music entirely agrees with ver. 10, " And in the day of your gladness,
and in your solemn days, and in your new moons, ye shall blow with
the trumpets."
What has now been said regarding the use of trumpets in the sacred
music, plainly disproves the hypothesis of Sommer upon the Selah, Bibl.
Abh. Bd. 1, according to which it must indicate the places at which the
trumpets were to be sounded. It proceeds on the supposition, which we
have shown to be erroneous, that the trumpets regularly accompanied
the sacred song. The hypothesis is besides quite destitute of a histori
cal and grammatical foundation; it has against it the Higgaion connect
ed with Selah in Ps. ix. 16, and also a great number of passages where
the use of the trumpets would be unsuitable, for example, Ps. Iii. 3,
xxiv. 6, lv. 7.
David's great interest in the establishment of the sacred music ia
manifest from this, that by him, or at least under his auspices, altera
tions were made in the musical instruments, perhaps the harp of ten
strings introduced, comp. on Ps. xxxiii. 2, cxliv. 9. This is clearly
established, especially from Am. vi. 5, where the luxurious in Sa
maria are characterized as those " who trifle to the sound of the
harp, like David invent to themselves instruments of song." With this
are to be connected 1 Chron. xxiii. 5, " upon the instruments which I
made to praise," and 2 Chron. vii. 6, Neh. xii. 36, where the discourse
is of musical instruments of David, and if they do not assert the Davidic
origin of the particular instruments, they must be understood to speak
of the entire arrangement of the public devotional music by David —
comp. ver. 24, Ezra iii. 10, 2 Chron. xxix. 25, 26, — which, according to
these last passages, was formed under special direction from above, and
the co-operation of the prophets Gad and Nathan.
To David himself belong 80 Psalms, to his companions, including
Solomon's, 14, (Asaph 5, the sons of Korah 7, Solomon 2). Of

HISTORY OF THE PSALMODIC POETRY. xvii
the remaining 55, three were composed in the time of Jehosha
phat (xlvii., xlviii., lxxxiii.), four in the time of the Assyrian catas
trophe (xlvi., Ixxv., Ixxvi., Ixxxvii.), one at the carrying away of the ten
tribes (lxxxi.), one unknown (Ixxxv.), all the rest, altogether 46, in
the time immediately before, during, and after the Babylonish cap
tivity, namely, five Psalms of Asaph, and the sons of Korah (Ps. lxxvii.,
lxxiv., Ixxix., lxxxviii., Ixxxix.), then Ps. xci.-cl., with the exception of
nineteen belonging to David and Solomon.
It may seem strange at first sight that the long space between David
and the Captivity, furnished so few additions. But on closer investiga
tion it will be found that this could not be otherwise. We have already
remarked that the foundation of the Psalmodic poetry was the religious
awakening of the people, binding them into one whole. But this began
to disappear even in the time of Solomon; inclination to idolatry, internal
divisions, indifference rose more and more to the ascendant. The Chal
daic catastrophe was what first brought a decided change to the better.
The worship of idols was overthrown, and the whole nation returned as
one man to the service of God. During the interval, indeed, there did
occur religious revivals under Jehoshaphat, under Hezekiah, and under
Josiah; these are also fully represented in the Psalter, and to the latter
in particular belonged Ps. lxxvii., xci.-c, comp. on Ps. xciv. But they
were only of short continuance, and on this account they could not tell
very largely on the Psalter. Viewed in the general, it was the purpose
of the middle age to build itself up on that which had been produced
during the great past under David, comp. 2 Chron. xxix. 30.
In the period after the Captivity the Psalmodic poetry does not go
far down. It ceases after the last great occasion of singing a new song
to the Lord, the completion of the city walls under Nehemiah. From
that time matters fell much again into a beaten track, the movement of
souls vanished, men came more and more to look back upon that which
the Spirit of God had spoken and sung by his instruments, in those
times when the breath of inspiration pervaded the whole people. In
the place of God's living organs there was now substituted the teaching
of Scripture. The Psalter-productions, as well as the word of pro
phecy, had run their course, which the later Psalms indeed plainly
indicate; so that nothing farther might be expected in that depart
ment, unless some new historical events of great moment should develop
themselves. Many writers have supposed, that there was a fresh revival of the
Psalmodic poetry in the time of the Maccabees. But this supposi
tion not only has against it the history of the canon, but it is also dis
proved by an investigation into the particular Psalms, which can never,
VOL. m. °

XV111 AUTHORS OF THE PSALMS.
even with probability, be referred to the Maccabean period, and by a
consideration of the construction of the Psalter, which does not admit
of our descending below the time of Nehemiah. Besides, while the
Maccabees were good soldiers, and zealous for the law of their fathers,
they were not men full of the Holy Spirit; not one example of this
sort meets us throughout the whole period. But that the co-operation
of the Spirit of God was considered as a necessary mark of a song, we
have already seen. How deeply they were themselves conscious of the
absence of this Spirit, appears from 1 Mace. iv. 46, xiv. 41, ix. 27.
Elsewhere the Psalmody goes always hand in hand with the prophecies.
But prophecy is expressly renounced in the passages referred to in the
Maccabees. It is also not to be overlooked, that the Maccabean period
was not merely a time of external conflict, but one also of internal dis
cord. Finally, the First Book of the Maccabees is so full in the com
munication of the speeches and prayers of its heroes, that it would be
strange if it never so much as gave a hint of the new-made Psalms,
especially as so many occasions for the purpose presented themselves.
But there is never more than a general mention made of the songs,
with which, at their thanksgiving solemnities, they praised God; comp.
1 Mace. iv. 30, 54, also iv. 24 : " And they sang and extolled the Lord,
for he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever." But there is good
ground for believing, that the cxxxvi. Ps., there quoted, belonged to the
beginning of the new colony, so that the citation serves as a proof, that
people were then accustomed to give utterance to their new feelings in
the old consecrated words. At the lamentation for Judas, the people
availed themselves of the words of David on the death of Jonathan,
1 Mace. ix. 21, comp. 2 Sam. i. 19.

III. THE AUTHORS OF THE PSALMS.
1. Moses is named as the author of Ps. xc.
2. David is the author of 80 Psalms, Ps. i.— xli., Ps. li.-lxxi., Ps. ci.-
cii., Ps. cviii.-cx., cxxii., cxxiv., cxxxi., exxxiii., Ps. cxxxviii.-cxlv. The
variety of circumstances, situations, and modes, is first of all peculiar in
these Psalms of David. The other composers of Psalms only divide
among themselves his riches. He embraces the whole field of sacred
lyrics, of which he was enabled from his rich poetical gift, the varied
events of his life, and the relations of his time, to take a full survey,
and did not need to confine himself to any particular department. There
is also peculiar to David, a singular depth and liveliness of feeling,

AUTHORS OF THE PSALMS. xix
which manifests itself, as well in the utterance of pain, the cry out of
the depths, in which cold temperaments find themselves so little at
home, as in mirth on account of redemption, and more especially in the
rapid transition from the one to the other. David has, beyond doubt,
given the tone to the method so frequently adopted in the Psalms, of
suddenly and immediately interposing a word of divine consolation. It
is a consequence of the very profound and lively nature of his feelings,
that David rises to greater elevation than all the other writers of Psalms,
comp. Ps. xviii., xxix., Lxviii., ex., cxxxix. ; whence arises the greater
difficulty of the Psalms that proceeded from his pen, and a predilection
for rare forms and words. Yet, on the other hand, David had also a
very peculiar faculty in adapting himself to the simple. It is also a
consequence of the depth and freshness of feeling, that, as the consider
ation of the doctrinal matter of the Psalms will show, the Psalms of
David are precisely those in which the greatest amount of instruction
is contained. They are farther peculiarly distinguished by the union of
child-like humility, such as reminds one of the unassuming shepherd
youth, for example, Ps. xxiii., cxxxi., with a heroic faith, the spirit of
fortitude, which, in its God, could spring over walls, and was not afraid
of myriads of people that lay encamped round about him— in which wc
again recognise the man of war, the hero David, the deforcer of the lion
and the conqueror of Goliah ; comp., for example, Ps. iii., xviii., xxxv.,
lx., lxviii. Peculiar, also, is the strength of consciousness regarding the
retributive righteousness of God, which had established itself during the
period of the Sauline persecution, when David found, in this more especi
ally, a shield against despair. Peculiar yet again that, amid the straits
of life, the oppression through Godless enemies comes out so strongly)
with whom David had to maintain so very hard a struggle. Then a
peculiar element was introduced into the Psalmodic poetry of David by
the promise of 2 Sam. vii. Upon the ground of this promise, David
runs out through an entire series of Psalms, in particular, the cycle .Ps.
cxxxviii.-cxlv., into the future of his race, and accompanies it along its
course of suffering, even to its final glorious issue. In regard to form,
David was the first to introduce the alphabetical arrangement — an
arrangement which was farther extended, in accordance with the import
of numbers to the grouping of verses, and the use of the names of God.
To him also belongs the formation of the pairs of Psalms, and the larger
Psalm cycles. The distinguishing character of the Psalmodic poetry of
David would have discovered itself still more strongly, if there had stood
beside him other independent bards; if he had not been so decidedly the
prototype of all others in this territory, so that, in a certain sense,
David may be considered the author of all the Psalms.

X3. AUTHORS OF THE PSALMS.
3. The name of Asaph is connected with altogether twelve Psalms.
Of these five, Ps. 1., lxxiii., Ixxviii., lxxxi., lxxxii., belong to David's
chief musician, see on Ps. 1. The didactic-prophetical character is
common to all these Psalms; see In trod, to Ps. lxxxi. The other seven
belong to later times, and proceeded from the family of singers, which
had Asaph for its founder, — on which see the Introd. to Ps. lxxiv.
Delitzsch, in the Symbolis ad Ps. p. 80, has advanced the hypothesis,
that these Psalms bear the designation FiDnSj n°t because they were
composed by members of the Asaph family, for then it would have
been FpN *0T> <comp. 2 Chron. xx. 14, xxix. 13, Ezra ii. 41, but be
cause the Psalms of Asaph have served as a pattern to them. But the
b before a name in the superscription is either entirely meaningless, or
it must designate the proper author; notwithstanding that this may
already have been determined otherwise, comp. on Ps. Ixxxvi., lxxxviii.
The designation cannot be accounted for on the ground of resemblance
to the Psalms of Asaph. For though, undoubtedly, a certain relation
ship can be traced between all the Psalms which bear the name of
Asaph, comp. Introd. to Ps. Ixxix., yet this is not at all of such a kind
as to have led these Psalms to be ranged under the same name. It
lies so little upon the surface, that we should hardly have suspected it,
if we had not had our attention drawn to it by the resemblance of the
name. What a diversity, for example, exists between Ps. Ixxv. and
Ixxvi., and Ps. 1. and lxxiii. ! That the historical books do not speak
of Asaph, but of the sons of Asaph, proves nothing. It is carefully to
be noted, what is but too often overlooked, that the superscriptions
themselves bear a poetical character. But in poetry nothing is more
common than for the descendants to be ranked under the name of their
common father. And it is still further to be urged, in proof of the
derivation of the Psalms from Asaph, the analogy of the Psalms belong
ing to the other Davidic school of song; that of the sons of Korah. — Of
the later Psalms of Asaph, one, Ps. lxxxiii., refers to Jehoshaphat's war
against the eombined forces of the Edomites, Moabites, Ammonites,
and other nations, — Ps. lxxx. to the carrying away of the ten tribes, —
Ps. Ixxv., Ixxvi., to the Assyrian catastrophe: Ps. lxxvii. was sung in
prospect of the Chaldean invasion, and Ps. lxxiv., Ps. Ixxix., after the
devastation this had occasioned. All the later Psalms of Asaph, ac
cordingly, are connected with a particular historical occasion, in accord
ance with the whole character of the later Psalmodic poetry. On the
other hand, the Psalms ascribed to Asaph of the time of David are not
so much tied to the historical ground; only Ps. Ixxviii. bears respect to
determinate historical relations.
4. The name of the sons of Korah is attached to Ps. xlii.-xlix.,

AUTHORS OF THE PSALMS. XXI
lxxxiv.-kxxix. See the Introd. to Ps. xlii.,. xliii. In the genealogies,
] Chron. vi. 16, ss., the family of Heman, who is named along with
Asaph and Etham as a chief musician to David, is traced back to Korah.
There, too, in ver. 18, the sons of Heman are mentioned along with
himself as having a share in the sacred music. The more minute dis
tribution of the shares is given in 1 Chron. xxv., where the fourteen
sons of Heman, given by name in ver. 4, are reported to have been set
by David as so many leaders in the twenty-four classes of singers, every
one of which consisted of twelve members. According to ver. 7 9 ss.
these classes of singers were formed, not only of the sons of the sons,
but also of the brethren, i.e., of the relatives of the three chief musicians
of David, who had to play the first parts in the songs of the sanctuary.
(Lavater: Those twenty-four sons were masters of song, or precentors,
and each had under them twelve brethren or relatives.) Comp. the
similar case in 1 Chron. xxvi. 8, where, besides the sons, also the sons
of the sons, and their brethren, or relatives, are mentioned. — With the
family of the Korahites, David had appeared at an early period in close
connection. In 1 Chron. xii. 1 ss., the valiant men are mentioned,
who before the death of Saul came to Ziklag, to participate with David
in his troubles, and espouse his cause — first, certain of the tribe of
Benjamin, then, ver. 6, five Korahites, and among those Asarel, who
reappears in chap. xxv. 18, comp. ver. 4, among the sons of Heman.
From the companions of the conflict came latterly companions in the
composition of sacred song. But the band which joined itself to David
was perpetually the same, that of those who were associated in faith
toward the God of Israel. The head of the Korahitic classes of singers,
Heman, was musical, but not, like Asaph, at the same time poetically
gifted, comp. Introd. on Ps. lxxxviii. Probably, in the times of David,
the gift of sacred song was not participated by any of his sons, but by
some one in the circle of brothers or relatives. This explains why, in
the superscriptions of the Psalms, neither Heman is named, nor the
sons of Heman, but the sons of Korah, whence it arose, that in the
later history the distribution of the pieces appeared, not under the
name of the sons of Heman, but under that of the sons of Korah, comp.
2 Chron. xx. 19. — The Psalms of the sons of Korah are, in all, fourteen,
in striking and certainly not accidental agreement with the fourteen
Korahitic classes of singers. Of these seven belong to the times of
David and Solomon: — Ps. xliv., composed on occasion of the invasion
of the Edomites; Ps. xlii., xliii., Ixxxiv., Ixxxvi., at the period of Absa
lom's rebellion; Ps. xlix., without any historical reference, though the
general character of the theme shows it to belong to an early period —
it is a sort of appendage, indeed, to Ps. xxxvii. and lxxiii. of David's

XXII SUPERSCRIPTIONS OF THE PSALMS.
time; Ps. xiv., which belongs to the age of Solomon. The other seven
are of later date: Ps. xlvii., xlviii., belong to the time of Jehoshaphat;
Ps. xlvi. and Ixxxvii. appear, from the lively expression of joy in them,
to have been called forth by the events of Hezekiah's reign; Ps.
lxxxviii. and Ixxxix. belong to the times immediately before the Cap
tivity; Ps. Ixxxv. is undetermined. The Psalms of the sons of Korah,
on the whole, proceed in a manner strikingly parallel to those of Asaph.
— The writers of the Korahitic school, not content with concealing
their own names, and ascribing their productions to the entire school
to which they belonged, go so far in their self-denial as to sing from
the bosom of David (Ps. xlii., xliii., Ixxxiv., and Ixxxvi., which last is also
pervaded with references to the Psalms of David), and to the honour
of Heman and Etham, (in Ps. lxxxviii., Ixxxix) — facts, for which
nothing is to be found analogous in the productions of the other
Psalmists. 5. Solomon is the author of Ps. lxxii., cxxvii.
6. „ „ Ps. xci., c.
7. „ „ Ps. civ. -cvii.
8. „ „ Ps. cxi.-cxix.
9. „ „ the ten nameless Pilgrim-songs, Ps.
cxx., ss.
10. „ „ Ps. cxxxv.-cxxxvii., and cxlvi.
11. „ „ Ps. cxlvii.- cl.
Thus, leaving out Moses, we have ten writers of Psalms, divided into
two groups of five, one before, the other after the Captivity.

IV. THE SUPERSCRIPTIONS OF THE PSALMS.
These refer, first, though very rarely, much more rarely than is com
monly supposed, to the musical accompaniments of the Psalms. Of
this nature, besides the TO2J37) are only the following JT^viJl Ps.
iv-> ryicblf hy> ^teT the virgin-manner, Ps. xlvi., Jf^a"'^ ^y,
vi., J-yirOri b $> Ps- viii., lxxxi., Ixxxiv. All the other expressions
which have sometimes been drawn into the same category, are rather
to be taken as an enigmatical description of the subject. Secondly, the
superscriptions name the authors. Or, thirdly, they indicate the cha
racter of the song, as is the case with n7DH> TOtEMD* 01"OD> "VttN
TV??1Pi> and the very common ¦"¦flQtE, Finally, the subject, P

SUPERSCRIPTIONS OF THE PSALMS. xxiii
xiv., or the occasion, or the destination : for example, song of the
pilgrims. In regard to the existence of the superscriptions and their fulness,
there is a marked difference between the different authors of the
Psalms. They appear in the most regular and extended form in the
Psalms of David. Peculiar to him is (1) ,the announcing of the histori
cal occasion, which is given in thirteen Psalms, and, following the
chronological order as follows : " When Saul sent, and they watched the
house to kill him," Ps. lix.; " On account of the words of Kush, the Ben-
jamite," Ps. vii.; " When Doeg the Edoniite came," Ps. Iii.; " When
he feigned himself mad before Abimelech, and he drove him away and
he departed," Ps. xxxiv.; "When he fled before Saul into the cave,"
Ps. Ivii.; "When the Ziphites came," Ps. liv.; " When the Philistines
found him at Gath," Ps. lvi.; " When he overcame Aram of the two
rivers," Ps. lx.; "When Nathan the Prophet came to him; as he had
come in to Bathsheba," Ps. li.; '•' When he fled before Absalom his son,"
Ps. iii.; "When he was in the wilderness of Judah," Ps. Ixiii.; " A song
for the consecration of the house," Ps. xxx.; finally, Ps. xvii., "When
the Lord had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out
of the hand of Saul," — a superscription which is not entirely of the
same sort as the others, as they are simply historical; they also make
up the number twelve. These superscriptions are not designed to
illustrate the Psalms to which they are prefixed, but to form a memorial
of those events which had gone most deeply to the heart of David.
This is rendered clear by the circumstance, that such superscriptions
are frequently wanting in the Psalms which have a historical bearing,
such as Ps. xxxii., lxi., lxii., lxviii., and again stand at the head of some
which are of a more general character, for ex. Ps. lix., xxxiv. It is
also a confirmation of what we state, that no two notices ever refer to
the same situation, as also the fact, that it is only in the Psalms of
David that the historical occasion is given, which admits of explanation
only on the latter supposition, not on the former. (2.) Peculiar to the
Psalms of David is the enigmatical designation of the subject-matter
and object, which is but rarely to be met with besides, and these obvious
ly as a matter of imitation only in the Psalms of David's singers. (3.)
The n^iftb) to the chief musician, which, besides, is prefixed only to
those of David's singers; and the Selah also occurs only in the same.
This last, according to the reckoning of Delitzsch, occurs 17 times in
the First Book, 30 times in the Second, 20 times in the Third, 4 times
in the Fifth Book, in all 71 times, and not 73 as was stated, after
Gesenius, in vol. i. p. 46.
The superscriptions appear in their regular and extended form in

XXIV SUPERSCRIPTIONS OF THE PSALMS.
the Davidic Psalms of the First and Second Book, and in the serial
Psalms of the two last books, only with this difference, that in the
latter, no historical occasions are given, for this simple reason, that
Psalms of an individual character are less appropriate for having a place
assigned them in the Psalmodic cycles. Ps. cxiii. forms but an ap
parent exception. From the simple: Of David, the superscriptions rise
in the Psalms that are framed as Psalms of David, through various in
termediate stages, comp. Ps. cxli., xl., xlii., up to the extended one of
Ps. cii.: "A'prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed and poureth
out his complaint before the Lord," which in originality is not to be
tompared to any o'f the superscriptions of the Psalms of David's singers.
Precisely the same gradation is to be found also in the Davidic Psalms
of the two first books. The: " To the chief musician," reappears too in
the third division of the Psalms of David, as does also the Selah, while
in the fourth and fifth books neither of the two occurs.
Next to the Psalms of David, as concerns the regularity and fulness
of the superscriptions, stand those of the singers. But there is found
here the wonderful result, that all the peculiar designations used in the
superscriptions of these Psalms, with the solitary exception of: A song
of the beloved, in Ps. xiv. and of the pftiyby b)3 in Ps- xhn-> have
been borrowed from the superscriptions of the Psalms of David. The
singers of David thus designed to indicate their dependance on their
master, out of whose soul they wished even in front to be regarded as
singing in Ps. xlii., xliii., Ixxxiv., Ixxxvi. They pleased themselves with
bending and applying that which had proceeded from him. They bor
rowed from him the n^oS *^s' x^"'' x^'v-> xiy-' xlvi-> xlvii., Ixxv.,
lxxxviii.; and the "ii^^Qj Ps- xhi., xliv., xiv., lxxiv., Ixxviii., lxxx.,
lxxxi., lxxxviii., the Davidic source of which is to be found in Ps. xxxii.
— see Introd. to that Psalm. The title : Upon lilies, in Ps. xiv., lxxx.,
rests upon Ps. lx. and Ixix., which is perfectly obvious, especially in Ps.
lxxx. The phrase: Destroy not, in Ps. Ixxv., is taken from Ps. Ivii. —
lix. " The chief musician upon Jeduthun," in Ps. lxxvii., is from Ps.
lxii. The words: " A testimony of Asaph," in Ps. lxxx., rests upon Ps.
lx.; those: "After the manner of Gath," in Ps. lxxxi., Ixxxiv., are from
Ps. viii.; " A prayer of David," in Ps. Ixxxvi., from Ps. xvii; and " Upon
sickness," in Ps. lxxxviii. from Ps. liii.
In the other Psalms (such as were composed by others than Davicx
and his singers) the superscriptions are either short and incomplete —
in particular they all want the names of the author — as Ps. xcii.: " A
song for the Sabbath ;" Ps. xcviii., " A psalm ;" Ps. c, " A song ;" the
" Song of the pilgrims," in Ps. cxx., ss., — or they are entirely wanting,
Ps. xci., xciii. -xcvii., xcix., civ.-vii., cxi. -xix., cxxxv.-xxxvii., cxlvi.-l.

SUPERSCRIPTIONS OF THE PSALMS. XXV
In recent times, since Vogel in his treatise — Inscriptiones Psalmorum
serius demum additas videri, Halle 67— commenced the assault on the
superscriptions, they have been in great disfavour. It has become
usual to deny, that they were affixed by the authors of the Psalms, nay
even to maintain that they do not rest upon any proper historical tra
dition, but were attached merely on conjecture by persons of later
times. This is one of the many points, in regard to which we can
easily suppose tradition to exert a power, and that, too, quite improper,
unreasonable over those, who boast of being entirely free from its in
fluence, and who disdain to regard it, where it has a just claim to be
heard. The origin of the opposition to the superscriptions, belongs to
a period when rationalism blindly fought against all that was settled
and acknowledged, without carefully inquiring whether rationalism
actually required such a conflict to be maintained. By-and-by the
opposition contracted itself, and became more and more confined to
what rationalism as naturalism could not allow to stand. People had
meanwhile been accustomed to attach so little value to the superscrip
tions of the Psalms, that this return to sober thought has been of small
avail for them. Ewald still says, Poet. B. i. p. 224, " Of all these ap
pended notices there is not one which we can venture to ascribe to the
author himself."
We shall not repeat here, what others, in particular Eichhorn, Einl.
p. 627, has said in favour of the superscriptions, nor what has already
been urged on particular Psalms in proof of the originality of the super
scriptions. We shall at present only endeavour to supplement these
by a few appropriate general remarks. ,
If the superscriptions were added in later times from conjecture, how
is it then to be explained, that they are not found precisely in those
Psalms, in regard to which conjecture might so readily have supplied
an occasion, the non-Davidic Psalms of the fourth and fifth book, while
they very frequently- occur where conjecture is utterly destitute of a
handle? Ewald cannot conceal from himself the embarrassment in
which he would be placed by the question, " By what marks a collector
of later times attributed the one Psalm to David himself, the other to
some one or other of his singers?" And again he says, " Why this song
has been ascribed to the Korahites, that to Asaph or Etham, I know
not!" The rejection of the superscriptions belongs to a period when little
respect generally was had to the text of the Old Testament. But it is
unreasonable to endeavour still to perpetuate the arbitrariness, which
arose in a time of general scepticism, now that this has come to be
abandoned— unreasonable to withhold from the superscriptions of the

XXVI SUPERSCRIPTIONS OF THE PSALMS.
Psalms that regard which is willingly accorded to the superscriptions of
the Prophets.
The facts as already represented in connection with the superscrip
tions demands their originality. The similarity in the superscriptions
of all the Psalms ascribed to David, cannot be explained if they were
appended by this person or that after his own fancy ; it can be so, only
on'the supposition of David himself being the author. By no other sup
position, also, than the originality of the superscriptions, can a satisfac
tory explanation be given of the fact, that the superscriptions stand in
the most regular and complete form before the Psalms of David, then
in those of the singers of David, while in the remaining Psalms they
occur more sparingly, and in a humbler style. David was the originator
of the superscriptions. In the consciousness he possessed of his per
sonal position, as " the man, who has been raised on high, lovely in the
songs of Israel," he had a determinate occasion to prefix his name to
his songs, which only as Psalms of David were entirely to the church
that which they actually were, and which in part had a quite personal
origin — for ex., Ps. cxxxviii., xiv. It was natural for him to erect a
memorial of the leading events of his life, by mentioning these in the
superscriptions of the Psalms, of which they furnished the occasion.
The enigmatical devices, which are but the natural productions of his
thoroughly poetical mind, were by much too poetical, spirited, and pro
found, for any later collector. It is very natural that David should
connect himself with those who sang under "his directing hand" (1
Chron. xxv. 2, and on the 1*7*1 by there, see in Introd. to Ps. cxviii.)
Their names could the less be wanting, as the mention of these served
to bring out their relation to David, and reflected honour upon him.
As thus the designating superscriptions properly belong to David, it is
very natural that we should not find them in the case of those writers
of Psalms, who were not led, like the singers of David, through their
position to point immediately to him, or to connect themselves with
him. We ought to consider the extended superscriptions, in particular
the designation of the authors, as a privilege of David and those be
longing to him. It is only on the supposition of the originality of the
superscriptions, that we can also explain the fact of everything peculiar,
with some unimportant exceptions, in the superscriptions of the Psalms
of David's singers being borrowed from David's own. With the singers
themselves such a borrowing was quite natural, and indicative of their
intimate relation to David. But for a collector of later times the very
idea was too fine, and altogether the way and manner of the borrowing
and the application was too profound and original. These superscrip-

SUPERSCRIPTIONS OF THE PSALMS. XXvii
tions could be regarded as the productions of hands accidentally em
ployed, only so long as their close relation to the Davidic was not pro
perly perceived and duly considered. Nor is the correspondence of the
Selah with the superscriptions to be overlooked. The fact that this
occurs only in the Psalms which are ascribed to David and his singers,
is easily explained on the supposition of the originality of the super
scriptions. The Selah belongs, both as to the word and the meaning
expressed by it, originally to David, and from him passed to his singers.
The other Psalmists did not consider themselves justified in appropri
ating this distinctive mark of royalty. But on the contrary supposition,
that the superscriptions were added conjecturally by later hands, this
riddle is just as incapable of explanation as the other, why the halleluiah
is not found in any of the Psalms which bear the name of David or his
singers. In like manner, if the superscriptions have proceeded from
collectors of later times, how can it , be explained that the TO2D7'
to the chief musician, stands merely in the superscriptions of such
Psalms as are ascribed to David and his singers? That the word could
only be regarded as coming from the author himself, has been already
proved in the Introduction to Ps. iv.
A series of reasons for the originality of the superscriptions is pre
sented by the Books of Samuel, which were composed in the earlier
part of the king-period, and, at all events, before the Babylonish cap
tivity. Comp. 1 Sam. xxvii. 6, where the author mentions that Ziklag
had belonged to the kings of Judah till his day.
That David was in the habit of prefixing superscriptions appears in
oontestably from his last words, 2 Sam. xxiii. 1.
The introduction to the song of David upon the death of Saul and
Jonathan, 2 Sam. i., possesses a character nearly allied to the historical
superscriptions of the Psalms — for example, to that of Ps. xviii. The
word "to teach" there used also exactly agrees with Ps. lx. ; and the
I-1WW3, bow, as an emblematical designation of the subject, corresponds
to the enigmatical devices in the superscriptions of many of the Davidic
Psalms. The author probably, by an easy variation, changed the super
scription into an introduction — a supposition that is rendered the more
credible from his having done something quite similar in 2 Sam. xxii.,
as compared with Ps. xviii. : the " Of David, who spake," being changed
into "And David spake," in order to make the song accord with the
historical connection. The substitution of " And he spake, that one
teach the children of Israel the bow," instead of " the bow-song, the
song upon Jonathan, the man excellent in the use of the bow" (comp.
ver. 22), is certainly one that did not come from the hand of the author

XXVill SUPERSCRIPTIONS OF THE PSALMS.
of the Books of Samuel. It bears entirely the character of the super
scriptions of David, in which the poetical spirit breaks out even in the
introduction to the song, and not first in the song itself.
If all the poetical pieces of David which are preserved in the Books
of Samuel, are provided with original superscriptions, the conclusion is
not far to seek, that David generally wrote nothing without a super
scription. There occur, farther, in the Books of Samuel, some references to par
ticular superscriptions of the Psalms of David. We have already noticed
the reference to the superscription of Ps. xviii. A reference to that of '
Ps. xxxiv. is to be found in 1 Sam. xxi. 14, comp. Introd. to that Psalm.
According to these analogies we would also explain the literal agree
ment between 1 Sam. xxiii. 19, and the superscription of Ps. liv., on the
supposition that the author of the Books of Samuel had respect to the
superscription. So also 1 Sam. xix. 11 in relation to Ps. lix.
The circumstance of the Song of Hezekiah in Isaiah xxxviii. 9 pos
sessing a superscription, which manifestly formed an original part of it
— " writing of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, when he was sick and re
covered from his sickness," this alone constitutes a strong case against
those who deny the originality of the superscriptions. The closer exa
mination, however, of the construction of this superscription yields still
more important results. It is evidently formed after those of the Psalms
of David. Let the superscriptions especially be compared of Ps. lvi. —
" Of David, a secret, when the Philistines found him in Gath;" Ps. Ivii.
" Of David, a secret, when he fled before Saul in the cave ;" Ps. lix.
" Of David, a secret, when Saul sent." The b is common in both cases
before the name of the author — although here it was not necessary, as
the stat. const, would have served well enough to indicate with ^ the
occasioning circumstance. But of quite peculiar import is the ^J-OO
here, in relation to the Qj-QO there. The somewhat bald expression
^]-\5*q, writing, points to some original passage to which it alludes, and
from such allusion it is to derive its meaning and become pregnant. It
is manifestly a variation of Qj^3Q in the superscriptions of the Psalms
of David, as in the Song itself the "y?fl of the Psalms is changed into
blT\- Hezekiah, with whom it was very natural to borrow from his
great progenitor, as he also restored his Psalms to their proper place in
the public worship of God, 2 Chron. xxix. 30, did not venture to desig
nate his song after his prototype, a ?.TOO, a secret, or song of deep
import. He weakened the QfQO int° ^rOQ= humbly to indicate the
distance at which he stood from David. Jn fitting accordance with this
reference to the superscriptions of the Psalms of David proceed the

SUPERSCRIPTIONS OF THE PSALMS. XXIX
references to the same Psalms and those of David's singers in the song
itself. The very beginning, " I spake, in the midst of my days must I
wander through the gates of hell," rests upon Ps. cii. 24, " I said, O my
God, take me not away in the half of my days." The first half of ver.
11 rests upon Ps. xxvii. 13. The ^-fj-j in the second member is a vari
ation of *-nn in P*3- xhx. 1. comp. on Ps. xvii. 14. Ver. 18 rests upoi.
Ps. vi. 5, xxx. 9. The beginning of ver. 20 is from Ps. lxx. 1.
The fact that all these references are made to the Psalms, which, ac
cording to the superscriptions, belong to David and his singers, and
which, therefore, already existed in the time of Hezekiah, as they also
formed a model to which he would naturally look, is likewise a proof of
the superscriptions. The caprice of later times would certainly not
have managed it so. We find precisely the same thing in the Song of
Jonas, which belongs to the first period of written prophecy; comp. on
ver. 4 Ps. xlii. 7; on ver. 5 Ps. xxxi. 22; on ver. 6 Ps. xviii. 4; Ixix. 1,
2; on ver. 8 Ps. xviii. 6; on ver. 9 Ps. xxxi. 6.
A very strong proof in favour of the originality of the superscriptions
is afforded by the beginning and close of the third chapter of Habakkuk.
The piping n7Qn Is in imitation of the TV"f^ THED °t Ps. xvii. The
expression: upon errings, carries an allusion to the '-'erring" in the
superscription of Psalm vii. The ijn2^32i TO207 to the chief musician
upon my stringed instrument, of the close allude3, to the superscription
of Ps. iv. and vi. We have the less reason to doubt an imitation of
David, as besides the n^2ft7> the Selah is also borrowed from him which
never occurs elsewhere, excepting in the Psalms of David himself and
those of " his singers." Add, that the song of Habakkuk itself contains
a number of undeniable references to the Psalms, quite parallel to those
in the superscription. The most distinct is the quotation from Ps.
lxxvii.; comp. on that Ps. The two last verses are mere echoes of the
Davidic Psalms, especially of Ps. xviii., from which ver. 19 is wholly
taken, with which stands also in immediate connection the conclusion
formed after the superscriptions of David. Ver. 14 rests upon Ps. x.
8-10. Finally, in this imitation of the superscriptions of the Psalms we
have the key to this portion of the writings of Habakkuk. Such bor
rowings evidently indicate that here prophecy goes hand in hand with
the sacred lyric, and was designed to raise such emotions as the sacred
lyric was employed to awaken among the community. That the song
was actually sung in the sanctuary is manifestly but a fiction. Behind
the lyrical character, which it carries on its front, the prophetical lies
concealed; and it stands in such close connection with the foregoing
prediction that it cannot be separated from that. Here, too, has an un-
poetical realism mistaken the proper exposition.

XXX SUPERSCRIPTIONS OF THE PSALMS.
Having now set forth our reasons for the originality of the super
scriptions, we shall farther cast a glance at the reasons which hitherto
have been and still are urged against them.
"If thus," says Ewald, Poet. B. i., p. 214, "all the songs, whose
authors are designated, must be derived only from David and his singers,
how does it then happen, that the Psalter names no other writers from
the many other ages and centuries? — How are we to explain it, that
the Psalter has announced no other poets in the superscriptions?"
But would we gain the missing names, if we should set aside those given
in the superscriptions? That the problem is not to be solved at the
expense of the superscriptions, is clear from the circumstance which
stands side by side with the other, that in the historical books no other
composers of sacred song have been named, excepting David and his
singers. But both problems admit of an easy explanation on the ground,
that the royal Psalmist with his train was so indisputably regarded in
Israel as the master of sacred song, that beside his name and that of
his singers, who were linked to him, and his successor upon the throne,
no other name could appear, nor would any one venture to mention one.
The want of names at the non-Davidic Psalms goes hand in hand with
other facts — as, that none of these Psalms possess an individual and per
sonal character, that in all of them the Psalmist appears only as the
organ of the community, that the later groups of Psalms for the most
part form but a kind of setting to the precious stone of the Davidic
Psalms, that they often borrow from these in particular points, and refer
back to them, that the entire mass of the later poetry proclaims itself
as an echo of that of David. Even in regard to the productions of the
singers of David, the individual authors, with the exception of Asaph,
did not venture out of their concealment; and he is precisely the one
individual whom the history also mentions beside David; see Introd.
to Ps. 1. and lxxiv. Behind his name, again, the timid and unpretend
ing members of his singing families of later times, who composed
Psalms, concealed themselves.
" The LXX. omit the name of David in the group, Ps. cxx.-xxxiv.
manifestly because their Hebrew copy had not that appendage." Ewald
p. 219. So also V. Lengerke in his compilation upon the Psalms.
But allegations of this sort proceed upon an entire misapprehension as
to the nature of the Alexandrian version, and can now no longer be re
cognised as just. With perfect right has the circumstance been urged
for the antiquity of the superscriptions, that they already lay in great
part beyond the comprehension of the LXX. How can it be imagined,
then, that some of them were introduced into the text after their time?
But a proof is here to be found for the originality of the superscriptions

FORMAL ARRANGEMENT OF THE PSALMS. XXX)
ia the fact, that the arrangement of the pilgrim-songs takes for granted
the composition by David of the Psalms which bear his name; see In
trod. to Ps. cxx.-xxxiv.
" There is so great a dissimilarity among many of those songs, that
they cannot possibly be all ascribed to the same writer." But as soon
as we abandon the wrong supposition, that all the Psalms bearing the
name of Asaph are to be ascribed to the same individual, then all
that can be alleged in this respect limits itself to the Psalms which
bear the name of David. But David would never have had such a call,
nor attained to such glory upon this territory, if his poetical gift had not
been a comprehensive one — if it had been only of a limited description,
if he had not made his voice roam at large. What enabled him to rise
so singularly high above the other sacred bards, also gave him the capa
city of sinking among the lowest. With all his variety a thread of unity
still runs through all his Psalms, as has already been sufficiently pointed
out in the exposition.1
But this always remains the chief ground of the opponents of the
superscriptions — that the contents of the Psalms in a great many cases
prove the incorrectness of the superscriptions. But confidently as their
criticism comes out on this point, it may still be permitted us to indulge
at least very serious doubts regarding its solidity, until they succeed in
coming to an agreement, not merely on the negative, but also on the
positive side of the matter. So long as those who rank as our oppo
nents, such as Ewald and Hitzig, differ so immensely from each other
regarding the proper age of the several pieces, the thought will be very
natural that the opposition to the superscriptions is to be sought, not
in any flaw in them, but in the arbitrariness of the critics. Our expo
sition has endeavoured to show, that in no one Psalm does the matter
stand at variance with the superscription; but, on the contrary, that the
two are always in perfect harmony with each other.

V. THE FORMAL ARRANGEMENT OF THE PSALMS.
The Psalms are destitute of the most important means, through which
poetry in other countries acquires for itself the character of that artificial
structure, which is so closely connected with its nature, — the employ-
1 What Ewald, in his Prophets i., p. 73, has said of Isaiah, may be applied an
alogously to David: "The chief point here is, that we cannot ascribe to Isaiah, as
to tho other prophets, a peculiar idiosyncrasy, and some favourite tinge pervading

XXXli FORMAL ARRANGEMENT OF THE PSALMS.
ment of metres and rhymes; to which last there are only some feeble
and merely accidental approaches. As a substitute for this want, the
parallelism of the numbers of the verse has primarily been employed,
corresponding to the necessity of an alternate rise and fall. On this
we' need not enter into any investigation, as it has already been suffi
ciently elucidated. But that the necessity has been felt for a formal
arrangement also beyond the narrow bounds of a single verse, is perfectly
obvious from the existence of a number of alphabetical Psalms. Pro
ceeding from this fact Koster sought with considerable power to estab
lish the existence of a strophical arrangement also in the other Psalms.
But he did not perceive the true principle of this. The arrangement
— so the author believes he has proved in his commentary — is formed
in the non-alphabetical Psalms with few, and these even doubtful excep
tions, by means of the numbers, which were regarded by the Israelites as
having a kind of sacred and important meaning — viz., 3, 4, 7, 10, 12;
see on the origin of such numbers the author's work on Balaam, p. 70
ss. These numbers often also determine, besides the groups of verses,
the position of the names of God.
A very simple arrangement by means of numbers exists even in the
song composed by Moses, Ps. xc. But the principle on which it pro
ceeds was carried out by David, and improved to the development of
its inexhaustible variety. The later writers trode in his footsteps,
though without any slavish imitation. Even the last produce some new
forms. One can have the less difficulty in recognising this principle of num
bers, as of all others it has the closest relation to the alphabetical arrange
ment. Then also, as the meaning of certain numbers undoubtedly plays
in other respects a very important part in ancient Israel, this arrange
ment may be regarded as the peculiarly Israelitish one. Admitting
that what Bahr in his Symbolik of the Mosaic religion, and what Ber-
theau still more at large has since remarked, in his seven groups of Mo
saic laws, regarding the import of numbers in the Pentateuch, stands
much in need still of criticism and careful consideration — admitting also
that the application of this principle as made by Bertheau, will not hold
to the full; there will after all be found no inconsiderable part of pre
cious metal to result from the process. Already the fact, that the fun
damental law, the decalogue, has its form determined by a regard to
the whole representation. He is not the pre-eminently lyrical, or the pre-eminently
rhetorical and hortatory prophet; but constantly as the subject requires, he has
ready at command every kind of speech and every variety of mode ; and it is pre
cisely this that here constitutes his greatness, as it is generally one of his most
distinguishing characteristics."

FORMAL ARRANGEMENT OF THE PSALMS. XXXlii
number secures a firm starting-point for all future investigations. Kurtz
in his Einheit der Genesis, p. Ixvii. ss., has noticed, that Genesis con
sists of ten groups or books of narratives. David paid regard to the
principle of numbers, even in his public arrangements. Thus he divided,
according to 1 Chron. xxv., the singers into twenty- four classes, each one
of twelve members, and the twenty-four was divided by ten and fourteen.
In the account given of Job's children and flocks, in ch. i., the numbers
three and seven, and the number ten, arising from the combination of
these, and of the double five, are employed, and both these numbers and
the number twelve play an important part in the arrangement of the
book, which it would take us too long to point out at length here. In
the first chapter of Isaiah the representation made of the sinful revolt of
the people is completed in the number seven, divided into three and four
— four designations for the idea of sinfulness, and three for that of re
volt. So also do the designations applied in ver. 6 to the miserable con
dition of the people, which their apostacy entailed upon them, make up
the number seven, and the seven is here again divided into three and
four. How in that prophet the grouping also is regulated by a regard
to numbers, we shall show by the example at least of one section. In
ch. Iii. 13-ch. liii., the two concluding verses coincide with the introduc
tion, ch. Iii. 13-15, in the number five, the signature of the half, the in
complete. The main part, liii. 1-10, completes itself in the number ten.
This again is divided into seven, which comprises the humiliation and
suffering, and three, which refers to the glorification of the servant of
God. The seven is divided by three and four. In the three the suffer
ing of the servant of God is represented in itself, in the four its cause,
its vicarious nature. In the gospel of Matthew the genealogy is regu
lated by a respect to numbers — the blessings in the sermon on the
mount — the Lord's prayer — the parables in ch. xiii. That the struc
ture of the Apocalypse is entirely determined by them, has at last been
established by Ziillig, Th. i. p. 115 ss.
This principle of number has been charged with super-refinement,
and more than cabalistical foolery. But when it is understood, that
the numbers were used for the most part without respect to the original
ground of their sacredness and significance, and merely in a formal
point of view, this objection loses all its force. Any kind of measured
discourse, not usual among ourselves, is exceedingly apt to assume the
appearance of over- refinement. A people unacquainted with rhyme
would find great difficulty in regarding that as a legitimate form of
measured discourse.
Then the further objection has been passed against the theory of
number (comp. Sommer, Bibl. Abh. i. s. 148), that it rests upon the
VOL. III. 0

XXXIV FORMAL ARRANGEMENT OF THE PSALMS.
false ground of the correctness of our present division into verses. But
this division, which in other respects also has strong reasons on its side
(comp. Ewald. Poet. B. i. s. 90), is on this account placed beyond doubt,
that the arrangement everywhere comes clearly and distinctly out. It
does not rest on the discernment of later editors of the text, but upon
the stability of tradition, to which we also owe the correctness of our
vowel punctuation.
Besides the arrangement from numbers, there is found in the Psalms
also another from the alphabet. But that this is secondary in relation
to the former, appears from this, that no traces exist of it before the
time of David, and that the greater part of the Psalms are arranged on
the principle of number, without respect to the alphabet; while in the
alphabetical Psalms according to the rule, in the older ones without any
exception, there can be pointed out at the same time a respect to the
import of numbers. A doubt can scarcely be entertained that David is
the author of this arrangement. For it is first employed by, him, and
speaking comparatively, with great frequency; so that the later instances
may on this account alone be regarded as bearing an imitative charac
ter : (if this method of arrangement had possessed a national root, it
would have been more commonly employed in later times); and it is a
further proof of the same, that it occurs with David in the simplest and
the most natural forms.
We have four Psalms of David in which the commencement of the
verses is marked by the letters of the alphabet in their regular order,
Ps. xxv., xxxiv., xxxvii., cxlv., and the three number of whose verses
corresponds to the number of letters in the alphabet, Ps. xxxiii., xxxviii.,
ciii. This last can the less be regarded as accidental, since also in the
Lamentations, ch. v. is alphabetical only as to the number of verses,
since Ps. xxxiii. stands close beside the properly alphabetical Psalm,
xxxiv., since in the closing verse of Ps. xxxviii., there is an express
allusion to the alphabetical character, and, finally, Ps. ciii. is a sort of
side-piece to Ps. cxlv. To this heptad of Davidic Psalms, divided as
usual into three and four, a later bard, the only one that in this respect
trode in David's footsteps, added three more alphabetical Psalms, cxi.,
cxii., cxix.— the first and the last that belonged to him of his cycle,
which is opened with three Psalms of David; so that the supposition of
his dependence upon David on this point also can the more readily be
entertained. These later alphabetical Psalms make up with those of
David the total number of ten, while the more strictly alphabetical
Psalms of David are contained in the number seven. If we add besides
the two Psalms of David, in which there is an attempt at alphabetical

FORMAL ARRANGEMENT OF THE PSALMS. aXXV
arrangement, we shall have altogether a dozen of alphabetical Psalms;
so that the significant numbers will thus be found coming all distinctly
out in the Psalms of this description.
The assertion, already refuted in the Introd. to Ps. xxv. and xxxvii..
that the origin of the alphabetical arrangement belongs to a very late
period, is sufficiently disproved by the fact, that by much the greater
proportion of the alphabetical Psalms are ascribed to David. Whatever
value we may attach to the superscriptions, this would certainly have
been very rarely done, if such Psalms had all been the productions of a
later period. To this we may add the circumstance noticed by Som-
mer, Bibl. Abh. i. s. 94, that the alphabetical arrangement in the La
mentations of Jeremiah bears so refined and artificial a character, that
it necessarily presupposes a simpler form.
The alphabetical arrangement in the alphabetical Psalms of David is
distinguished by strong peculiarities from that in the later Psalms — a
fact which cannot be explained by those who deny the originality of
the superscriptions, and consider them to be of arbitrary fabrication. 1.
Those Psalms are peculiar to David, which are alphabetical as to number,
and nothing analogous to them exists in all the Old Testament, except
ing the fifth chapter of Lamentations. 2. In the alphabetical Psalms
of David, the simplest forms are found — for every letter of the alphabet
a verse, or a pair of verses, while in Ps. cxi. and cxii., every half verse
is distinguished by a letter, and in Ps. cxix., each letter has a portion
of eight verses appropriated to it, every one of which commences with
the same letter — a pretty difficult matter. The measures which may
be regarded as both smaller and larger than the natural one, belong to
the same author : so that the intention of departing from the already
existing simple form is the less to be mistaken, — an intention which
discovers itself still more manifestly in Jeremiah. 3. In the later
alphabetical Psalms, the alphabetical arrangement is carried through
with perfect regularity, as it is also in Jeremiah, with a single excep
tion, where still, however, there is no omission of a letter, but only a
transposition. On the other hand, in all the Davidic Psalms there are
to be found' irregularities, the attempt to account for which lately by
Von Sommer, from the corruption of the text, is put to flight by the
fact, that they occur only in the Psalms of David, while the very long
Ps. cxix. is entirely free of them. But if this supposition is to be re
jected, so also, and more decidedly is another, that the deviations pro
ceeded from the difficulty of preserving entire the alphabetical arrange
ment without injury to the sense, and unnatural constraint; which is
disproved by the observation that, with a single unimportant exception,
all these deviations can be explained on the same ground, viz., that in

XXXVI FORMAL ARRANGEMENT OF THE PSALMS.
these Psalms, besides the alphabetical arrangement, that also after the
significant numbers has a place which required a certain sacrifice of
the other. That in Ps. xxxiv., xxxvii., cxlv., all the deviations have
arisen from this concurrence of the two arrangements, has been already
shown in the Introd. to the respective Psalms. The two first are re
gulated by the decimal division, which stands in a very close relation to
the alphabetical, which we are also the less entitled to overlook, as it
unquestionably exists in the alphabetical Psalms, cxi., cxii. and, still
further, in Ps. xxxviii., which is alphabetical as to number. The con
nection of the decimal division and the alphabetical arrangement is also,
in Ps. xxv., the object aimed at. It must fall into two decades, and, at
the same time, have the entire number of its verses to correspond to
the letters of the alphabet. This was accomplished so, that the Psalm
was made to possess a commencing and concluding verse out of the
alphabetical arrangement. But, then, two of the twenty-two letters of
the alphabet must thereby disappear. The lot is made to fall upon "^ as
the least important of all the letters; and then ^ and ^ are made to
divide between them one verse; see the Introd. to the Psalm. Thus
all the deviations admit of being explained from the concurrence of the
two arrangements, with the solitary exception of the double -j instead
of p and ^ — the only case in which the Psalmist has abandoned the
alphabetical arrangement for the sense.
We shall now speak of the two Psalms in which there is found a mere
approach to the alphabetical arrangement, Ps. ix., x. Notwithstanding
the greatness of their deviations, the opinion has also been propounded
in regard to them, that the alphabetical arrangement was there also
originally preserved with exactness, and was only disturbed afterwards
by negligence and caprice. But besides that this view proceeds upon
an entirely false opinion of the state of the Heb. text generally, and, in
particular, of that of the Psalms, the integrity of which is established
by indisputable facts, such as the preservation of the names of God in
their original position, and the arrangement according to the signifi
cant numbers; besides this, the following grounds decidedly oppose the
opinion in question : 1. These Psalms could not have been originally
purely alphabetical. They are distinguished from all other alphabetical
Psalms by this, that they have a regular continuity of thought, a steady
progression, while the eontrary of this is the case with a purely alpha
betical Psalm : see Introd. to Ps. xxv., xxxvii. — 2. That the alphabetical
character was not stringently maintained, and might, therefore, be
easily interrupted, is already indicated by the apparent anxiety to draw
attention to it, both at the beginning and the close. In the two first

FORMAL ARRANGEMENT OF THE PSALMS. XXXVH
verses of Ps. ix., each member of the verse begins with ^ ; and also the
last letter, the j^, does not rest satisfied with the first word of Ps. x.
17, but occurs twice besides. In the regular alphabetical Psalms no
thing of a like kind is to be found.— 3. We have not some sort of frag
ments merely of an alphabetical arrangement before us, but the alpha
betical always occurs in an important place. It concentrates itself at
the beginning and the end, so that the three first and the four last
letters of the alphabet stand in quite regular order. The second of the
two Psalms begins with ^, the middle letter.— 4. Along with the alpha
betical arrangement, there proceeds another according to the signifi
cant numbers, of so artificial a kind that a strict adherence to the former
could, on this account alone, scarcely be expected. Before we point
out this more minutely, we must first give a representation of the
strophe- division of those Psalms, and also exhibit the result which pre
sents itself in them respecting the names of God.
Ps. ix. consists of a great strophe, ver. 1-12, falling into two parts,
thanksgiving and praise, each of six verses — three pairs of verses, and
four small strophes, expressing prayer and confidence, each consisting
of a pair of verses. In like manner, Ps. x. consists of a great strophe,
ver. 2-11, the lamentation, and four small strophes, the prayer and con
fidence, each of a pair of verses, with the exception of the second in ver.
14, which has only one verse, but that composed of four members. Ver. 1
stands unconnected with the formal arrangement, and corresponds to
the superscription in Ps. ix., the originality of which is borne witness
to by this fact.
The name Jehovah occurs nine times in Ps. ix., the name Elohim
once; in Ps. x. Jehovah five times, Elohim twice; in the whole, there
fore, Jehovah occurs fourteen times, Elohim thrice; in Ps. ix. ten names
of God, in Ps. x. seven.
All the significant numbers, too, are found in the two Psalms. The
second part of Ps. x. is completed in the number seven — manifestly on
purpose. For with the design merely of not exceeding the number
seven, only one verse of four members is there assigned to the *\, in
stead of the otherwise common two verses of four members. Farther,
the regular alphabetical commencement of verses, at the beginning and
the close, also consists of the number seven. The whole has seventeen
names of God, fourteen of the name Jehovah; Ps. x., seven names of
God, and how much of design there was in this, is evident from the
interchange of Jehovah and Elohim, which was obviously managed so
as to bring out for the whole the numbers 17 and 14, and for Ps. x.
the number seven.
The number seven is commonly in the Psalms, as also in the Apoca-

XXXVIII FORMAL ARRANGEMENT OF THE PSALMS.
lypse (comp. Bengel s. 66, ff. 213, Ziillig Th. i. s. 123), divided into
three and four. In the second part of Ps. x., ver. 12-14 are of one
piece, as are also ver. 15-18. The beginning has three, and the con
clusion four alphabetical commencements of verses. In Ps. x. three
names of God stand in the main strophe, and four in the smaller
strophes. The whole has ten strophes. Ps. ix. has twenty verses, two decades.
In Ps. x. the main strophe ten verses. Ps. ix. has ten names of God.
With the tenth letter of the alphabet, 1, the alphabetical arrangement
in Ps. x. ceases, and there follows afterwards another strophe, without
the alphabet.
The ten is regularly divided by the five. Each Psalm has five
strophes. In the main strophe of Ps. x. this division is rendered mani
fest by the correspondence of ver. 6 with ver. 11. Of the ten names
of God in Ps. ix., five are contained in the main strophe, and five in
the smaller strophes. Both numbers, that of ten and seven, appear
combined in the number of verses of Ps. x., and in the entire number
of the names of God.
The main strophe of Ps. ix. is completed in the number twelve. So
also in the same number are comprised the entire parts of the Psalm,
ten strophes, then the superscription to that Psalm, and the introduc
tion to Ps. x. The twelve is both times divided by the six. The main
strophe of Ps. ix. has six couplets of verses, and falls into two parts,
each of six verses. This division is referred to in the circumstance,
that ver. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, all begin with "\, the sixth letter of the al
phabet, the introduction of which begins precisely at the commence
ment of the second part, and the peculiar prominence given to which
(it is the only letter to which four verses have been assigned, and in
deed so, that it returns at the commencement of all the verses,) must
point to the import attached to it.
As to the object of the alphabetical arrangement in this Psalm,
there is first to be recognised the intention of pointing to the connec
tion between the two Psalms which form a pair. That this object has
been accomplished, is evident from this, that the perception of the
connection between the two Psalms, which undoubtedly proceeded on
a recognition of their alphabetical character, led the LXX. to form
them into one. Another purpose was to direct attention to the begin
ning and the compass of the particular strophes. The alphabetical
arrangement is so far carried through, as completely to attain these
two objects.
The criticism, which now again looks as if it would return, in its
treatment of the text of the Old Testament, to the arbitrariness of the

ORIGIN OF THE EXISTING COLLECTION OF PSALMS. XXXIX
last quarter of the preceding century (Movers, Thenius, Sommer, etc.)
might learn prudence from this example! It is of importance also
here not to judge, but to know.

VI. THE ORIGIN OF THE EXISTING COLLECTION OF PSALMS, THEIR
DIVISION INTO FIVE BOOKS, AND THEIR DIFFERENT NUMBERING.
There can be no doubt that collections of the Psalms of David and
his singers were made at an early period. The* deep and important
bearing which they had from the outset in respect to the faith of the
community, and the distinguished place that was assigned them in the
services of the sanctuary (see 2 Chron. xxix. 30), does not permit us
to entertain the idea that single Psalms were left for centuries to fly
about as scattered leaves. But it is equally certain that our present
collection presents no traces of being formed out of such early collec
tions. It has in no respect the character of a work done piecemeal, but
is arranged from points of view that embrace the whole field. Its
author, living at a time when psalmodic poetry had already ceased, had
the entire body of existing Psalms before him, and formed the collection
after those points of view.
The point of view that presented itself most readily, was the chrono
logical. But the stringent application of this order could not on re
flection be approved. David was unquestionably the founder of this
kind of poetry. But by the chronological principle his glory in that
respect would have been darkened, and the entire matter placed there
by in a false position, since in that case the Psalm of Moses must have
stood at the head of the whole, while he still was only the solitary pre
cursor of the Psalmodic poetry, a prophecy of it, and one which was to
find its accomplishment in David. Then the character of a good many
of David's Psalms, and those of his singers, raised great difficulties in
the way of a chronological arrangement. These songs of David and
his singers were not always of a personal cast, they not unfrequently
left the historical ground, concerned themselves for the necessities of
the church of all ages, and generally rose to the comprehensiveness and
elevation of our church songs. For songs of this kind, which have no
historical starting-point, the chronological arrangement would have
been unsuitable, even if the date of the composition of particular
Psalms had been exactly known. But this consideration applied only

xl ORIGIN OF THE EXISTING COLLECTION OF PSALMS.
to the songs of David and his singers. All the others had a historical
basis, so that the chronological arrangement in them is the most natural,
and in all respects the most advantageous.
The collector, however, endeavoured at the same time to avoid the
objections which the chronological arrangement was fitted to suggest,
and to make use of its advantages. After the model of the Pentateuch,
to which the Psalms are already on this account more nearly related
than all the other books of Scripture, inasmuch as they, like it, were
employed in divine worship, but still more as they contained in a man
ner the answer of the people to God's address to them in the law, and
disclose the pious feelings which are called forth in the minds of be
lievers by the word of God, he divided the collection into five books,
the end of which, with the exception of the last, where no external
mark was required, is indicated by a doxology. In the front he placed
the Psalms of David and his singers, which occupy the three first books.
In the two last books he put, in exact chronological order, all that re
mained from Moses to Nehemiah.
In the arrangement of the Psalms of David and his singers, the col
lector has allowed a marked influence to the distinction that exists
among these Psalms as to the use respectively of the names Jehovah
and Elohim. This distinction is confined to those Psalms, including
also the later post-Davidic Psalms of Asaph and the sons of Korah,
which in this, as in other respects, remain true to the older type. In
the whole fourth book Elohim does not occur once, in the fifth only
seven times, while Jehovah, according to the enumeration of Delitzsch
(Symbolae ad Ps. illustrandos) occurs 236 times. In all those seven
cases Elohim is found only in the Psalms of David — in Ps. cviii. six
times, and once in Ps. cxliv. We merely notice, in passing, what im
portant results grow out of these facts for the correctness of our text,
and, at the same time, for the originality of the superscriptions. If
these had been appended, as modern criticism would have it, by this
person and that from mere conjecture, how should it then happen that
precisely all the Elohim- Psalms have been assigned to David and his sing
ers, and that not one of such Psalms has been left without their names?
Not merely are the Elohim-Psalms peculiar to the three first books,
but also another characteristic, the sporadic occurrence of Elohim in the
Jehovah-Psalms. Elohim had become so strange in later times, that
only the Jehovah-Psalms of David were taken for insertion into the
later cycles, with the exception alone of Ps. cviii., which could not have
been omitted if Ps. cix. and ex. were to have a place.
That the origin of the Elohim-Psalms is to be ascribed to David is
evident from the single fact, that' these belong only to him and his

DIVISION INTO FIVE BOOKS  DIFFERENT NUMBERING. xli
singers, who show themselves throughout dependent upon him. It is a
farther evidence, that we can also give historical proof elsewhere of
David's special predilection for this name; from the prayer of David in
2 Sam. vii., where it occurs redundantly, and also from passages, such
as 1 Chron. xxviii. 20, where David says to Solomon, " Fear not, for
Jehovah Elohim, my God, is with thee," xxix. 1.
Allusion was made in my Beitr. Th. ii. s. 299, to the ground of the
predilection exhibited in certain Psalms for the name : " In a multitude
of passages, especially in the Psalms, Elohim was chosen with respect to
the abuse of the name Jehovah, whereby the name, that properly was
the stronger of the two, was changed into the weaker. The surround
ing heathen, and the heathenishly inclined in Israel itself, recognised in
Jehovah, indeed, the God of Israel, but not God absolutely, the posses
sor of the whole fulness of the Godhead. But better the Godhead than
a God. In all such passages Jehovah is thrown into the background;
Elohim by itself is equivalent to Jehovah Elohim. It was not necessary
always expressly to name Jehovah, because he was the unquestionable
property of Israel ; it was only contested whether he was Elohim."
Upon the import of the collocation Jehovah Elohim, it is said in the
same vol. s. 312 : " The ground of the collocation is always to be found
in the opposition it presents against partial representations of Jehovah,
in the endeavour to explode the error that Jehovah was merely the God
of Israel — an error by which Jehovah, in itself the higher appellation,
became relatively the lower, so that it was elevated by the addition of
Elohim, though strictly of inferior import. In this collocation the name
Elohim stands upon the same line with Zebaoth, the God of worlds. A
circumlocution of Jehovah Elohim is given in such passages as Ps. xviii.
31, "Who is God but Jehovah;" and Isa. xliv. 6, where Jehovah says,
" Besides me there is no God ;" Deut. xxxii. 39, " There is no Elohim
besides me." We are presented with a formal commentary on the
Jehovah Elohim in the words in which David breaks forth after he had
received the promise through Nathan (1 Chron. xvii. 16, ss., comp. with
2 Sam. vii. 18, ss.) : "Who am I, Jehovah Elohim, and what is my
house, that thou hast brought me hither. And this was even little in
thine eyes, Elohim. — Jehovah, for thy servant's sake, and according to
thine own heart, hast thou done all this greatness. Jehovah, there is
none like thee, and there is not Elohim beside thee. And now Jehovah
thou art Haelohim." In these last words David explains why he ad
dresses God as Jehovah. What Jehovah had done was so great that it
could not be attributed to a limited national God, and therefore he
ascribes it to a God, in whom the highest, the most personal living indi
viduality is combined with the largest infinitude. It afforded the mat-

xlii ORIGIN OF THE EXISTING COLLECTION OF PSALMS.
ter-of-fact proof, that the God of Israel was at the same time the God
head, since he concentrated in himself whatever existed anywhere of
divine." Partial representations of Jehovah, a tendency to overlook the abso
lute in him, was extremely natural to Israel, as polytheism prevailed all
around, and it was a very bold, a prodigious idea, to ascribe nothing to
the gods of the neighbouring and sometimes far more powerful nations,
and everything to their own God. If we transport ourselves into the
relations of those times, we shall find it very natural, that even in the
earliest records of revelation the Elohim beside Jehovah, and as a safe
guard against straitened notions of him,' should play an important part.
That in the Elohim-Psalms the Elohim was equal to Jehovah Elohim,
the Jehovah being regarded as the invisible accompaniment of Elohim,
was recognised by the author of the doxologies at the end of the books.
He puts at the close of the second book, which contains the Elohim-
Psalms, not Blessed be Elohim, but Blessed be Jehovah Elohim. This
is farther confirmed by the circumstance, that Jehovah or Jah is com
monly even the visible accompaniment of Elohim, and in the larger half
of the Elohim-Psalms is once at least expressly named with unmistakeable
intention, while in the Jehovah Psalms the Elohim scarcely ever occurs.
The introduction of Elohim in the Elohim-Psalms proceeds from no
imperative necessity. For, in the name Jehovah is contained the im
port, which Elohim only brings expressly and prominently out. Else
where, Jehovah is not unfrequently found in a like connection. In
deed, the Elohim-Psalms might have been carried, without any excep
tion, through the entire Psalmody. But it is likewise certain that the
Elohim in the Elohim-Psalms is everywhere used with consideration.
It only occurs where the occasion renders it proper to express the ab
solute in Jehovah.
The Elohim is a soothing balsam, which was dropt into the wound of
the despondency of the people of God in the presence of the world. It
was a shield held up against the assaults of despair in times of trouble,
raised by the honourers of the so-called Elohim, who railed at the poor
Jehovah of Israel. In this way is the Elohim in Ps. xliv. explained.
In Ps. lx. Elohim is the battle-cry in the expedition against Ed.om. At
every encroachment upon its boundaries Israel must be awakened anew
to the consciousness that Jehovah is God Elohim.
But in the pressing emergencies also occasioned by domestic enemies,
the soul flies to Elohim. When all on earth is leagued, against it, when
the waters rise " even to the soul," it finds in this name a sure guerdon
for deliverance, which represents its God as the one in whom the whole
fulness of Godhead dwells, to whom, therefore, nothing is impossible,

DIVISION INTO FIVE BOOKS — DIFFERENT NUMBERING. xliii
who is rich in resources. Thus David, in Ps. Iii., sets Elohim over
against Saul, the hero, who was employing all instruments of evil for
his destruction, and, in like manner, in a series of other Psalms belong
ing to the same period of persecution, Ps. liv.-lix. During Absalom's
revolt, also, David retreats for refuge to Elohim, in Ps. xlii., xliii.
(where the sons of Korah speak as from his soul), Ps. lxi.— Ixiii. To
this, too,betakes the suffering righteous one in Ps. lxix.-lxxi.
The Elohim, further, is used in connection with instructive facts,
which show that Jehovah is God, in such Psalms as celebrate the vic
tory which Israel, the weak and little, the " worm Israel," obtained
over the heathen world, proudly boasting of their might. Thus in Ps.
xlvi. 10, where in ver. 7 and 11 Jehovah Zebaoth corresponds to the
(Jehovah) Elohim : Ps. xlvii., where to the Elohim is added : " the
Most High, a great King over all the earth ;" Ps. xlviii., where also
comp. the Zebaoth in ver. 8 ; Ps. lxviii.
The Elohim stands likewise in Psalms which unfold the idea of. the
future supremacy of the God of Israel, the pledge of which was the fact
that Jehovah is Elohim, Ps. xiv., Ixvii., lxviii., lxxii.
Ps. lxv. praises God as the God of the whole world and nature ; to
the Elohim correspond the words : " Thou art the confidence of all the
ends of the earth, and of the sea, and of the far off." In Ps. li. David makes
his complaint to Elohim, because, being plunged into the great deep of
sinful conviction, he stood in need of the entire fulness of the divine
compassion. The expression : " according to the greatness of thy
mercy," forms a sort of commentary on the Elohim. — In Ps. 1. the name
Elohim is proclaimed with a voice of thunder to those who, after the
manner of servants of a God, imagined that they could feed their God
with their pitiful sacrifices — not reflecting that they had to do with the
Lord of the whole world. To the Elohim corresponds the allusion to
the sovereignty of God and his spiritual nature, in ver. 9-13.
This indication of the internal grounds, which have given occasion to
the use of Elohim, suffices also for a refutation of the strange hypothesis
of Ewald, already disposed of by Delitzsch, p. 21, who attributes the
predominance of the Elohim to the hand of the collector.
That the Elohim-Psalms possess in general a more elevated character
than the Jehovah- Psalms, admits of an easy explanation, from what has
already been remarked. It is a consequence of this character, that the
Selah should be of more frequent occurrence in them, (according to
Delitzsch's calculation, it occurs in the first book seventeen times, in the
second, thirty times, and twenty times in the third), and it further
results, that the announcement of the historical occasion, in the super
scription, should be more common in them, or the reference to it in the

xliv ORIGIN OF THE EXISTING COLLECTION OF PSALMS.
Psalms themselves. This use of the Elohim sprung up at a time when
the honouring of Jehovah in Israel was quite predominant. When lat
terly the honouring of the so-called Elohim also began to prevail among
the Israelites, the Elohim, which was used in a bad sense by them, was
forbidden to the true fearers of God. It was retained only in the school
of David's singers, who everywhere copy the example of David's time,
The necessity which gave rise to the use of Elohim, was met in another
manner. The arrangement, then, is as follows : — The first book, Ps. i. to xli.,
contains the Davidic Jehovah-Psalms; the second, Ps. xlii.-lxxii., the
Elohim-Psalms of the singers of David — of the sons of Korah, Ps. xlii.-
t xlix., of Asaph, Ps. 1. ; then his Elohim-Psalms, Ps. li.-lxxi., and an
Elohim-Psalm of his son Solomon, Ps. lxxii. ; the third, the Jehovah-
Psalms of his singers, of Asaph, Ps. lxxiii.-lxxxiii., of the sons of
Korah, Ps. lxxxiv.-lxxxix.
The collector might have made the Elohim-Psalms of David follow
his Jehovah-Psalms, then the Jehovah-Psalms of the singers of David,
and then, again, their Elohim-Psalms. But in that case the Elohim-
Psalms would not have been enclosed on both sides by the Jehovah-
Psalms, while still it was of importance that this should be the case, so
that the truth might stand prominently out, that Jehovah is the funda
mental name, and everywhere the invisible attendant of Elohim, which
only gave distinct prominence to one important idea in the nature of
Jehovah. The collector was here guided by the same reasons which
determined him in the doxology of the only Elohim Psalm contained in
the second book, not to put : Let Elohim be praised, but : Let Jehovah
Elohim be praised. Or, again, the collector might have made the Elo
him-Psalms of David follow his Jehovah-Psalms, then the Elohim-
Psalms of his singers, and finally the Jehovah-Psalms of his singers. In
that case, too, the Psalms of David, and those of his singers, would have
stood each by themselves. But then, the distinction of Jehovah and
Elohim-Psalms would not have come so broadly out. It is precisely
the existing arrangement, the separation of the Davidic Jehovah from
the Davidic Elohim-Psalms, and likewise the separation of the Jehovah
and the Elohim-Psalms of Asaph and the sons of Korah, which sets the
device clearly before the reader's eye, and calls upon him to investigate
the principle of the collector.
The principle, indeed, has been expressed by the collector himself in
jhe doxologies of the three first books. In the first book, the doxology
Oegins with : " Let Jehovah be praised ;" in the second book, with :
' Let Jehovah Elohim be praised ;" and in the third, with : " Let Jeho
vah be praised." Delitzsch, who was the first to point out the bearing

DIVISION INTO FIVE BOOKS — DIFFERENT NUMBERING. xlv
of the first two doxologies on the subject under consideration, did not
perceive that the third presents as good a proof that the third book, ac
cording to the view of the collector, contains only Jehovah-Psalms, as
the second, that it contains only Elohim-Psalms.
There are three objections that may present themselves against the
above view of the arrangement of P?. i.-lxxxix. The first is this, that
in Ps. lxxiii.-lxxxiii.,1 the Elohim so frequently occurs, that one might
even feel tempted to include these in the Elohim-Psalms. But, consi
dered even in an external point of view, this could not be immediately
done. Including Ps. Ixxxiv., with Delitzsch, who adopts this view,
Jehovah and Jah are found twenty-two times in these twelve Psalms,
while in the thirty-one Psalms of the second book, they occur only
thirty-two times, and among the thirty-one Psalms of the second book,
there are not less than sixteen in which Jehovah is entirely wanting,
while in those twelve it fails only in a single one.
It is also from the first improbable, that as the first book contains
only Jehovah-Psalms, the second only Elohim-Psalms, the third should
be formed of both. The collector would, in this way, have destroyed
his own principle. — If we regard Ps. lxxiii.-lxxxiii. as Elohim-Psalms,
then Asaph must have composed Psalms only of that description. This
is in itself improbable, apart altogether from the circumstance, that then
Ps. I. would not have been separated from the others. The Elohim in
dicates a particular idea in the nature of the God of Israel, and it could
scarcely occur to an Israelitish bard to elevate it to sole supremacy. Only
when found as an accompaniment of Jehovah is it in its proper place.
If we look more closely to the Psalms in question, the result discovers
itself, that their Elohistic character rests merely upon appearance, and
that persons come to maintain its reality only because they forget, in
their enumerations of the names of God, the import and meaning of them.
The Jehovah-Psalms of Asaph have this distinguishing peculiarity about
them, that the glory of the name of Jehovah is an internal, and not a
merely external one, a concealed, and not a manifest one ; but on that
very account so much the more essential.
In Ps. lxxiii. the whole runs out with such emphasis in the names: the
Lord Jehovah, that the unaccented preceding threefold Elohim does
not come into notice; it has only the character of an antechamber. Also
in Ps. lxxiv. 18, the Jehovah, on which a special emphasis rests, and
for which Elohim cannot be substituted, should be written in large capi
tals, while the Elohim before it, though occurring four times, falls into
the background. In Ps. Ixxv. the double Elohim stand only as step-
1 Nobody will go along with Delitzsch, Symbolse, p. 22, in regarding Ps. Ixxxiv.
as an Elohim-Psalm, see Introd. to that Psalm.

xlvi ORIGIN OF THE EXISTING COLLECTION OF PSALMS.
ping-stones to the simple Jehovah in ver. 9. The cover, which till then
lay on the face of God, is taken away at the end, and it beams forth in
all its glory. Precisely the same is true of Ps. Ixxvi: ; there too the
Jehovah, which should be written large, forms the conclusion. In Ps.
lxxvii. the precious name is found exactly in the words which form the
beating heart of the Psalm, " I will declare the deeds of Jah," in ver.
11; and the one Jah in this passage, more emphatical than Jehovah
(see on Ps. lxviii. 4, Ixxxix. 8), weighs more than the six Elohims
which serve only to make it shine forth the more brightly. In Ps.
Ixxviii. Jehovah occurs, indeed, only twice, while Elohim is used eight
times; but Jehovah stands at the head, and in the announcement of the
theme in ver. 41, " the wonders of the Lord," are the centre of the fol
lowing representation; so that Jehovah is the constant though invisible
accompaniment of the succeeding Elohims. Then it recurs again in a
very emphatic connection in ver. 21. In Ps. Ixxix. Elohim is used in
the representation given of the poor suppliant. But in the prayer he
rises immediately to Jehovah, and with him alone has he to do through
the whole Psalm, from ver. 5. That in Ps. lxxx. Jehovah has really
the supreme, place, though it occurs only twice, while Elohim is used
five times, is evident from what has been already remarked in the Introd.
to the Psalm. In Ps. lxxxi. Jehovah is the prevailing name even ex
ternally. Ps. lxxxii., in which Jehovah is altogether wanting, and Elo
him, which must stand there (see on ver. 2), occurs twice, seems to have
been considered by the collector as a prelude and introduction to Ps.
lxxxiii. (the conclrsion of both Psalms is to be compared) which also
indeed has Elobiu only once, but runs out into a double Jehovah.
Through the whole, therefore, Jehovah has the primas partes, and
Elohim is thrown by it into the shade. The Elohim also in these
Psalms is essentially different from that in the Elohim-Psalms. Here
it is everywhere the more general, less pregnant, lower name of God ;
whereas in the properly Elohim-Psalms, it is used with great emphasis,
inasmuch as it is the idea of the absolute in Jehovah which it expresses,
and opposes that abuse of the name, which overlooked this idea, so that
relatively it becomes the higher name.
A second consideration suggests itself in the fact, that in the midst
of the Psalms of David and of his singers, certain nameless Psalms are
inserted, which seems inexplicable, if the collector was guided by the
principle indicated above. But it is found on nearer examination, that
with the solitary exception of Ps. i. and ii., the namelessness is only'
apparent. It occurs only in regard to such Psalms as are united with
the preceding into one whole, so that the naming of the author in these
communicates itself to the others. Thus Ps. x. stands connected with

DIVISION INTO FIVE BOOKS — DIFFERENT NUMBERING. xlvii
Ps. ix., Ps. xxxiii. is formed into a pair with Ps. xxxiv. From these
analogies we are already inclined to the supposition, that Ps. Ixvi. and
Ixvii., to which the name of David is not prefixed, form with Ps. lxv, a
trilogy; so that its superscription extends also to them. And this
supposition is favoured by the n^tt**? at the head of both, which else
where never occurs but in the songs of David, of Asaph, and the sons of
Korah — by the "yt^f, song of praise, which the whole three have in
common — and by the contents of the Psalms; they contain, a treasury
of praise to God, divided into three parts — two Psalms, which magnify
the benefits of God in natural things to his church, inclose a third
which celebrates his praise on account of historical benefits. This view
is little affected by the fact, to which too much importance was attached
in the Introd. to Ps.. Ixvi., that the words, " Come, behold the works of
the Lord," in ver. 5, appear to have been literally borrowed from Ps.
xlvi. 8j the relation is rather the reverse. Ps. lxxi. forms a pair with
Ps. lxx.; as likewise Ps. xliii. with Ps. xlii. There remain only Ps. i.
and ii. That this pair stands without any superscription, is perhaps to
be explained on the ground, that it originally served as an introduction
to a collection of sacred songs collected by David himself, which, be
sides his songs, contained those also of his chief musicians. The intro
ductory character must have appeared less, if they had borne the name
of David. Standing without superscription at the head of an entire
collection, all the parts of which had superscriptions, they immediately
made it to be understood that they possessed the character of an intro
duction. Our collectors, who only produced what they found, did not
venture to affix to them a superscription. The Davidic origin was also
sufficiently indicated by their position at the head of the Davidic
Jehovah-Psalms. A third consideration presents itself in the circumstance, that in the
midst of the Korahite Elohim-Psalms, in Ps. Ixxxvi., David is named as
the a.uthor, as also in the naming of Heman and Ethan in Ps. lxxxviii.
and Ixxxix. But this objection has already been obviated by the re
marks made on those Psalms.
Regarding it, then, as settled, that, viewed generally and collectively,
the Psalms of David and his singers were arranged according to the dis
tinctive use of the names of God, a further question arises, after what
principles did the collectors within these limits assign to particular
Psalms their place ? The answer is, they put those Psalms in juxtapo
sition which had some bond connecting them together, and sought to
present in each particular group a kind of Psalmodic chain, the links
of which ran into each other. I. They always joined together the pairs
of Psalms, or rather they did not separate what had from the first been

xlviii ORIGIN OF THE EXISTING COLLECTION OF PSALMS.
internally united. Such pairs of Psalms are i., ii.; ix., x.; xx., xxi,
xxiii., xxiv.; xxv., xxvi.; xxviii., xxix.; xxxiii., xxxiv.; xlii., xliii.;
lxx., lxxi.; lxxxviii., Ixxxix. They likewise left the larger group of
Psalms, Ps. lxv. -lxviii., united together. In this the trilogy, formerly re
ferred to, Ps. lxv. -Ixvii., forms the introduction to Ps. lxviii., the solemn
Te Deum, which was sung in the temple after a great victory had been
obtained. All the four Psalms have, as a proof of their original con
nection, the character of praise-songs, and the ¦"I'lftt'O *y& iQ the
superscriptions is common. The idea, that what the Lord had done for
Israel, would exercise a powerful influence upon the heathen, connects
Ps. lxviii. with the two preceding ones. Ps. lxv. 5-7 already contains in
it the kernel of Ps. Ixvi., lxviii. Comp. besides Ps. lxv. 1: " and to
thee one pays vows," with Ps. Ixvi. 13: "and to thee will I pay my
vows;" the conclusion of Ps. lxv. : " they shout and they sing," with the '
beginning of Ps. Ixvi. : " shout to God, all lands;" then the resembling
conclusions of Ps. Ixvi., Ixvii., lxviii. II. They place together Psalms
which were united together by a similar occasion. Thus Ps. xlvii. and
xlviii. stand beside each other, because they both refer to the deliver
ance of Jehoshaphat, the first for being sung in the Valley of Thanks
giving, the second at the solemn service in the temple. In like manner
Ps. Ixxv. and Ixxvi., the two Jehovah-Psalms of Asaph, stand together,
which refer to the Assyrian oppression, the first sung in prospect of the
catastrophe, the second after its accomplishment. But here we must
be content to remain with the similarity of the occasion. That the col
lectors were not guided by a strictly chronological respect is evident
alone from the fact, that among the Korahite Elohim Psalms, Ps. xlvi.,
which refers to the Assyrian catastrophe, precedes Ps. xlvii. and xlviii.,
which belong to the time of Jehoshaphat. III. They joined together
those which have a common superscription. Thus the whole Korahite
Elohim Psalms stand together which bear the name 713^)|3, instruc
tion, Ps. xlii., xliii., xliv., xiv. On this ground also it is clear that Ps.
xliii. is combined into a pair with Ps. xlii., otherwise it would not have
stood here. So also with Ps. lii.-lv., the whole Elohim Psalms of David,
which possess the superscription 7>'3'ii^l!2 TVr?> an instruction of
David. Then the Davidie-Elohim Psalms, which have in the superscrip
tion OfOQ, secret, Ps. Ivi.-lx. Among these, again, those which have
besides the nnt^D Sw> destroy not, in common, Ps. lvii.-lix., all the
three belonging to the Sauline period, of like matter and like character,
and by David himself destined to go together. IV. A coincidence in
the thoughts has also in many ways influenced the arrangement. Thus
Ps. iii. and iv. follow Ps. ii., because they represent the personal ex-

DIVISION INTO FIVE BOOKS— DIFFERENT NUMBERING. xlix
periences and feelings of David, on which as its foundation the pro
phetic representation in Ps. ii. is raised. Ps. v. connects itself as a
morning prayer with the evening prayers in Ps. iii. and iv. A respect
to the ideas has also led to the juxtaposition of Ps. xiv. and xv. — See
the Introd. to the former. Ps. xxxiv. and xxxv. have been placed to
gether on account of the mention in both Psalms of the angel of the
Lord. Ps. li., the first Davidic Elohim-Psalm, follows the Elohim-
Psalm of Asaph, Ps. 1., because both agree in the worthlessness of sacri
fices, in which the heart is not. V. Much more common, however,
than such internal relationships is the juxtaposition made to rest upon
particular expressions or images common to the united Psalms. Thus
Ps. lxxvii. and Ixxviii., which otherwise have nothing to do with each
other, have been placed next each other on account of the comparison
of Israel with a flock made at the close of both. Ps. vi. has only the
mention of evil-doers in common with Ps. v.; Ps. v. 5, vi. 8. As this
ground of connection lies upon the borders of accident, and is only the
collector's last make-shift in striving after an arrangement, we shall not
attempt by an exposition of particular Psalms to point it out in indivi
dual cases, and must refer those who feel interested in the matter to the
Symbolse of Delitzsch, whose induction of proofs has at least established
the result " that it cannot be concluded from the mere juxtaposition of
two or more Psalms, and their resemblance to each other, that they were
written by the same author, which conclusion has been very frequently
urged by Hitzig." Another conclusion of Delitzsch, that one must be
very* cautious in the admission of pairs of Psalms, the author believes
that he, at least, has no occasion to bring into account. He has never
rested the admission of such pairs, upon merely external points; but
simply regards the fact of the existence of nameless Psalms in the midst
of those, whose authors are all designated, as providing for them a
strong ground of support.
One thing, however, is manifest from all that has been established
regarding the arrangement in the three first books, that we find our
selves here everywhere on the territory of design, contrivance, and re -
flection, and that, therefore, all hypotheses must be rejected, which
proceed on the supposition that the collectors gave free scope to acci
dent, indolence, and carelessness.
This remark conducts us to the last point, which still remains to be
noticed in regard to the three first books— the words ni7Dn 173
1ty*",""G TH at an end- are the prayer-songs of David, the son of Jesse,
which are found at the close of the second book, and follow the doxo
logy of it appended to Ps. lxxii. This formal announcement cannot,
as Delitzsch has supposed, be the conclusion of an original collection
VOL. III. <*

1 ORIGIN OF THE EXISTING COLLECTION OF PSALMS.
which contained the Psalms of David and his singers, and which the
authors of our present collection still retained; though they introduced
afterwards a number of Psalms of later date. For, 1. It presupposes a
great carelessness on the part of the later collectors, since after the en
largement of the original collection, in which an entire series of later
Psalms appears bearing the name of David, they had not expunged a
completely unsuitable conclusion. Such a thoughtlessness is absolutely
without analogy in the canon of Scripture, and is the less to be credited
in regard to the collection of the Psalms, as this everywhere manifests
plan, intention, and care. 2. It is supposed without reason, that under
the name of the Psalms of David (which here a potiori are designated
by the appellation of prayer-songs, because there was no general He
brew name for the Psalms) those also of his singers are comprehended.
The passages, Ezra iii. 10, 2 Chron. xxiii. 18, which are adduced in
support of this, cannot prove it. Such a naming, which otherwise had
been in itself unjustifiable, was the less proper to be adopted, after
the older collection had been still farther enlarged by the late additions;
so that the slender ground then gave way on which Delitzsch seeks to
justify the ascription of the Psalms of David's singers to David himself
— viz., " That they were such as, whether written by David or his con
temporaries, had been publicly sanctioned by the authority of David.''
3. This announcement stands at the close of the doxology of the second
book. Now, if the doxologies belong to those who formed our present
collection in five books (see Delitzsch, p. 19) then this announcement
also must be referred to them. Otherwise, it would certainly have
stood before the doxology. 4. Of David's singers we have only up to
Ps. lxxii., the Elohim-Psalms. But this is as good as an express inti
mation, that we might still expect from them the Jehovah -Psalms. Or,
could the older collector have given merely the Elohim-Psalms known
to belong to them?1 5. That in Ps. i.-lxxii., there are found only
1 Several, and recently V. Lerigerke, have nought to raise Ps. iii.-xli. to the
rank of an original collection, to which was afterwards added as a second part,
Ps. xlii. -lxxii. This hypothesis vanishes before the single consideration that Ps. i.-
xli., as it only contains Psalms of David, from which no collector would oertainly
have separated those of his singers, so closely connected with him, 2 Ohron. xxix.
SO, so it contains merely the Jehovah-Psalms of David. These could only have
been associated together by the same person, wjio afterwards subjoined the Elohim-
Psalms of David. And as this person at the same time communicated the Elohim-
Psalms of David, he must again be identical with the collector of the third book.
The reason for the making up of the Psalter from different collections, because
Ps. liii. could not have been admitted by the same person who received Ps. xiv.,
and in like manner Ps. lxx., as compared with Ps. xl. Ps. cviii. with Ps. Ivii., bt.,
is disposed of by the remarks formerly made upon those Psalms.

DIVISION INTO FIVE BOOKS — DIFFERENT NUMBERING. li
Psalms of David and his singers, is an indication that others might be
expected from different authors. Or, could the author of the original
collection have known only these, and been ignorant especially of the
Psalm of Moses, the man of God 1 6. Among the Psalms of David in
the last two books there are some of such distinguished import, that
they could not possibly be unknown to those who formed the original
collection. How deep the Davidic Psalms in particular of the last two
books had penetrated into the life of the community, appears from this,
that they were raised at a later period to become the centre of a series of
cycles of Psalms. But it is in itself an improbable supposition, and one
incapable of proof, that collections of the Psalms of David existed of
different compass. Everything that proceeded from David on that very
account drew upon it the general attention, and just as little as part of
his compositions could remain unknown, as little would any one have
taken upon him to select only that which accorded with his own private
taste. What bore upon it the name of David was thereby stamped as
good, as edifying, as a sacred treasure. The man who was placed on
high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, lovely in the Psalms of Israel,
he, through whom the Spirit of the Lord spake, and had Ms words upon
his tongue, 2 Sam. xxiii. 12, was elevated far above either forgetfulness
or criticism. 7. There is an utter want of analogies for marking by
an express and formal conclusion an end, which of itself might be dis
cerned to be such. The canon is free from any such loquacity as this.
Therefore, the announcement : at an end are the prayer-songs of David,
carries with it an intimation, that other Psalms besides were to follow.
Nay, still more, it would have been superfluous, if Psalms had not been
to follow, which bore on their front the name of David. To this, in
deed, it must point, bearing the character of an enigma, that these addi
tional Psalms stood in other relations than those given in the two first
books. We shall reach perfect clearness and certainty by perceiving that all
the Psalms of David in the last two books are inserted as component
parts into the later cycles. The subscription at the end of the second
book must have been designed to separate the free and the bound, the
scattered and the serial Psalms of David, from each other. Analagous
in some measure is the subscription : at an end are the speeches of Job,
in Job xxxi. 40, which is not contradicted by the fact, that Job appears
again speaking, in ch. xl. and xlii.; it should rather be regarded as
serving to give us a right understanding of that formal conclusion.
Turning now to the last two books of the collection, we remark at
the outset, that in them the chronological principle of the arrangement
strongly predominates. At the head stands " the prayer of Moses, the

Iii ORIGIN OF THE EXISTING COLLECTION OF PSALMS.
man of God," Ps. xc. Then follows Ps. xci.-c, a decalogue of Psalms
very closely related to each other, sung in prospect of the Babylonian
catastrophe — see Introd. on Ps. ¦ xciv. The great chasm between Ps.
xc. and Ps. xci.-c. is explained by this, that the collector wished to
place in the front the productions of David, the man who had been
placed on high, &c, who was fitly regarded as the proper author of
this branch of literature, and of those who had been stirred up by him
and their schools. Into this chasm fall, with few exceptions, (the
Psalms of the exile by Asaph and the sons of Korah, see the section on
the authors of the Psalms) all the Psalms of the first three books. It
is only about the times of the exile that the Psalmodic poetry works
itself free from this connection with the schools of David's singers.
The author of Ps. xci.-c. was the first who, without being a member of
their body, received the gift of sacred song ; after the exile, Asaph and
the sons of Korah are no more to be thought of. — Then follows in Ps.
ci.-cvii., a heptad, consisting of a trilogy of David, with which a bard
of the time of the exile associated some new ones, and a seventh added
by another bard after the return from exile. — See Introd. to Ps. cvii. As
the collector in the arrangement of the Psalms from xc. follows the
chronological principle, so he determines here by the same principle the
division of the books. Though Ps. cvii. forms a component part of the
heptad, yet the fourth book, which was made to contain the Psalms from
Moses to the Babylonish captivity, not composed by David and his
singers, or their schools, is closed by Ps. cvi., the doxological conclu
sion of which was at the same time intended by the collector as a formal
conclusion to the book, — comp. on Ps. cvi. 48. — A dodecade of Ps.
cviii.-cxix., introduced, like the preceding cycle, by a trilogy of David,
to which were then added nine later Psalms, contains those Psalms which
were sung on the occasion of laying the foundation of the new temple —
see Introd. to Ps. cxviii. — In Ps. cxx.-cxxxiv., the pilgrim's little book,
consisting of four Psalms of David, one of Solomon, and ten without
names, we have the productions that belong to the time of the inter
rupted temple-building. — In Ps. cxxxv.-cxlvi., there is a group of twelve
Psalms sung after the happy completion of the temple, and probably at
tbe consecration of it — three nameless Psalms at the beginning, and one
a. the end, in the middle Psalms of David. — The closing portion is
composed of Ps. cxlvii.-cl., four Psalms, which were sung at the conse
cration of the city walls under Nehemiah.
The completion of the Psalmody could not have been made before
the consecration of the walls under Nehemiah, to which the last Psalms
refer. But neither can we bring it down to a later, period — partly on
account of the history of the canon, which was terminated in the time

DIVISION INTO FIVE BOOKS — DIFFERENT NUMBERING. liii
of Ezrah and Nehemiah, partly on account of the character of Psalm
cl., which was manifestly intended to form a full-toned close to the
whole.1 To the same period the collection of the Psalms is ascribed
by tradition — although this by itself would not be entitled to much
weight. In 2 Mace. ii. 13, the collection of the productions of David
is ascribed to Nehemiah. Jerome, epist. ad Sophronium, and the
synopsis found among the works of Athanasius, ascribe the collection to
Ezra (comp. Stark, carm. Dav. i. p. 425, 6.) Meanwhile, there are
reasons which render it probable that the collection of the Psalms was
only completed then, and had been begun at an earlier period. Of spe
cial significance is it here, that in the last group of Psalms there is not
found, as in all the cycles since the exile, a trunk of Davidic Psalms,
out of which the shoot of the new song might spring up. This seems
to indicate, that then the Davidic Psalms had been already all disposed
of in the collection. Further, the last group, Ps. cxlvii.-cl., connects
itself with the close of the immediately preceding one, just as Ps. cxxxv.
commencing the group, Ps. cxxxv.-cxlvi. intentionally connects itself
with the last Psalm of the Pilgrim Book, Ps. cxxxiv.; so that the col
lection must already have been increased up to that point. Accordingly,
the forming of the collection might be set down for the time of the
completion of the second temple. For, that we must not ascend higher
is evident from the circumstance, that, with respect to the enrolment in
the cycle of the Psalms, which were for being sung at the consecration
of the temple, the eight Davidic Psalms were not received among the
Psalms of David, but were purposely thrown back. That the collection
of the Psalms stands in a close connection with the finishing of the
temple is clear as day. Finally, that the existing collection was only
completed, and shut up in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, may still
farther be presumed from the fifth book wanting the doxology at the
close, which is found at the first four books, and which would not have
been wanting here, too, if the same collector had brought the work to a
final termination. But this fact admits also of another explanation.
The close of the last book did not require to be expressly indicated, as
it was sufficiently evident of itself, and a doxology was here the less
necessary, as the whole of the last Psalm bears the character of a high-
sounding doxology.
In regard to the numbering of the Psalms, there is a diversity, yet
1 Without foundation some have sought to find a conclusive proof of the com
pletion of the present Book of Psalms in 1 Chron. xvi. 36; comp., on the contrary,
p. 285 of this volume, where it was made to appear that Delitzsch has incorrectly
argued from this passage for the antiquity of the division of the Psalms into five
books.

liv DOCTRINAL MATTER — DOCTRINE OF GOD.
so that the entire number of them, 150, which certainly was not acci
dental, but was intentionally made up by the last composer of Psalms,
remains uninjured. The LXX., and the translations which follow it, in
particular the Vulgate, connect together Ps. ix. x., then cxiv. and cxv.,
but separate Ps. cxvi. 1-9 from 10-19, Ps. cxlvii. 1-11 from ver. 12-20.
The last division especially was made on purpose to secure the number
150, which must, therefore, at the time of the LXX., have been regarded
as indispensable. This diversity must be remembered, on this account
more particularly, that learned men among the Catholics for the njost
part cite by the Vulgate. They commonly are one Psalm behind the
Hebrew original in their citations; for example, they cite Ps. xxii. as
Ps. xxi.

VII. ON THE DOCTRINAL MATTER OF THE PSALMS.
The Book of Psalms is full of the noblest testimonies to the being of
God, and his perfections. It has contributed, in this respect, vast mate
rials for developing the consciousness of mankind, and the Christian
church rests far more upon it for her apprehensions of God than might
at first sight be supposed. To perceive to what an extent this is
the case, we have only to search out the traces of the Psalms in our
liturgies and church-songs. Even the French Deists, the theo-philanthro-
pists, sworn enemies of the Bible, could only make out their liturgy by
the help of the Psalms. This is one chief reason why the Psalter is so
precious to the afflicted. It presents God so clearly and vividly before
their eyes, that they see him, in a manner, with their bodily sight, and
find thereby the sting taken from their pains. In this, too, lies one
great element of the importance of the Psalter for the present times.
What men now most of all need is, that the blanched image of God
should again be freshened up in them. This, not the denial of parti
cular tenets of revelation, which is only a consequence of the other, and
which can never be thoroughly eradicated so long as the fundamental
evil remains, is the deepest grief of the church, and one which believers
will still have to bear with. Those who would strive to effect, in this
respect, a reformation in themselves or others, will find in the Psalms
a mighty help. The more closely we connect ourselves with them, the
more will God cease to be to us a shadowy form, which can neither
hear, nor help, nor judge us, and to which we can present no supplica
tion.

DOCTRINAL MATTER — DOCTRINE OF GOD. Iv
Among the heathen, every divine perfection has its contrast (see
Nagelsbach, Homer. Theol. p. 13.) Here everything is of one piece
and mould. From the calls, indeed, which we so often meet with in
these writers of inspired song, upon God to hear, to see, to think of
them, not to forget — and their complaints, that he does not hear, &c,
the accusation has often been brought against them, of gross and
childish representations of God's omniscience, omnipresence, and super
intending providence. But we have only to look somewhat deeper
in order to discover the agreement that exists between these passages
and others which contain the most elevated representations of God's
omnipresent being and providential agency. In the latter, the voice
of the Spirit makes itself heard ; in the former, that of the flesh. The
radical character of the Psalms is feeling. This is uttered in faithful
ness and truth before God, as it arose in the heart of the singers, and it
is precisely through this that they exercise so strong an influence.
We are drawn to them in the first instance by finding our own
weakness, our own fainting under tribulation repeating itself, and then
suffer ourselves to be gently conducted by them to the strength of God.
The feeling, however, in weak man is often very different from the con
viction. He may be firmly convinced of God's providence, may be
ready to defend it with vigour against all who assail it, and yet if tribu
lation befall him, if God withdraw from him the tokens of his favour, it
then comes to be in the feelings of his soul, as if God knew nothing of
him, as if he concerned himself not at all in the conflict of joy and sor
row, as if there were an impassable gulf fixed between heaven and
earth. In this contest faith must be strengthened. It exists in the
godly of the New, not less than in those of the Old Covenant, and that
superficiality and strangeness to spiritual experience, which accuses
David and other sacred bards of having had gross ideas of God's
ever present and watchful providence, may with equal propriety be
brought against a Luther and Paul Gerhard, and against all our reli
gious poets and men of devotion. How along with that voice of the
flesh in the Psalms there was perpetually raised also the voice of the
spirit, appears even from the single fact, that the writers pour out their
supplications before the very God who hears and sees and regards not.
The mystery of the Trinity is still not plainly declared in the Psalms.
This doctrine, as to its finished form, belongs to the times of the Ngw
Testament. It presupposes historical developments, which could then
only come into being. The fuller understanding of it and its blessed
practical operation rests upon the incarnation of the Word. Its too
early manifestation would have been attended with the worse conse
quences, as Israel was surrounded on every hand by heathen neighbours

lvi DOCTRINE OF GOD.
and was itself inclined to polytheism. Under the Old Covenant it was
of importance primarily to lay stress upon the unity of God, and to have
the knowledge and belief of this deeply impressed upon the minds of the
people, so that they might courageously maintain it against all the for
midable assaults of the spirit of the world as it then was. By this means
the best foundation was laid for the doctrine of the Trinity. Still, how
ever, we find here, as in the case of all the doctrines, the full revelation
of which was reserved for the New Testament, the germ and point of
connection for the New Testament dogma. How even the divine name
Elohim is to be viewed in this light, since it indicates that the unity of
God is not one of poverty, but of richness and fulness, has already been
pointed out in the second part of my Contributions. In unision with
Gen. i. 2, the Spirit of God, whose personality was certainly not yet re
cognised, appears as the source of all physical life, Ps. civ. 30, as pene
trating and filling all things, Ps. cxxxix. 7, as the creative principle
that made the world, Ps. xxxiii. 6, as the administrative power and
presence of God in Israel, Ps. cvi. 33, finally, as the source of all moral
life, Ps. li. 12, cxliii. 10. But the most direct indication of the doctrine
of the Trinity is to be found in those passages which contain a reference
to the superhuman nature of the Messiah, — passages on which we must
the less think of forcing another meaning, as in the prophets (for ex
ample, in Isa. ix,, where even Hitzig is obliged to recognise it), there is
found something unquestionably similar. Such indications pervade all
the Messianic Psalms ; and quite naturally. For the more deeply the
knowledge of human sinfulness, impotence, and nothingness sunk in
Israel (comp. for example Ps. ciii. 14-16), the less could men remain
satisfied with the thoughts of a merely human redeemer, who, according
to the Israelitish manner of contemplation, could do extremely little.
A human king (and all the strictly Messianic Psalms have to do with
Messias as king), even of the most glorious description, could never ac
complish what the idea of the kingdom of God imperiously required,
and what had been promised even in the first announcement respecting
the Messiah, viz., the bringing of the nations into obedience, blessing all
the families of the earth, and acquiring the sovereignty of the world. In
Ps. ii. 12, the Messiah is presented as emphatically the Son of God, as
he in whom confidence brings salvation, whose wrath is perdition. In
Ps. xiv. 6-7 he is named God, Elohim. In Ps. lxxii. 5, 7, 17, eternity
of dominion is ascribed to him. In Ps. ex. 1, he at last appears as the
Lord of the community, of saints, and of David himself, sitting at the
right hand of the Almighty, and installed in the full enjoyment of divine
authority over heaven and earth.
We turn now to the doctrine of angels. This doctrine, which is so

DOCTRINE OF EVIL SPIRITS. Ivii
contrary to the friends of a merely temporal religion, belongs to the
first foundations of true religion. Even in Genesis we meet with
angels, first in the history of Abraham, then of Jacob. There was a
danger, however, in this doctrine of angels to monotheism, as the temp
tation might very naturally arise of ascribing to them, from solemn awe
respecting the almighty and holy God, a portion of the glory due only
to him, and of seeking, through them, to obtain the favour and blessing
of God. But this danger was met by throwing their personality quite
into the shade, and making them appear only as the instruments and
servants of God. All speculations, too, were cut off respecting their na
ture and their origin by passing over these topics in profound silence.
How narrow the limits are within which the doctrine of angels is con
fined in Scripture, how strictly the practical bearing of the matter is ad
hered to, is manifest alone from the name usually given to them, mes
sengers, which points, not to the nature, but to the office. The Psalms,
also, while they not rarely make mention of the angels, keep scrupu
lously within the limits observed by the earlier revelation, so much so,
that in several places we might feel tempted to suppose a personification,
if other passages did not forbid the supposition, in particular Ps. ciii. 20,
where the angels appear as conscious instruments of God, who do free
and loving service to him. Besides that name, they also receive in the
Psalms the appellation of sons of God, Ps. xxix. 1, 2, Ixxxix. 7, as
being the most glorious amongst God's creatures, and those that stand
nearest to himself; that also of the holy ones = the dignities, in Ps.
Ixxxix. 7. They are presented to us as patterns in respect to the ado
ration of God, whose glory commends itself to our regard, through their
ascriptions of praise, Ps. xxix. 1, 2, Ixxxix. 6; 7, ciii. 20. Their watch
fulness and support are for us the source of consolation, Ps. xci. 11, 12,
where, however, there is nothing said of guardian angels to individual
persons, a doctrine which has no place in Sacred Scripture. As God's
servants., they bring destruction upon the wicked, Ps. Ixxviii, 49, so that
the disproportionate superiority as to strength on the part of the wicked
need not terrify the righteous, for behind it tha spiritual eye discerns
the innumerable host of the Almighty, and his " strong heroes," Ps.
ciii. 20. The two passages, Ps. xxxiv. 7, xxxv. 5, 6, shew that the
Psalmists were also acquainted with the doctrine which pervades the
whole of the Old Testament, and which represents the angel of the Lord
as his mediator in all his transactions with the world, and especially with
his kingdom and people — a truth which is disclosed in its full import in
the prologue to the gospel of John. In the former Psalm the angel of
the Lord appears attended by hosts of ministering angels, as the captain
of the host of God (Josh. v. 15), as the protector of those that fear God,

lviii DOCTRINE OF SIN.
and in the latter as the judge and destroyer of the wicked. The passage
Ps. civ. 4, does not refer to the angels.
The doctrine of fallen, bad angels, or more properly spirits, and es
pecially of the head of these, Satan, has a place even in the Pentateuch.
That under Asasel, to which, according to Lev. xvi. on the great day of
atonement, a goat was sent away laden with the forgiven sins of the
people into the wilderness, Satan is to be understood, was proved in my
" Egypt and the Books of Moses," and more recently by Kurtz in his
work on the Mosaic offerings. On clearer grounds it can also be demon
strated, that Moses, though under a cover, represents Satan, " the mur
derer from the beginning," as taking an active part in the seduction of
the first pair. However, the object there was not so properly to estab
lish this doctrine in the consciousness of the subjects of revelation, as to
indicate its place. It was above all important, that the one true God
should acquire form among his people, and should be vividly recognised
as the one and all. Till this was done, there was a danger lest a part of
of the honour due to him should be transferred to Satan, lest by pro
pitiatory gifts they should seek to be at peace with him, the rather so
as Israel had before his eyes the example of the worship paid to the evil
God Typhon in Egypt. But the doctrine respecting Satan could not
acquire its full significance till it was brought into connexion with the
doctrine of Christ, nor could it be fully disclosed till the manifestation
of the word in the flesh. It need not, therefore, surprise us, that we
find no trace of this doctrine in the Psalms. For that the passages, Ps.
Ixxviii. 49, cix. 6, have been improperly referred to it, has been already
shown. We must not from this, however, conclude, that the Psalmists
were ignorant of the doctrine, but only that it exercised no important
influence upon their spiritual life, and the more so as the silence in ques
tion is found in the later, not less than the earlier Psalms, while we
know the doctrine had assumed, at the period of their composition, an
explicit and regular form, and meets us in a very striking and finished
form in the introduction to the Book of Job, and in Zechariah.
Next to the doctrine respecting God, there is none to which the Psalms
bear more ample testimony than that respecting sin ; and the former
rests upon the latter. It is only where sin is rightly understood, that
the shadows vanish which hinder us from attaining to the right appre
hension of God. For then only does there come to be an earnest seek
ing after God, the one Saviour, which is the necessary condition to
finding him. In the deep experience of human sinfulness, the Old Tes
tament religion differed from all heathen religions, whose foul stain it
was that they did not endeavour to produce this, but allowed sin to be
regarded as a calamity, a fate, whereby the proper notion of sin was

DOCTRINE OF SIN. li.X
destroyed, and the idea of God at the same time annihilated. And this
felt apprehension of sin meets us in the Psalms in the liveliest manner.
The law and the prophets sought to awaken it; the Psalmists shew us in
their own living experience what it was to them. " There thou seest
(says Luther) into the heart of all saints as into death, nay as into hell.
How dark does it appear, troubled on all hands by the wrath of God."
In regard to the doctrine of the origin of sin, any express reference
to it lay quite out of the way of the authors of the Psalms, who only
utter the feelings of their hearts, and hence had far more to do with
the fact of sinful corruption, with its depth and magnitude, than with
its origin. We find no passage upon the relation of our sin to the sin
of Adam. The fall, which first receives its proper elucidation in conse
quence of the atonement wrought out by Christ, is never thought of.
Still a hereditary, inborn corruption, propagated by ordinary generation,
is quite explicitly maintained. According to Ps. li. 6, 7, the sin of
human nature is deeply rooted; man is tainted with poison even in his
first origin, and hence incapable of attaining, by his own power, to the
true and internal righteousness required by God. In Ps. lviii. 3, the
fruitfulness of human corruption is derived from the consideration of its
springing from original sin, and consequently having its root in the in
nermost depths of the human heart. The Psalms coincide also in this
point with the Pentateuch, according to which the imagination of man's
heart is evil from his youth, Gen. viii. 21. But while man brings with
him the germ of corruption into the world, the Psalmists are very far
from acquitting him of guilt respecting it, and of ascribing it to God
win^ they could not have done without directly contradicting the
doctrine they so clearly unfold of God's holiness and purity. Without
investigating how man comes to participate in inherited corruption,
they abide merely by the fact of his consciousness, which makes man
responsible for his whole sin as guilt. All suffering, even the most
severe, appears as deserved punishment for sin, comp. for ex. Ps. xl. 12,
xxxviii. 4.
The universality and depth of human corruption is painted in lively
colours in Ps. xiv. 1-3. The poison of this has so thoroughly penetrated
human nature, that we are even unconsciously led to commit violations
of the divine law. The holy singers pray to God that he would pardon
even their hidden faults, Ps. xix. 13, and the righteous also stand in need
of preservation from great and presumptuous sins, ver. 14. Before God
no one is righteous ; all need his pardoning mercy, Ps. cxliii. 2, cxxx. 3.
Peculiarly important also are Ps. xxxii. and li. as testimonies to the deep
sense of sin, in which David outshone all others.
The most profound source of this characteristic of the Psalms, as ot

lx DOCTRINE OF SIN.
the Old Testament generally, lay in the apprehension of the holiness of
God, by the contemplation of which, through the contrast it presented
to man himself, he became alive to his own unrighteousness — comp.
Isa. vi. In the heathen world, as in the natural consience generally!
there was an utter want of this apprehension of the divine holiness.
Their gods were even not free from moral necessity, from the chains of
sin and evil. " Heathenism forms a god after man's image, and though
we find there the divine personality, and that also regarded as standing
high above the human, yet in point of fact it still appears compassed
about with all sorts of limitations and defects." (Nagelsbach s. 11.)
The difference was further increased by the existence in Israel of a
revealed, stern, and unbending law standing over against the sinner
while the natural law becomes altered to the worse by the inclination.
Then the consciousness of sin had from the very earliest existence of the
people struck its roots deep among them through the fearful threatenings
of law and the actual judgments of God. Finally, it is still farther to
be taken into account that, by virtue of the Mosaic law, God was placed
in the centre of all relations, so that every sin against one's neighbour
became also an offence against him. This manner of considering sin
must have put an end to all levity — comp. on Ps. li. 5.
Sin is not kept merely in the territory of the deeds, but also brought
into that of the words and thoughts — comp. on Ps. xxiv, 4, lxxiii. 1, 13,
cxxv. 4, ci. 5, etc. God proves the heart, Ps. xvii. 3. David par
ticularly shews himself to have been deeply penetrated by the convic
tion that, above all, the heart, with its inclinations, must be brought
into conformity with the law of God. The conviction that nothing
could be done by mere human strength in keeping the commandments
of God — that God alone could here effect the willing and the doing, as
is declared, for example, in Ps. cxix., can belong only to one who ap
prehends the necessity of the inmost disposition being in harmony
with the law. Where this is not the case, the thought will readily
spring up, that one can manage without God. Pelagianism always goes
hand in hand with a disposition to look at sin in an external point of
view. It has been sought to rob the Psalms of the glorious characteristic
now described, or at least to lessen it, by a double accusation. First, it
has been alleged that the representation given of sin is often of a grossly
external nature — that in a multitude of Psalms, the righteous are the
Jews as such, sinners the heathen, and especially the Chaldeans, as
such. To justify this allegation, a number of Psalms, containing per
sonal lamentations, have been turned, with a discarding of the super-
criptions, into national laments, under the remonstrance even of some

DOCTRINE OF SIN. lxi
who, as to the main point, hold the same ground. So says Gesenius, in
his preface to Grambefg's History of the Keligious Ideas of the Old
Testament : " that he had abandoned that mode of criticism in regard
to the book of Psalms, which transferred the greater part of the poems,
especially the plaintive Psalms, if not to the period of the exile, at least
to the times of the kingss and ascribed them to the prophets and pious
men persecuted by the heathen." By restoring, however, the super
scriptions and the internal grounds to their proper place, every suspicion
of that coarse external view of sin vanishes at once, in regard to a great
number of the Psalms. It becomes manifest that the relation which
forms the ground- work of them is a purely moral one — that of the
righteous to the unrighteous, of the god-fearing to the godless. There
certainly, however, remain Psalms in which the Israelites are represented
as the righteous, the heathen as the wicked, of which examples are to be
found also in the prophets — for ex. Hab. i. 1 3, comp. Delitsch there. But
it is soon perceived that this contrast does not proceed, as in the later
and carnally-minded period, upon the national relation. It is entirely
of the same kind as in the Psalms which refer to domestic ralations, so
that the determination whether the one or the other has place, is often
difficult, often, indeed, absolutely impossible, as the Psalms must refer
according: to the intention of the authors, to both relations. Such
especially is the case with the whole cycle of the Psalms of David, which
refer to the afflictions of the righteous, and have in view at once the
relations of the individual and those of the entire people. It is not
Israel as to skin and bone, but the invisible community in the visible,
which is placed in contrast with the ungodly heathen world — comp. on
Ps. ix., and the author's work on Balaam, at Num. xxiii. 10, where Israel
las the appellation given to it of " the upright." In Ps. lxxii. 1, Israel
is more definitely characterised as, "the pure in heart." Coarse externality
is rather to be thrown as a reproach upon him, who, incapable of raising
himself to the contemplation of the essential being, judges a society
merely from its appearance. But how can we think of finding here any
such coarse externality among the noblest spirits of a people, in whose
first beginnings even the law had made itself felt in all its pungency,
and among whom the most fearful threatenings were hurled against the
heads of such as turned aside into iniquity. In the Psalms of David it
is a fundamental principle, that before God the heart only is accounted
of, and that sincere and internal piety is the indispensable condition of
salvation — comp. on Ps. xv., xxiv. A pointed distinction in Israel itself,
the restriction of salvation to the righteous, the excommunication of the
wicked, meets us very frequently in the Psalms— comp., for example Ps.
1., Ixxviii., xcv., xcix., cxxv.

lxii DOCTRINE OF SIN.
The second accusation is the following : The consciouness of sin
expressed in the Psalms does not arise from sin itself; it is awakened
only by misfortune ; forgiveness of sin also is sought not on right
grounds, but only in respect to freedom from misfortune, which was re
garded as a punishment of sin, from the prevailing error as to visible re
compenses, But they who object thus do not consider, that in speaking
of men being brought through suffering to the knowledge of sin, it is
only meant that this must be employed agreeably to its design — that the
human heart is so hard, that vast multitudes are not brought even
through this means to repentance, and that God can bring none of his
own without it to a deep and well grounded conviction of sin, which is
the indispensable condition of a living appropriation of the freely offered
salvation. For it is also said in the New Testament, " We must
through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God ;" "blessed are
those that suffer now, " and " whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth."
It is to be considered farther, that the New Testament likewise places
sin and suffering in the closest connexion, that according to it also the
discourse cannot be of a merely external misfortune, that the misfortune
rather always bears respect, not, it may be, to any particular sin, but still to
the sinfulness, and consequently it is always a punishment, and therefore
a call to repentance. Among many passages to the point, let only John
v. 14, and Luke v. 20 be examined. In the former passage disease is
threatened by the Lord as a punishment for sin ; in the latter it is taken
away as a punishment. Then Luke xiii. 1, ss., where the Lord in a
general way confirms most pointedly the Old Testament doctrine of re
compense, which also lies at the bottom of all the threatenings of judg
ment against Jerusalem. But the recompense under the Old Testa
ment comes out still more visibly, the impression produces more directly.
and immediately the counter impression. For the recompense under it
was to be rendered manifest for all ages. The matter, however, is often
very incorrectly represented; as if the Psalmists had to do merely with
deliverance from the burden of tribulation — as if the forgiveness of sins
was for them only a means to an end. The sting of tribulation was
rather for them the matter-of-fact testimony it contained against sin ;
the refreshing character of deliverance lay especially in this, that it was
considered as an actual justification, an evidence of the return of God's
favour. To have a gracious God was for them the highest good  But
that affliction was not the exclusive occasion of a sense of sin in their
souls, that this sometimes arose with great power without any thing at
all of the other, is shewn in the most striking manner by the two Psalms,
xxxii. and li., composed after David's adultery ; with which also the
historical circumstances mentioned in 1 Sam. xxv. 32, xxiv. 6, 2 Sam.

DOCTRINE OF SIN. Ixiii
xxiv. 10, are to be compared. Far, therefore, from raising such accu
sations, we should rather be moved to shame by the depth of those con
victions of sin which were experienced by the Psalmists, who were led,
by what a superficial world calls " the accidental sufferings and afflic
tions of life," to earnest strivings after repentance, and humble prayer
for pardon.
Still, it must not be overlooked, on the other hand, that the allegation,
which is to be wholly rejected in the form it is usually presented in, has
a measure of truth lying at its foundation. The pressure of sin by it
self but rarely meets us in the Psalms ; the utterance, " I will turn from
my iniquities to the Lord," was very seldom spoken from the inward
man alone under the Old Covenant. The prophets, too, make use
especially of threatenings of judgement to awaken it. If we compare
the penitent and confessional songs in Christian hymn books with the
Psalms, we shall at once be sensible of the difference. The Old Testa
ment wanted the most effectual means for producing the knowledge of
sin, the contemplation of the sufferings of Christ. In the view of this
the Christian poet exclaims, " 0 children of men, it is your sins alone
that have brought about this, since you had quite destroyed yourselves
by iniquity ;" and to the question, " Who has so pierced thee V re
plies, " I, I and my sins." The New Covenant, besides, possesses a more
powerful agency of the Spirit, which does not search more into the depths
of God, than it lays open the depths of sin. Hence in Christian songs
the sense of sin, as it is more independent of outward occasions than
formerly, so it is also more openly disclosed, and more delicate in itself,
its ground is felt to lie deeper, and also the particular manifestations.
It was good that under the Old Covenant the cords of sinful conviction
were not strung too tightly, as the full consolation was still not to be
found. The gulph closed up again when the sufferings were gone.
But the one-sidedness in question is not to be considered as a disadvan
tage in the Psalms. They have the destination for all ages of the
church of bringing this side clearly out, which is of special importance
for those who are only beginning the Christian life, and is also pecu
liarly valuable for the present time, when the edifying and even consola
tory view of affliction which arises from regarding it as the punishment
of sin, has been very much lost sight of. For the other points of view
provision is made in another way.
The Psalms are full of strong representations of the punishment of
sin, of the judgments of God upon the wicked. David especially, to
whom for a long series of years the punitive righteousness of God served
as a shield against despair, uses in this respect very strong language —
see for ex. Ps. vii., Hi., cix. The punishments, however, which are threat-

lxiv PUNISHMENT OF SIN.
ened to the wicked, are only temporal, not eternal, as could not indeed
be otherwise from what we shall have occasion to remark, upon the doc
trine of immortality in the Psalms, that is, so far as respect is had to the
views which were distinctly entertained by the Psalmists themselves.
Considered iu regard to the matter itself, these threatenings certainly run
beyond this earthly life. For the divine righteousness from which the
temporal punishment of sinners proceeds, is an eternal one, and conse
quently must manifest itself through all eternity, so long as its object,
the sinner, exists. Every earthly judgment of God is a prophecy in
fact of that which is extra-earthly ; every threatening of the one passes
also as to its substance into the other; so that in regard to the subject-
matter, it is the punitive righteousness of God alone that is to be thought
of. The eternal recompense at oilce accompanies the temporal, when
ever the personal and self-conscious continuance of the sinner comes into
view. But the Psalms had the mission of preparing the ground for the
living apprehension of eternal recompenses, by planting the conviction
of the temporal recompense deep in the souls of men — see the section on
the doctrine of recompense in my Beitr. Th. iii. How energetically
the apprehension of the divine righteousness as exercised in time
.works in the Psalms, not suffering itself to be moved by the greatest
difficulties, and after a severe struggle still always at last rising into
victory, is exhibited in a very vivid manner, among other places, in Ps.
lxxiii. As in the law, so also in the Psalms, the outward consequences
of sin discover themselves much more strongly than the inward, though
these latter were manifestly very far from being unknown under the Old
Covenant. We have only to think of the evil spirit from the Lord, which
terrified Saul, and, apart altogether from his outward troubles, and
before they began to fall upon him, rendered existence a source of misery
to him. This stronger exhibition of the external consequences of sin
may partly be explained from the circumstance, that the- Psalms com
monly have respect, not to individual sinners alone, but to whole com
munities of such; as, indeed, the internal consequences of sin and of
righteousness could not be so prominently exhibited under the law,
because its promises and threatenings for the most part have a national
bearing. And it is also to be taken into account, that the external conse
quences are more appropriate for the vivid pictures, in which poetry
delights. Yet the ground also lies deeper.
But the Psalms not only threaten hardened sinners with the divine
judgments, they also shew to penitents' the way by which they may
attain first to justification before God, and then to righteousness of life.
This is avowedly done in Ps. xxxii., comp. ver. 8, " I will instruct thee
and teach thee the way that thou shalt choose." In this Psalm and

DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION. lxV
Psalm li. the method of salvation under the Old Testament is contained
in its most complete and concentrated form. The atoning divine com
passion forms the objective ground of justification. This was imaged in
the symbolism of the Mosaic law by the Capporeth. " The commentary
on its name, the invisible inscription which it bore, were the words in
which God himself, in Ex. xxxiv. 6, declared his essential character in
relation to Israel : Jehovah, Jehovah, God gracious and merciful, long-
suffering, and of great goodness and faithfulness, keeping favour for
thousands, forgiving iniquity, and transgression, and sin, and not destroy
will he," (Beitr. Th. iii. p. 642) — words which in a great variety of ways,
frequently as in a sort of new republication of the law, are re-echoed in
the Psalms, compare on Ps. ciii. 8, cxlv. 8. How deep in the Psalmists
was the feeling of the divine compassion, striking its roots down into
the underground of felt sinfulness and nothingness, is most vividly
pourtrayed in Psalm ciii. — which, so long as the church of God exists
upon earth, will never depart out of her mouth, and in which she will
continually celebrate the divine compassion, as she has already done
through centuries past. As the indispensable, subjective condition ol
justification appears the thorough conviction and the free confession
of sin — compare Ps. li. 4, and also Ps. xxxii., which is wholly occu
pied with setting forth the high importance of confession of sin. Upon
confession, and prayer which is naturally connected with it (comp. Ps.
li. 8-10), follows the forgiveness of sin, a judicial act of God which he
freely and righteously exercises in behalf of those who have fulfilled the
subjective condition, and which manifests itself in the joyfulness that
now succeeds to the deep prostration and consuming remorse of sin.
This forgiveness is represented as the greatest of all boons, as the founda
tion of all salvation. " Blessed is the man (exclaims David in Ps.
xxxii. 1, who of all the Psalmists celebrates in the loudest and most
joyful strains the forgiveness of sins, as in him are also found the
strongest passages upon sin) whose iniquity is taken away, whose sin is
covered, to whom the Lord imputes not guilt." " Praise the Lord,
my soul (he says in Ps. ciii. 3), who has forgiven all thine iniquity, who
heals all thine infirmities." Comp. farther Ps. cxxx. 4.
If we now inquire concerning the relation in which the doctrine of the
Psalms here stands to the Christian doctrine upon the same subject, we
soon perceive that the two essentially agree. According to the Chris
tian doctrine, also, everything in the way of merit is excluded; accord
ing to it, too, the objective ground of justification is represented as
standing in the divine compassion, while the subjective condition is the
conviction of sin and the prayer of faith for its forgiveness. Along with
this substantial agreement, however, there appears a twofold difference
VOL. III. e

Ixvi DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION.
1. In the Christian doctrine of justification the merit and satisfaction of
Christ appears as the means of atonement provided by the divine 'com
passion, as that through which it becomes possible for the divine right
eousness to manifest itself in the forgiveness of sin. In the Psalms, on
the other hand, no evidence appears that the writers had obtained an
insight into the sacrifice of Christ. In them, indeed, the doctrine of a
suffering Messias is contained directly, if the Psalms referring to it, in
particular Ps. xxii., is taken in the strictest Messianic sense, or indi
rectly, if it is referred to the suffering righteous man. But we do not
find that this doctrine is brought into connexion with the doctrine of
justification, that the suffering of the Messias was contemplated as vica
rious and propitiatory. We are not, however, to infer from the non
appearance of this connexion its entire non-existence, as the Psalms are
by no means like doctrinal treatises, and there is found in other pas
sages of the 0. T., especially in Isa. liii., an insight into this connexion,
Yet so much is certainly to be concluded from it, that the connexion
was kept in the back-ground — that the doctrine of justification through
the future work of Christ had not taken hold generally of the conscience
of believers — and that the forgiveness of sid, as a matter of common
experience, was appropriated only per fidem implicitam. But this
being the case, the lively faith with which the Psalmists lay hold of the for
giveness of sin, and the great joy with which it filled them, should awaken
profound shame in us. For to them, who still had not Christ set before
their eyes, it must have been immensely more difficult than to us to
answer with confidence, whether God's grace is greater than man's sins.
2. The second difference is of far less importance. With the ceasing
of the ceremonial law in general sacrifices also ceased ; the sin-offering
and the thank-offering, which- the faithful of the 0. T. were required
to present, as an outward expression of the internal conditions of justi
fication, and the former, indeed, after even the smaller offences ; comp.
on Ps. li. 12. That this difference respects merely the form is evident
from the doctrine of sacrifices, which pervades the Psalms. The true
sacrifices are the internal; such as are merely external are not well-
pleasing to God, Ps. xl. 6, 1., li. 17, cxli. 2. It was only the sacrifices
which were inspirited by the soul of the worshippers that were declared
to be in proper harmony with the law, comp. Ps. li. 20, xx. 4, Ixvi. 13-
15. Now, considering sacrifices as only of a representative nature, —
that the essential thing in them was the feeling represented by them
of surrender to God (the burnt-offering), of repentance (the sin-offering),
of thankfulness (the peace-offering), it is evident that the essence of the
worship was not affected by the abolition of these. The substance re
mained, only its embodiment through an external form has ceased.

DOCTRINE OF SANCTIFICATION. Ixvii
We pass now from the doctrine of justification to that of sanctifica
tion. Only the justified can do good works, and he must do good works —
both already taught in the symbolism of the law ; comp. Beitr. p. 650.
The Psalms are entirely pervaded by the doctrine, that God bestows no
thing, not in particular the precious gifts, which justification brings,
without being sought after ; hence, vows stand in very close connexion
with prayers, and everywhere the sacred bards express themselves deeply
grateful for the grace of God ; comp. Ps. li., the first part of Ps. xl., Ps.
Ixvi., Ivii. That they could do their part by the mere outward sacri
fices, that they could feed God, could never be imagined by them, hav
ing such an insight as they possessed into the nature of sacrifice. But
their gratitude had also to show itself, along with the heartfelt and joy
ful confession of the mouth, in the maintaining of a new walk in right
eousness. In respect, however, to this holiness of life, as little can be
accomplished by one's own powers as in the matter of justification.
Here, too, must every thing proceed from God, who, through his Spirit
forms a new life in us. David, in particular, was deeply penetrated by
this feeling. In Ps. li. 12, he expressly names the Holy Spirit as the
principle of the divine life, and prays God not to take this Spirit from
him on account of his sins. He does not make promise to God, that
he would again, by his own good deeds, retrieve his misconduct, but
entreats that God would give him a pure heart, and renew a right spirit
within him, ver. 11, so that he might serve God with a joyful spirit,
ver. 13. So also, in Ps. cxliii. 10, he prays, that God would teach him
to act so as to please him, and that his good Spirit might lead him by
a plain path. According to ver. 13 of Ps. xix., a Psalm of David, God
alone can preserve even believers from heinous sin, because of the deep
corruption dwelling in their natures, and he would himself inevitably
fall into these, unless God's grace continually upheld him. Among the
other Psalms, the 119th is most thoroughly pervaded by the conviction
that in the keeping of God's commandments nothing can be accomplish
ed by human power, that here God alone can give the will and the per
formance. Even the earliest of all the Psalms, the 90th, has the prayer:
that the Lord would teach us to number our days, so that we may ap
ply our hearts to wisdom. This conviction, that good thoughts and
good works can have their source only in God, has its deepest ground
in the insight of the Psalmists into the sinful corruption of human
nature. Whoever understands this as it really exists — and that the
Psalmists did so we have already shown — he cannot possibly surrender
himself to the delusions of Pelagianism.
It is clear, even from this detail, what is to be thought of the allega
tion of self-righteousness, of irreligious pride, which in recent times has

lxviii DOCTRINE OF SANCTIFICATION.
been raised against some of the Psalms — viz., that in the main it is en
tirely groundless. For it is impossible that there could have been so
sheer a contradiction, and the less so, as the Psalms complained of are
chiefly such as belonged to David. In regard to these Psalms, such,
namely, as ground the hope of salvation upon personal righteousness, or
derive from this the salvation already received, without expressly bring
ing into notice its great imperfection, and without stating that we have
nothing that we have not received, the remarks already made on Ps.
xvii. 1, xviii. 20 ss., xliv. 17-22, may be consulted. We make here only
a few additional remarks, by way of supplementing what was advanced
there, and in order not to overlook the minimum of truth, which lies at
the bottom of the allegation. Though the righteousness spoken of in
the Psalms referred to is only one of endeavour, yet the strong emphasis
laid on it will scarcely accord with our feelings. We naturally expect,
that, at all events, the other side also — as indeed, is very strikingly
done in Ps. cxliii. 2 — the human weakness still cleaving to the righteous
would have been brought distinctly out, and since, on account of this
only, the humble suppliant, who seeks the divine forgiveness, becomes
capable of salvation, we would also have expected that everywhere the
eye should have been humbly directed to the heavenly author of the
good experienced. As expressive of our subjective disposition, we shall
not be able to appropriate to ourselves so thoroughly such portions of
the Psalms ; we shall scarcely be able, when we try to do so, to read
them without stopping. But they will be the more edifying to us, and
will so much the more carry with them the concurrence of our whole
heart, if we regard them as an admonition, as they were certainly de
signed by the Psalmist. The point brought out so prominently in them
certainly has eternal truth in it, and should be perpetually maintained
in the church of God. They seek to impress upon us the truth, that
those only can comfort themselves with the expectation of Divine aid,
who glorify God in their walk; they meet the delusion, that the chil
dren of God and the children of this world are separated from each
other merely by idle feelings and vain imaginations ; and work
against one of the most formidable enemies of salvation — hypocrisy.
They are of great importance, especially for the present age, with
its tendency towards Antinomianism, and a lazy sentimental Chris
tianity. In such Psalms as i., xv., xxiv., the call to righteousness is pressed
upon the people of God with unbending strictness, without any indica
tion whence the power to comply with the call is to be derived, and how
necessary for men, in respect to it, is the pardoning mercy of God; and
there the Christian must be conscious of missing somewhat, without

DOCTRINE OF SANCTIFICATION. Ixix
overlooking the deep import of that portion of the truth which is alone
displayed. It is not as if the Psalmist had not recognised such portions of divine
truth as are not expressly declared, but for us it is natural to bring them
always distinctly into view, at every opportunity to represent strongly
the contrast between nature and grace. We find occasion here for the
often-repeated remark of Amyrald. : Traxit aliguid ex legali ceconomia.
The difference between the Old and New Testament is everywhere very
fine and delicate, and whoever misapprehends this, whoever in place of
a difference puts a contrast, will be farther from the right than he who
overlooks the difference altogether. The general canon here is this :
only such a difference can be a well-grounded one, as does not compro
mise the dignity of the Old Testament as a part of the revelation of
God. According to the commonly received opinion, the law must have been
known to all the members of the Old Covenant only as a constraining
letter ; they must have submitted to it with dislike, in slavish fear of its
punishment and selfish expectation of its reward. But this view holds
good only in regard to the great multitude, the rough mass. " Thy
law," says David in Ps. xl. 9, " is within my heart " — comp. the remarks
on this passage, and on Ps. xxxvii. 31. In Ps. i. 2, he pronounces the
man blessed, whose desire is toward the law of the Lord — comp. Ps. cxii.
1. According to Ps. xix. 8 ss., the law of the Lord quickens the soul,
the commandments of the Lord rejoice the heart, they are more precious
than gold, and much fine gold, and sweeter than honey and the honey
comb. In like manner another Psalmist in Ps. cxix. exclaims, " How
do I love thy law ! how agreeable to my taste are thy words ! more than
honey to my mouth," comp. ver. 97, 111, 127, 165.
The life of the holy singers was governed, not by slavish fear, but by
love — not by a law after the letter, but by a law of liberty. Especially
are the Psalms of David full of expressions of the most cordial, childlike
love to God, of the most heartfelt confidence rooting itself in love, of a
personal surrender growing out of this, of delight in God and his ser
vice; and so long as the church of God exists upon earth, she will be found
warming herself at this fire of love to God, comp. for example, Ps. xviii.
1, Ps. xvi., xxiii., xxxvi., lxii., Ixiii., lxxi., ciii.. cxlv.; and among other
Psalms than those of David, Ps. xlii. xliii., lxxiii., lxxiv., xci., xciv.,
xcv., cxviii., cxxi. Nowhere, not even in Ps. cxix., cxx., is there to be
found a trace of slavish fear, which arises from a sense of internal sepa
ration from God. It is certainly not to be forgotten, however, that the
Psalms are the productions of sacred hours of devotion, in which a
higher spirit than their own fell upon the Psalmists, and they rose above

lxx DOCTRINE OF PUNISHMENT  VINDICTIVE PSALMS.
their ordinary condition. In this last the spirit of sonship undoubtedly
had often to maintain a hard struggle with the spirit of bondage, as is
very graphically depicted to us in Ps. xxxii. itself, which exhibits some
thing of the conflict now referred to.
The tone of higher joyfulness which more especially pervades the
Davidic Psalms — the exclamation, " I will sing and play to thee,'' did
not spring from the ground of slavish fear, which always carries itself
with a sunk head and a rueful look, but from the ground of genuine
love. This divine love of the Psalmists should tend the more to shame
and edify us, as they had not before their eyes such a distinguished proof
as we have of the love of God to his people — their love could still not
kindle itself at this flame.
An accusation has been brought against the moral spirit of the
Psalms in regard to the revenge which breathes in some of them. The
writers very often pray to God for revenge upon their enemies, or speak
of the joy which they and their companions experience upon the re
venge executed by God — sometimes they even appear to express them
selves the purpose of revenge.
But the latter part of the charge has already been answered on Ps.
xli. 11, by the distinction there pointed out between recompense from a
spirit of revenge, which the distempered individual merely as such de
sires and inflicts, and recompense in the service of God, in defence of
the blessings and privileges conferred upon us by him. It is recom
pense or retaliation only in the first sense, that is prohibited in Matth.
v. 39, 40. But the same distinction avails also in respect to the wish
for recompense, and joy at its infliction. It is here also to be inquired
whether the recompense sought and delighted in, was one of mere per
sonal revenge, of irritated sensibility, or for the sake of the divine law,
the reality of which must become doubtful when such recompense is al
lowed to fall into abeyance — with a reference to the nature of God, on
which this law is founded, and which manifests itself by way of reaction
against its violation — for the sake of the fear of God, which must die,
if the reward of this and the punishment of evil should cease — from zeal
for the house of God and the good of his kingdom. Desires of the latter
kind could manifestly be cherished only by those who have the most
sincere compassion for the trouble and . distress that must alight upon
the sinful. There are circumstances in which it is right and dutiful in
the sense now mentioned, even to pay recompense ; others in which one
must confine one's self to the desire for it — as David's, for example, in re
lation to Saul; comp. 1 Sam. xxiv. 13, "The Lord will judge between
me and thee, and the Lord will avenge me of thee, and my hand will I
not lay upon thee."

VINDICTIVE PSALMS. Ixxi
Now, that in the Psalms the prayer for divine recompense and joy on
account of it, flows not from the first, but from the last source — that
the facts respecting it must not be explained on the supposition, that
the spirit of love and of placability on the part of the godly under the
Old Testament, had not become so prevalent and powerful as it is now
in the New Testament, is clear from the emphatic declarations of the
law of God against revenge, upon which the holy singers meditated day
and night, comp. Lev. xix. 18, Ex. xxiii. 4, 5. The opposition to re
venge is so little peculiar to the New Testament, that we might rather
say the strongest and most numerous passages against it are to be found
in the Old, and Paul in Kom. xii. 19, 20, finds that he cannot more
strongly warn against it than in words borrowed from thence. Let the
following passages only be examined, Prov. xxv. 21, xx. 22, xxiv. 17,
18, 29. Job declares in ch. xxxi., that he was ready to take the curse
of God upon himself, if he had rejoiced at the destruction of his hater,
or exulted when misfortune befell him. He brings in revenge, and de
light in evil, in the list of the most heinous crimes. In the apocryphal
wisdom also of Jesus, the son of Sirach, the command to love one's ene
mies holds a chief place, comp. ch. xxviii. 1-11. We might urge too
in behalf of David, in whose Psalms the strongest of the passages in
question are found, that in the most decided manner he pronounced his
abhorrence and disavowal of revenge. In Ps. vii. 4, 5, he invokes the
divine vengeance on his head, if he gave way to a spirit of revenge, nay,
what is still more, David proved, even in the most trying period of his
life, by actual deeds, how much he shuddered at the thought of revenge,
comp. 1 Sam. xxiv. 5, 2 Sam. xvi. 10. A memorial of his noble spirit,
as abhorring anything like revenge, exists to this day in his lamentation
upon Saul's death in 2 Sam. i. He, who could speak so of a fallen
enemy, an enemy that had for years sought his life, and inflicted wounds
in his soul, which were never properly healed again, could certainly not
regard himself as having the privilege of revenge, »nd could least of all
express this in songs which he sung before God, and destined for use
in the sauctuary.
But we shall arrive still more determinately at the same result, if we
take into account the motives which prompted the sacred bards in their
prayers for revenge, or the consequences which they expected to arise
from such prayers being answered. They wished and hoped that the
stumbling-block which the prosperity of the wicked occasions to faith
and the encouragement which it gives to wickedness, would be taken
away— comp. Ps. x. 12; that God would vindicate his endangered hon
our, Ps. Ixxix. 10; that he would manifest his greatness and his right
eousness, and thereby awaken the apprehension of these in the minds of

lxxii VINDICTIVE PSALMS.
believers, and call the world at large to repentance, — comp. Ps. xxxv.
27, xl. 16, lviii. 11, lxiv. 8-10, cxiii. 8. That by the overthrow of the
bitter enemies of his church, he sought to have the church delivered
from destruction, and along therewith the only party qualified to hon
our him, and all the spiritual goods he had committed to her, see Ps.
Ixxix. 6, " Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that know thee not,"
&c; where, according to the connexion, by the heathen are to be un
derstood the people who had raged against Israel, and whose destruc
tion was the condition of Israel's salvation — not the heathen world
generally, for which the Psalmists bore a tender love, and whose recep
tion one day into the kingdom and blessing of God they wistfully anti
cipated. Now the question, whether the distinction we have drawn between
personal vindictiveness and thirst for revenge, and recompense in the
cause of God, and the affirmation that here the discourse can be only
of the latter, is sufficient to justify the Psalmists, coincides with this
other question, whether God's righteousness, as it is taught in the Old
Testament, was a plain reality, or was merely a rough 0. T. representa
tion supplanted by the New. The close connexion of the two questions
is admitted also by those who bring the accusation against the Psalms.
Thus Bauer, in his moral des A. T. Th. i., s. 295, says . " How could
David think otherwise, than that he had a perfect right to curse his
enemies, when he had before him, according to his conviction, the ex
ample of God?" If God be such as he is represented in the Old Testa
ment, then it was entirely proper for believers to wish that he should
show himself to be as he is, if they did this only in the right sense, not in
their own, but in his interest.
There can be no doubt, however, that the idea of the divine compas
sion is essentially the same in both Testaments. The God of the New
is also, " a consuming fire," Heb. xii. 29; " it is dreadful to fall into the
hands of the living God," Heb. x. 31; to those who fall away after hav
ing received the knowledge of the truth, there is, according to Heb x-
27, " a fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, to con
sume the adversaries." The divine righteousness has lost so little of its
vigour under the New Covenant, that he who despises the far richer
means of grace offered under it, becomes the heir of a much sorer pun
ishment than he who perished under the old, Heb. xii. 25. The heart
which hardens itself against God's grace, and remains impenitent, heaps
to itself wrath against the day of wrath, and the revelation of the
righteous judgment of God, Rom. ii. 5. In Matt. xxv. 41, the Saviour
represents himself as speaking to those on his left hand the awful wordi
" Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil

VINDICTIVE PSALMS. lxxiii
and his angels; " and both Jerusalem and the world at large were also
threatened by him with frightful judgments. In Matt. vii. 1, 2, he
declared the law of recompense, which lies as the foundation of the so-
called vindictive Psalms. The death, too, of Ananias and Sapphira was
a matter-of-faot testimony to the continued energy of the divine right
eousness under the New Testament. And whoever has any doubt re
specting it, let him read Josephus on the Jewish war.
But there are found in the New Testament threatenings of the divine
judgment in the form of a wish, which are quite analagous to the Psalms
in question. Of this kind is the woe upon Chorazin, Bethsaida, and
Capernaum, Matt. xi. 20, ss. ; the manifold woes against the Pharisees,
Matt, xxiii. ; the word of Peter to Simon the sorcerer, " thy money
perish with thee," in Acts viii. 20; Paul's declaration in 2 Tim. iv. 14,
" Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil; the Lord reward him
according to his works; " and his exclamation to the high priest in Acts
xxiii. 3, " God will smite thee, thou whited wall." The souls of the
martyrs cry under the altar for revenge.
Tholuck throws out the question, whether the Psalmists never and in
no case mingled with what was in itself holy fire, the unholy fire of
personal irritation. But there is furnished to this question a decided
negative in the position, which our Lord and his apostles assign to the
Psalms generally, by whom they are regarded as a portion of the word
of God, and in particular to the so-called vindictive Psalms. It is pre
cisely the most severe of these which are applied to Christ, and consid
ered as spoken by him, and are therefore pronounced worthy of him, —
see on Ps. xli., Ixix., cix. Then, it is carefully to be considered, that
here we cannot think of a momentary outburst of passion, that the fault,
if anything of that sort exists at all, must necessarily lie in the funda
mental principles. For in the Psalms we have before us not the aim
less and inconsiderate expression of subjective feelings, but they were from
the first destined for use in the sanctuary; and the sacred authors come
forth under the full consciousness of being interpreters of the spiritual
feelings of the community, organs of God for the ennobling of their feel
ings. They give back what, in the holiest and purest hours of their
life, had been given to them. That David, like every child of Adam,
was not free from impulses of revenge, which, from the liveliness of his
feelings, must have been the readier to come upon him, is evident from
what is recorded in 1 Sam. xxv. But there was only needed a gentle
stirring of his conscience, so that he might speak as he did to Abigail,
" Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, which sent thee this day to meet
me. And blessed be thy advice, and blessed be thou that I have not
come against blood, and avenged myself with mine own hand." And

IxXlV VINDICTIVE PSALMS.
what Abigail effected, must not the presence of the holy One, before
whom he stood when he indited his Psalms 1 — must not the thought of
the community, which he would otherwise not have edified, but
scandalized, have still more effected ? The " passionate impress" which
Tholuck would find in particular expressions, falls away as soon as it is
considered that we have poetry before us. This also is not to be over
looked, that fervent zeal for God's glory is very apt, at those times when
we do not ourselves participate in it, when we cannot sympathise with
the sentiment, " The zeal of thine house consumes me," to assume in
our view the appearance of passion. We should then rather make an
attack upon our own breast, and complain of our lukewarmness and
indifference. The deepest ground of the offence, which has been so extensively
spread in our day, against these Psalms, is undoubtedly this, that the
curses of the Psalmists are regarded by the egotists as if they had pro,
ceeded from their own hearts.
Now it might seem, as if simply to recommend the conduct of the
holy singers towards their enemies, were the proper way also to justify
it. But this is not precisely the case. We must here keep in view
the essential difference between the Old and the New Covenants. The
righteousness of God is in both the same; but under the New the divine
mercy comes more prominently out, while in the Old it retires more in
to the back-ground, as regards the disobedient (it is otherwise in respect
to the faithful.) According to the procedure of God in this respect, ac
cording to his diverse position towards the world, as it has been in
fluenced by the nature of the two ©economies, the procedure of his be
lieving people must also fashion itself. This is very strikingly brought
out in the passage, Luke ix. 5, ss. When the disciples would have had
the Lord to call down fire from heaven upon a village of the Samari
tans, appealing to the example of Elias, he answered, " Ye know not
what manner of spirit ye are of; for the Son of Man has come not to
destroy men's lives, but to save them." Olshausen remarks, erroneously:
" The whole form of the expression bears an Old Testament impress;
they spake from the standing-point of the jus talionis." The 0. T. im
press rather lies in this, that they should so readily have thought of
punishment, whereas the thought of conversion and grace, for which the
New Covenant had quite other means at command than belonged to the
Old, should have come into the foreground: the Redeemer was to come
first. That John himself understood thus the declaration of Christ,
appears from the frightful threatenings of divine judgment in the Apo
calypse, in which we again recognise the same disciple, who once be
sought that fire might come down from heaven. That the righteous-

DIVINE ARRANGEMENTS CONNECTED WITH SALVATION. IxXV
ness of God under the New Covenant has lost nothing of its severity,
that it has only changed its position (the Revelation of St John presup
poses his gospel and his epistles) is clear, for example, from Rev. vi. 16,
17, "' And they said to the mountains and rooks, fall on us and cover us
from the face of him that sitteth upon the throne, and from the wrath
of the Lamb." The words of Christ, in which he pointed out to the
disciples how, what was right in Elias, would not be right in them, are
also spoken to us, in so far, as we might be disposed to apply without
consideration the Psalms in question to our enemies, and the enemies of
God's cause; even though we should do this, not from personal irritation,
but in honest zeal for God's glory, as was the case also with the disci
ples. Just as Christ did not at first come to condemn the world, but
that the world through him might be saved, so also with the Christian,
when he sees enmity against God's word, his kingdom or his servants,
the first movement of his soul should be to pray to God that he would
soften these hard hearts and open these blind eyes — a movement to
which the Psalmists also were not strangers, (comp. in Ps. vii. 12, " If
he turn not," and David's mild address to the enemies in Ps. iv.,)
though it is of rare occurrence in them. That cases might also certainly
happen under the New Covenant, in which such confirmed hardness is
manifested as drives the mind from thinking of the divine mercy, to
think of the divine righteousness, is evident from the passages already
quoted. But this difference between the Old and the New Covenants by no
means renders the vindictive Psalms superfluous for us. Viewed in re
gard to their essential matter, they are just as important for us as for the
members of the Old Covenant ; as we see also in Luther, Calvin, and
others, who, so far from finding them barely tolerable, and with some
difficulty vindicated, constantly derived from them a rich source of com
fort and support. For us too, who are so much in danger of being in
fected by the lax views of sin and holiness, which have arisen from the
corruption of the times, they are of special importance; and .the more
so, indeed, the stronger the current of our natural will runs against
them. For this counter-will has its deepest ground in this, that we do
not consider the sins without us as rebellion against God, as an offence
against his majesty, because we do not so regard the sins in ourselves.
The example of the holy Psalmists is also so far given us for our imi
tation, as it teaches us not to single out mercy from among the attri
butes of God, and hold it alone up to view, which cannot be so isolated
without losing its essential nature; for the same living conviction of the
recompensing righteousness of God, the same hatred against sin, against
that primarily, and above all, which dwells in ourselves, is what must

IXXVI ORDER AND COURSE OF SALVATION.
inspire us with like zeal for the glory of God, like fervent love for the
prosperity and success of God's kingdom.
We come now to the .doctrine of the divine arrangements connected
with salvation in the Psalms. Moses had represented God as standing
in a twofold relation — first, in his general relation to the world, as its
almighty Creator and Governor, and then in his special relation to Israel
as the God of their fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as the founder of
a kingdom upon earth, as he who had chosen Israel out of all nations
for his peculiar property, and had promised them, on condition of their
fidelity and devotedness to him, the richest blessings. But there are
not wanting even in Moses indications, from which the more discerning
might conclude that the second relation, though for the present a real
one, was still only temporary, and intended to serve as a means for ac
complishing the higher and more comprehensive design. This might
have been inferred even from the doctrine of Moses upon the first gene
ral relation; for, if God is equally the Creator of all men, if they all in
like manner bear the image of God, it was not to be supposed that he
would abandon the greatest portion of them for ever to themselves.
The same conclusion likewise was deducible indirectly from the fact,
that from the creation down to Abraham the whole human race was the
object of God's direction and government. Such a beginning rendered
it clear that the later limitation could only be employed as means to a
future comprehension. But there are not wanting also in the Penta
teuch express declarations. Through the posterity of the patriarchs,
blessings were destined to come upon all peoples — Israel was separated
for the purpose of blessing all mankind ; this idea pervades the whole
of Genesis ; and according to the conclusion of the book, Gen. xlix.
10, there was one day to arise out of the tribe of Judah a great Restorer
and Prince of Peace, to whom all nations would be subject.
Now, if we compare with all this the declarations of the Psalmists
upon the same subject, we shall find that they not merely apprehend
correctly the instructions given by Moses, but that they also have
attained through the enlightenment of the Spirit of God to greater
clearness and distinctness of view. The Psalms were not in general
designed to unfold new revelations of doctrine, but only to represent the
feelings which were called forth by those already given. It is true,
however, that a prophetical element also found its way into the Psalmodip
poetry — though it is not to be overlooked, that between Moses and the
Psalms there still lies an important intermediate link, the great promise
in 2 Sam. vii., which exerted a most powerful influence afterwards.
When the Psalmists speak of the present, they celebrate with lively
gratitude the pre-eminence which God had given to Israel over all the
heathen through his election of them to be his covenant people, through

DIVINE ARRANGEMENTS CONNECTED WITH SALVATION. lxxvii
the revelation of his law, the great proofs he had given of his goodness
during the past, and his gracious presence still in the sanctuary. " He
made known his ways to Moses, to the children of Israel his wonders,"
Ps. ciii. 7. " God is known in Judah, in Israel his name is great ; and
his tabernacle was at Salem, and his dwelling in Zion," it is said in a
Psalm composed in the age of Hezekiah, Ps. Ixxvi. 2, 3 ; and in,
another composed in the time of Nehemiah, " He declared to Jacob his
word, to Israel his statutes and judgment ; he did not so to the heathen,
and his statutes, they know not," Ps. cxlvii. 19, 20.
But they are so far from suffering themselves to be led by this grate
ful joy into a narrow and one-sided particularism, that they rather
anticipate with longing hope the glorious future, when all the heathen
will repent of their apostacy from God, and return to him, when they
shall become members of his kingdom. This view is especially dear to
David, and highly appreciated by him. It is brought out mainly,
though not exclusively, in the Psalms of David.
The hope as to the future reception of the heathen among the people
of God, has many grounds and occasions for its exercise in the Psalms.
Sometimes it rises out of the experience then enjoyed of the victorious
energy of the Lord, in which faith saw a pledge of the future subjection
of the whole might of the world under his sceptre. Thus, in ver. 29-32
of Ps. lxviii., it springs forth in connection with the victory of David's
most formidable enemies, the Syrians and Ammonites, by the help of the
Lord; in Ps. xlvii., with Jehoshaphat's victory over various heathen
nations; and in Ps. Ixxxvii. the joyful events under Hezekiah served to
develop the germ which continually slumbered among the people of the
hope of a converted world. In Ps. xci.-c, this hope discovers itself in
connection with another, and certainly in some respects opposite point of
view. It is brought in here to meet the fainting and doubts of Israel
on account of the frightful ascendancy of the worldly power then begun
to which Israel was destined for a long time to succumb. The Psalmist
looks onward to the future glorious manifestations of the Lord which
turn upon this relation. In the Davidic Psalm Ixvii., the confidence
that the nations shall still some time be brought to praise the Lord, is
grounded upon his good and righteous government, which they primarily
apprehend from his procedure toward his people, in particular, from the
bestowal upon them of rich blessings, by which they were drawn into
close fellowship with him. In Ps. lxxii. the manifestation of the glory
of the Lord in the vindication of suffering righteouness, exercises over all
the heathen an attractive influence. In Ps. cii. 22, David sees how the
people gather themselves together, and the kingdoms, to serve the Lord,
attracted and drawn through the salvation which Zion had experienced

Ixxviii THE MESSIANIC PSALMS.
in the time of her distress. According to ver. 4, 5, ot Ps. cxxxviii.,
composed by David, the kings of the earth will turn to the Lord, on
account of the future elevation of the depressed David. Finally, the
culminating point is formed by the Psalms, in which the conversion of
the heathen is represented as the work of the Messias, and he himself as
the great enlarger of the kingdom of God. To him belong, according to
Ps. ii. 8, the heathen, from one end of the earth to the other. In Ps.
ex., he appears as the conqueror of the heathen world. " He reigns,"
according to ver. 8 of Ps. lxxii., the production of Solomon, "from sea
to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth," and this universal
supremacy he is to win, not by dint of arms, but by his righteousness
and love, which he should show in behalf of the poor. and oppressed,.
In Ps. xiv., the heathen nations are introduced under the image of
companions of the bride, with whom, not Jess than with her, the King is
united in love.
That there must be Messianic Psalms is evident alone from the fact
that the Lord, after his resurrection, proved to his disciples, that every
thing which had happened to him had been announced before-hand, not
only in the other books of Scripture, but also particularly in the Psalms,
Luke xxiv. 44. This also was to be presumed as a thing self-evident,
when we consider the large place which the revelation of the Messiah
has in the law, and especially in the writings of the prophets. It is in
credible, that an announcement which was uttered so repeatedly, and so
expressly, by the servants of God, which, according to the testimony of
history, had made so powerful an impression upon the minds of the
people, had sunk so deeply into their views and feelings, should not
have been often re-echoed in the Psalms, which contain the people's
answer to the divine revelations, and express the feelings which these
served to call forth; in which all is presented to our view that power
fully stirred, the minds of the people.
A great part of the Messianic Psalms connect themselves with the
promise in 2 Sam. vii., which constituted a formative epoch in the his
tory of the hope respecting the Messiah, and formed a large section in
David's spiritual life. First, those Psalms come here into consideration,
which do not rise above the radical promise in definite intimations; which
speak of the grace that God had shown to David's seed, by assuring them
of a dominion destined to survive all that is earthly, without expressly
naming the Messiah, and without excluding a reference to the lower
and immediate posterity of David. To this class belong among the
Psalms of David himself: Ps. xviii., where he celebrates the grace
which God " shows to David and his seed for evermore," and connects
the thought of the salvation he had already received with that of the

THE MESSIANIC PSALMS. Ixxix
future, which was rendered sure to him by the promise in 2 Sam. vii. ;
Ps. xxi., where, in the name of the people, he gives thanks for the word
of promise; Ps. lxi., where, during the period of Absalom's revolt, he
prays for the deliverance of the kingdom of David on the ground of that
promise; Ps. ci.— iii., where, in the name of his seed, he gives utterance
to holy purposes, prays in the midst of afflictions, and at length, in a
solemn Tedeum, renders thanks for the redemption, of which his faith
in the promise made him assured. Finally, the cycle of Ps. cxxxviii.
to cxlv., the prophetical legacy of David, in which, at the beginning, he
thanks the Lord for his promise, at the close, rejoices over its accom
plishment, and, in the middle, warns his seed to beware of what would
diminish the blessing of the promise, and consoles them under the afflic
tions that awaited them.
Among the Psalms of other authors, there belong to this class: Ps.
Ixxxix., where, in the immediate prospect of the prostration of David's
throne by the Chaldeans, the people entreat the Lord, on the ground of
his plighted word of promise, to remove the apparent contradiction
between the reality and the word ; Ps. cxxxii., where, in times of deep
depression, a new reanimation of David's seed and kingdom was hoped
for from the promise given in Samuel.
The second class consists of Psalms, in which the final reference of
the original promise is alone brought prominently into view, which are
occupied exclusively with the Messias, as the person in whom what was
promised of glory to the seed of David must be found to reach its pro
per end and issue. We have no right to contend against the acknow
ledgment of such personal Messianic Psalms. The knowledge of the
final reference of the promise to the Messias might very readily suggest
itself to David even in a human way. The promise of the great Restorer
could not be unknown to him, who was to spring out of the stem of
Judah, and to whom the obedience of the peoples was to be rendered.
The promise granted to him must have stood in opposition to this an
nouncement, if the latter was referred to any individual that did not
belong to his seed. It was quite natural to interpret the one by the
other — to add to Gen. xlix. the stem from 2 Sam. vii., and to 2 Sam.
vii. from Gen. xlix., the culminating of what was spoken of the stem in
a person of great distinction. And why also — since it cannot be denied,
that the prophets knew the allusion of the promise in 2 Sam. vii. to
the Messias — should this knowledge not be attributed to David, who
ascribes to himself prophetical dignity in 2 Sam. xxiii. 1, to whom
the same also is ascribed by our Lord in reference to Messianic objects
and events in Matt. xxii. 43, and who says of himself in 2 Sam. xxiii.
2, that the Spirit of the Lord spake through him, and his word was on

IXXX THE MESSIANIC PSALMS.
his tongue. But the actual existence of personal Messianic Psalms is
put out of all doubt by the declaration of our Lord in Matt. xxii. 41
ss., comp. on Ps. ex., and confirmed by the unforced interpretation of
Ps. ii., ex., lxxii., xiv., themselves.
The Messianic announcement in these Psalms takes its starting-point
from the relations of the present. David must, in accordance with 2
Sam. vii., represent the Messias as his successor upon the throne as king.
All, therefore, that in this respect had been granted to him, the vic
tories which he obtained, by God's help, over the heathen nations, the
enlargement of the boundaries of his kingdom, the splendour of his
reign, must serve to him — who understood that the gift conferred in
the original promise could not be withdrawn, and that it made the
boundaries of his empire as wide as those of the world — as a ladder upon
which he might rise to the apprehension of a Messias in glory, of a con
queror over the heathen world, of the mighty hero, who would not rest
till he had subjected the whole earth to his sceptre, and who would sup
press with a powerful hand every attempt at revolt. Thus arose Ps. ii.
and ex. While in these Psalms of David, the relations of his own time
formed the groundwork, hence presenting the Messias to our view, as
fighting, conquering, spoiling, extending the limits of his kingdom into
the infinite, the Messianic representation given in Ps. lxxii., the com
position of Solomon, rises upon the basis of Ms time. He presents to
us the Messias as the true Prince of Peace, only imperfectly imaged by
Solomon himself, and his kingdom as a righteous administration of
peace. The relations of Solomon's time, also, form the ground of the
representation given in Ps. xiv., which is very closely connected with
Ps. lxxii.
The bridge between the two classes of Psalms, which rested upon 2
Sam. vii., is formed by the declarations of David in 2 Sam. xxiii., where
•he beholds in the spirit a ruler out of his house, ruling in the fear of
God, under whose government rises a cloudless sun, and the earth
abounds in fruitfulness, while the wickedness that lifts itself up against
him is reduced to subjection. The " ruler among men" is primarily an
ideal person. This appears, from the corresponding expression in ver.
5, " my house." But the ideal person points to the real, in whom what
was here said of the kingdom of David was one day to find its full reali
zation, and with an eye to this personage has the personfication been
applied. Beside the Messianic Psalms which rest upon 2 Sam. vii., there are
still to be considered the typical Messianic Psalms. Every truly right
eous person is to be regarded as a type of Christ — of him who is the

THE MESSIANIC PSALMS. lSXXl
absolutely righteous one. Now, what might meet such a person in so
far as he was righteous, what he received, how he conducted himself, this
is justly to be viewed as a prophecy respecting Christ, in whom the idea
was to be perfectly realized — with the very same right, indeed, with
which we inversely apply to ourselves what is written of the manifested
Christ, and consider it as a prophecy respecting his members. It lies
in the nature of things, that the number of the Messianic Psalms in this
sense cannot be very strictly bounded; the most of thera contain a
Messianic element, especially the plaintive Psalms, yet not exclusively
these — as little as the suffering and humbled Christ is the whole Christ.
The Messianic reference is found peculiarly strong in those of the
typical Psalms, which bear respect, not to a single individual, but to an
ideal person, that of the righteous, and represent his life, his sufferings,
his feelings, and the divine aid, which was imparted to him. To this
class belong a whole series of the Psalms of David, vi., xvi., xxii., xxxv.,
xxxviii., xl., xli., Ixix., lxx., lxxi., cii., cix. These Psalms, which we
see most explicitly referred to in the New Testament along with the
direct Messianic Psalms to Christ, in particular Ps. xxii., xli., Ixix.,
would stand in a very close relation to the others, even though no trace
could be pointed out in them of a conscious reference to Christ on the
part of the Psalmist. For, the ideal, which they describe, became iir
Christ a reality. Every other pious individual could appropriate theii
contents only in part and relatively — only under a constantly repeated:
" Lord have mercy on me," and " God be merciful to me a sinner."
Christ alone found himself perfectly delineated in them. Since in them
righteousness and the deepest sufferings, springing from the enmity of
the wicked world, are set forth as inseparably united, and suffering
righteousness has salvation joined to it and the execution of judgment
upon the enemies, he found in them his course plainly chalked out
beforehand. We are conducted, however, still farther, and even to the
very borders of the direct reference to the suffering Messias, by the
fact, that in some Psalms, which refer to the suffering righteous, David
evidently had in view, besides the individual and the people, his own
seed also, (comp. on Ps. cii.,) and the person, in whom that seed was to
culminate, (comp. on Ps. cix.) These Psalms, from which also light
falls upon the others, form at the same time the bridge between the
Psalms of the suffering righteous, and those which lean upon 2 Sam.
vii. For, that in them also such a leaning exists in regard to one side,
appears from a comparison of Ps. cxxxviii.-cxlv. David was himself
too much pierced through by his afflictions for this point not to pre
sent itself vividly to the eye of his mind and to be expressed in his
VOL. III. f

lxxxii DOCTRINE OF ETERNAL LIFE.
Psalms, anxiously busied as he so often was, from the time he received the
promise in 2 Sam. vii., with thoughts regarding the future state and
destiny of his seed.
It has often been sought in regard to a number of these Psalms, in
particular Ps. xvi., xxii., xl., Ixix., to refer them exclusively to the
suffering Messias. But that this cannot be maintained, has been
shown in the commentary on the Psalms. The reference to the suffer
ing Messias occurs only as one of the different radii, which proceed from
the centre of the righteous — the private individual, the people, the seed
of David, the Messias; and is only indicated in a gentle and somewhat
hidden manner, even in Ps. cix., where still it is brought out more dis
tinctly than in the rest.
We come now, in conclusion, to the doctrine of immortality, or more
correctly of eternal life. The belief of immortality and a future recom
pense was in various ways prepared in the Pentateuch. The single fact
is here of great importance, that according to its teaching, death is not
the natural and necessary attendant of human existence, but the wages
of sin. With this view of death, faith in an eternal life must of neces
sity break forth as soon as the hope of redemption enters — the hope of
having the root restored that was lost in Adam. As death came
through sin into the world, so must it again be abolished by redemp
tion, which restores paradise — see Isa. xi. Farther, man was made,
according to Gen. i. 26, 27, in God's image ; and in that lies the
possibility, not merely of immortality in the general, but of a blessed or
a wretched immortality, of eternal life, or condemnation. If we have in
the doctrine of the divine likeness the anthropological foundation of the
doctrine of immortality, the doctrine taught in the Pentateuch respect
ing God likewise points on all hands to the same conclusion. Even the
absolute spirituality of God, his entire separation from everything
earthly, points in that direction. For it delivers the soul from the most
dangerous enemy of faith in respect to an eternal life, a necessary con
nection with what is seen and temporal. The unlimited omnipotence
of God assures us of his being able, while the greatness of his love, as that
discovers itself especially in his dealings with his people, assures us of
his being willing — which was already indicated by our Lord in Matt.
xxii. 31, 32. That God should enter into so close and endearing a
relation to man, as we find him doing with the patriarchs, would be a
contradiction, if man's life were to be bounded only by the present
existence. But the most direct preparation made by the Pentateuch,
consists in its constantly and diligently enforcing the doctrine of the
temporal recompense — comp. on this subject my Contrib. to Pent. II.,
p. 577, ss,, and the Introd. toPs. xxxvii. Experience shows that where

DOOTRINE OF ETERNAL LIFE. lxxxiii
this doctrine has struck its root, faith in an eternal recompense of itself
springs up, but that where this foundation is wanting, the building of a
belief in immortality rests upon the sand, and is liable to be thrown
down by the first blast.
But while it is true that the Pentateuch contains the best preparation
for a faith in immortality, it is not less true that it did little to call forth
directly this faith. A considerable number of passages undoubtedly
point to a simple immortality. But only one contains a distinct allu
sion to it — the narrative of Enoch's translation; in which it is of special
importance to remark that his walk with God is intentionally and ex
pressly placed in a causal connection with his being taken by God.
And this one passage also manifestly bears an enigmatical character.
It tends still more than the want of any other positive declarations to
give the impressions, that the original revelation wished to spread a
veil of secrecy over this doctrine, the blessed influence of which pre
supposed conditions which could not then be formally brought out.
In the Psalms also there are preparations of various kinds for faith in
respect to eternal life. To that, however, on which Ojlhler (V. T. sen-
tentia de rebus post mortem futuris, Stuttg. 1846, p. 72) lays so much
stress, we cannot attach any weight. He has endeavoured to find pas
sages in the Psalms, in which the authors raise themselves above the
Mosaic doctrine of the inseparable connection between righteousness
and a state of outward prosperity, in which they were so elevated by a
sense of the favour and fellowship of God, as to regard such an external
felicity as far beneath them. No such passages, when the subject is
more narrowly considered, are to be found. The pure love of the mys
tics, and still more the resignation of the philosophers, is quite foreign
to the Psalms. The old Mosaic doctrine of the inseparable connection
between righteousness and prosperity pervades the Psalms from be
ginning to end ; and the sacred bards wrestle and fight to maintain it
against all assaults. In Ps. iv. 7, Ixiii. 3, the contrast is not between
God and prosperity, but of prosperity without God, and of adversity
with God. The latter is better than the former. For, he who is united
to God, is sure of what is really good even in the midst of trouble. On
the other hand, prosperity without God is uncertain and transitory. How
far Ps. Ixxxiv. 10, is removed from the pure love of the mystics, is evi
dent from the connection with ver. 11. The internal connection with God
never appears in contrast with, or even as a supplement to prosperity,
but always as a pledge and security for this — comp. on Ps. Ixiii., where
the hope in regard to the future raises itself upon the ground of the in
ternal connection with God. In Ps. xlii. 8 : " The Lord commands his
loving-kindness in the day time, and in the night his song is with me,"

Ixxxiv DOCTRINE OF ETERNAL LIFE.
the Psalmist, indeed, rejoices in the internal consolations which re
mained with him in the midst of his outward troubles^ But with the
song the prayer for the return of prosperity is immediately coupled.
Then, we can the less suppose such a preparation for faith respecting
eternal life to have really existed, as there is found no trace of it what
ever in the other scriptures. In the prophets, who first lifted off
the veil, the foundation of this faith is not the abolition of the
Mosaic doctrine of recompense, but the firm conviction of its reality
which in the New Testament also is not opposed, but rather powerfully
confirmed. A real germ, however, of the faith in an immortal existence, is con
tained in those passages which express a confident expectation of de
liverance from threatening danger, whether in reference to individuals
or to the whole community — such as Ps. xlviii. 14, and the passages
there quoted. He, who in the one could so confidently expect the
other, could, and indeed must, have looked for redemption from the
already existing desolation of death. In one of these passages, Ps. xvi.,
the Psalmist raises himself in the face of such a danger, by the power of
faith, into a triumph over death itself, certainly having respect to the very
imminent danger of death, and in another, Ps. lxxiii. 26, he supposes
the actual entrance of death in order to triumph over it.
There is a germ also of this faith of immortality in those passages
where the redemption of the community from political death is spoken of
with undoubting confidence, on the ground of what is written in Deut.
xxxii. 39, " I kill and I make alive; for ex. Ps. Ixxxv. 6, lxxx. 18,
lxxi. 20; or those again which speak of the redemption of individuals,
from the deepest distress, as of a resurrection from the dead — comp. Ps.
xxx. 3, xviii. 5, lvi. 13, Ixxxvi. 13. The reviving of the dead in a
figurative sense contains the pledge of it in a literal one.
Persons have often refused to be satisfied with such passages as con
tain the germ of a faith in immortality, but have sought to point out
in various passages the full development of the doctrine. In reference to
the passage Ps. xvii. 15, where even De Wette finds the hope uttered of
a blessed immortality, to Ps. xc, on which Stier lays considerable stress,
or to Ps. xlviii. 14, Iii. 8, 9, which Tholuck holds to be decided proofs,
we must here simply refer to our exposition. We would only enter a
little into the consideration of the passages, to which importance is at
tached by (Ehler in the work above noticed, and Bottcher de inferis. In
Ps. xvi. the Psalmist, indeed, triumphs over death itself; but in this he
manifestly thinks, not of death as already entered, but of the danger of
death by which he was surrounded. In Ps. lxxiii. 26, (Ehler contends
against the hypothetical construction of the words, " my flesh and my

DOCTRINE OF ETERNAL LIFE. lxXXV
heart fails," q. d., though it should fail, but by God's grace matters will
not come so far. But he overlooks that this is necessarily demanded by
the for which connects the two following verses with that, and also by
the parallel passages in the book of Job; farther, that by making ver. 26
refer to a blessed immortality, the passage would be taken entirely out
of connection with the whole Psalm, which bears throughout upon the
territory of the present life; and finally, that the Psalm, according to ver.
1, has, though not an exclusive, yet at least a concurrent national bear
ing. In like manner efforts have vainly been made to extract from Ps.
xlix. 15 the hope of a deliverance from Sheol, though the whole Psalm
has respect to the recompense on this side of eternity. In ver. 7, to which
ver. 15 forms the contrast, the discourse is not of death in general, but of
an untimely and violent death; and Sheol appears as the dwelling-place
of the wicked, only in so far as they terminate their days before they are
half spent, and descend thither before the time that the ordinary fate of
mortality would have brought them to it. The whole misunderstand
ing has been occasioned by this, that the Psalmist draws a veil over the
ultimate departure of the godly into Sheol, as a fact which had nothing
to do with his design.
The fact that the Psalms, while they contained the germ of the doc
trine of eternal life, did not give any clear and definite utterance tc
the doctrine, may appear extraordinary, as they partly belong to a later
period than the prophetical passages, in which the doctrine is unquestion-
ahly propounded. Isaiah announces the taking away of death and the
resurrection of the dead in Messiah's time: " The Lord destroys death
for ever, and the Lord wipes away the tears from off all faces," xxv. 8 ;
and, again, in ch. xxvi. 19, "Thy dead shall live, my corpses shall rise
up; for a dew of light (= of salvation) is thy dew, and the earth will
give forth the deceased." Ezekiel represents, in ch. xxxvii., God's
victorious energy over the death of his people, in colours which are so
distinctly drawn from the resurrection, that the prophetical delineation,
as it could only be drawn by one who was himself possessed of faith
in the resurrection, could not but exercise an important influence on
the establishment of this faith. Finally, the most explicit passage
upon the resurrection of the dead is Dan. xii. 1, ss. But the scattered
nature of the prophetic intimations of the doctrine of eternal life is
itself an evidence that we are not necessarily to expect any utterance of
this faith in the Psalms. For the Psalms, and more particularly those
of later times, which always formally speak from the consciousness of
the community, present not the individual, but the general, that only
which, though partly latent, yet existed in the consciousness of the
whole community. But this was not the case with the doctrine of eter-

IXXXVI DOCTRINE OF ETERNAL LIFE.
nal life. It was a good while till the leaven of the prophetic declarations
penetrated the whole mass, which certainly it could not fail to do in its
own time. If the Psalms, as some modern critics would have us believe,
really reached down to the time of the Maccabees, and were in great
part composed about that time, when the faith of eternal life had al
ready become deeply rooted in the minds of the people, they could not
possibly have failed to give utterance to this faith. But if, on the other
hand, the time of Nehemiah formed the utmost limit, it cannot seem
strange that such utterances are not found in them.
It may possibly seem as if the absence of the doctrine of immortality
were hostile to the supposition of the Psalmists having been under the
special influence of the Spirit of God. But this is not the case. They
have not uttered anything erroneous; they have only not declared the
whole truth. The former would only have been true, had they main
tained the annihilation of man after death. They are far, however,
from doing this. If we deny to the Psalmists the doctrine of immortal
ity, it is only immortality in the Christian sense, the doctrine of the
blessedness of the righteous, and of the condemnation of the wicked
According to them, all men go at death into Sheol.* That this is not
a mere figment, but a real and proper existence, is confirmed by the
doctrine of the New Testament, as also by the prophets, who plainly
announce the doctrine of the resurrection, while neither class of writers
thought of renouncing the old doetrine of Sheol, but rather express
their belief in it; — see Matt. xii. 40, Luke xvi. 22, ss., 1 Pet. iii. 18, 19,
iv. 6, Phil. ii. 10, where, besides heavenly and earthly things, also the
things under the earth are mentioned as being subject to Christ; Rev.
xx. 14, according to which Hades continues even to the final judgment,
1 Against those who would identify Sheol with the grave, see (Ehler, p. 26.
Bottcher, p. 70. There is no instance of what the former seeks to maintain, that
sometimes the things which properly belong to Hades, and those to the sepulchre,
are mixed up in the description of the condition of the dead. In regard to the
meaning of the word, there is no good reason for abandoning the simple and
natural derivation from "5N1P, to demand ; Mich. : a poscendo dictus quod non
desinat postulare et homines alios post alios ad se trahere. Sheol, therefore, so
named, because it demands all life ; comp. Job xxxi. 30, " to demand in cursing
his soul." It is precisely insatiableness which is represented as characteristic of
Sheol, in Prov. xxvii. 20 : "hell and the abyss are never satisfied;" xxx. 16; Is.
v. 14. In Hab. ii. 5, the Chaldean is compared to Sheol, because "he gathereth
unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people." This derivation, against
which, in modern times, no proper proofs, but only strong affirmations, have been
brought, has also the predominantly poetical use of Sheol on its side : and the fact,
that the word never stands with the article, is to be explained by its being properly
the infinitive.

DOCTRINE OF ETERNAL LIFE. Ixxxvii
when the preparatory gives place to the ultimate. If in the New Tes
tament the word Hades, = Sheol, is used only in reference to dead
sinners (see, however, Acts ii. 27, 31), yet in point of fact there can be
no doubt it exists also for the righteous. An intermediate state is
taught also in reference to them. The removal of it takes place only
at the second coming of Christ — see for ex. Heb. ix. 39, 40. Where
fore, as far as the saints of the Old Testament attained in their know
ledge, they were quite right, they were only excluded from farther light.
But it is error alone which divine inspiration excludes, not the defect
and imperfection of knowledge. There would, however, have been
error in the 0. T. here, only if it had put in place of the Christian
doctrine of eternal life, the rationalistic belief, which denies the inter
mediate region, and regards the individual whom it entirely severs from
connection with the whole, as immediately entering on the full enjoy
ment of blessedness. In regard to the doctrine respecting Sheol itself,
there certainly is a difference between the 0. and the N. Testament, in
asmuch as in the N. Testament a separation is represented as already
existing even there between the righteous and the wicked. This doc
trine is contained only in two passages, Luke xvi. 22, ss., and 1 Pet. iii.
19, (See Steiger there). The others, in particular, "To-day wilt thou
be with me in Paradise," Luke xxiii. 43, refer to the relations which
were first introduced by Christ, who went away to prepare a place for
his disciples, John xiv. 3; so that they might henceforth wish to depart
and be with him, Phil. i. 23. Here, then, lies a progress not in know
ledge, but in the matter itself. But still in respect to this difference
now pointed out, there is no error in the Old Testament, but only a less
degree of knowledge. The other differences which Hahn (V. T. sen-
tentia de natura hominis) has sought to point out are found on examin
ation not to be tenable. According to the author, the 0. T. conducts
the soul, \^Q2; into Sheol, and the N. T. the spirit, •mtufi.a,. But the
passages which he has adduced in support of the first statement do not
apply ; they only speak of a going down of the soul into hell, which
does not necessarily import that it remains there, but rather the very
reverse; for just on accountof the danger of the soul might it be inferred,
that it would be thought upon. The only passage quoted by CEhler,
Job xiv. 22, in which the ^fity} must stand of the soul as existing in
Hades, is to be regarded as throughout poetical. The soul of the dead
in reality laments as little as the body in reality is sensible of pain.
To both poetically the feeling is attributed, which they would have ex
perienced if they had been susceptible of any. With how much greater
an appearance of truth we discover in a passage of the New Testament,
Rev. vi. 9, that "\/v%a,i is a designation of souls in the intermediate

lxxxviii DOCTRINE OF ETERNAL LIFE.
state. But on closer examination it is found that this view would also
be inadmissible. The 4'U%a/ are the murdered souls, and the word
blood might as well have stood. — See v. 10 and the original passage
Gen. iv. 10. The subject in ver. 10 is .not the souls, but the rates. If
one of the two were found in the N. Testament, <$y^ or j-|«p, the
latter might also stand there. For ^yy is too closely connected with
the body to be able to exist without it, to lead a purely incorporeal ex
istence. No contrary meaning is yielded by such passages as Eccl. xii.
7, Ps. civ. 29, Job xxxiv. 14. For they do not exclude this, that
though the spirit returns to him who gave it, yet the Tuin as it were of
the spirit may remain. — See 1 Kings x. 5, Eccl. ix. 10. pjy^ is not
merely the divine breath of life, but also the human spirit created by
that (Numb. xvi. 22, Zech. xii. 1) which may, indeed, become faint if it
does not receive further supplies from the fountain-head, and incapable
of action if it loses its organ, but still can never altogether cease to be.
But if the matter were still doubtful, from the fact that the N. Testa
ment speaks this without exception of the spirits, and not of the souls
of the departed (comp. 1 Pet. iii. 18, where the nnufj,a is the spiritual
life common to all men with Christ; ver. 19, where the discourse is of
the spirits in prison, whereas presently of living men -^u^al is used, 1
Pet. iv. 6, Luke xxiv. 37, Hebr. xii. 23), it may with certainty be con
cluded that in the 0. Testament also the spirit only can be intended.
For where a difference cannot be firmly established, there an agreement
is to be supposed. The presumption is in favour of this.
A second difference, and even a manifest contrast, Hahn would find
in this, that according to the O. Testament the inhabitants of the inter
mediate state are without consciousness, while in the N. Testament they
have not merely self-consciousness, but also the knowledge of things
which take place on the earth. But the distinction vanishes when we
have set aside what is here attributed of too little to the Old and too
much to the New Testament. Certainly in the 0. Testament the region
of the dead does appear as noiseless, Ps. xciv. 17, xxxi. 17; Sheol is
" the land of forgetfulness," where " one thinks of nothing," Ps. lxxxviii.
12; and in death there is no celebration of God's praise and remem
brance of him, Ps. vi. 5, cxv. 17, xxx. 9. But that according to the 0.
Testament mode of contemplation, self- consciousness only slumbers, does
not absolutely cease with the departed, that it continues as to ability in
full energy with departed, this is shown more clearly and certainly,
than could be done by any particular poetical passage, by the narra
tive in 1 Sam. xxviii., where Samuel is presented before us in the full
vigour of his personal existence. The supposition, which has never
been made but from felt difficulty or wrong bias, that the appearance

DOCTRINE OF ETERNAL LIFE. IXXXIX
of Samuel was regarded bv the historian as a cheat, has been again re
peated by Bottcher. But it is contradicted by the fact of the commu
nication itself, which can only be explained, if the event was considered
of deeper import by. the author, by the circumstance that Samuel ap
peared unexpectedly to the woman herself, and to her horror, as also
that he spake in perfect accordance with his character, and uttered a
prediction which the event confirmed to be true. We see plainly here
that those who went into Sheol were not lost; for what by a sudden ex
citation can be again roused into energy, that, being still. secured in per
petuity of being, will some time be awakened again out of slumber.
But it does not follow from any of the Psalms in question that con
sciousness is to be regarded as one of complete repose. Were this the
case, they would stand in opposition to other passages of the Old Testa
ment, where the contrary is represented; in particular, to the descrip
tion given of the reception of the king of Babylon in Shoel in Is. xiv.
It is not to be overlooked that in ail those passages of the Psalms there
was a reason for bringing strongly out the one side of the truth, and to
let the other, which still resides in the Sheol, fall into the background.
In all of them there was a foundation to be laid for the prayer, that God
would not send the suppliant too soon into Sheol; so that the rendering
prominent of the shadowy side of the picture was quite in its place. If
we turn to the N. Testament, the only passage that properly comes into
consideration is Luke xvi. 22, ss. For the others refer to those asleep
in Christ, who has also for the intermediate state brought life to light, 2
Tim. i. 10. But from that passage straightway to conclude that the
departed under the Old Testament possessed a clear self-consciousness,
and even a knowledge of what was passing upon earth, is entirely to
overlook that we have here to do with a parable, in which only the funda
mental relations are of material importance. But even with the dead in
Christ the state up to the resurrection is represented pre-eminently as a
rest from trouble and affliction, Rev. xiv. 13, as a blessed sleep, 1 Thess.
iv. 13-15, v. 10, or, however, as a blessed waking-sleep. We cannot
think of it otherwise without making the resurrection superfluous, upon
which Scripture lays such great stress, behind which it makes the in
termediate state fall so decidedly into the background — without over
looking the importance of the corporeal part of our natures, *and egot
istically dissevering the individual from his connection with the general
community. It might appear farther, that the deficiency of faith in regard to eter
nal life must have deprived the holy singers of all vigour of faith and all
joy in suffering. And certainly it is not to be denied that great and
heavy temptations arose to the believers of the 0. Testament, from their

XC DOCTRINE OF ETERNAL LIFE.
not having had a clear view disclosed to them of a future state of ex
istence (comp. Job xiv. 14, and the Introd. to Ps. xxxix., where it is
shown how the instructive character of the Psalm is the greater on this
very account, that its author still retained faith in the circumstances in
which he was placed). But it is also not to be overlooked that the sub
stance of faith respecting eternal life, even though the clear apprehen
sion of it failed, is everywhere found there, where the powers of the
future world have sunk into the soul; and then, that under the Old
Covenant the extraordinary sources of consolation flowed the more copi
ously that the ordinary ones were so scanty. An attentive consideration
of the transition to the Psalms, shows us how powerful the workings of
the Spirit then were, and how mightily he raised the soul above trouble
and death and self.

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WLothi $uiltel)rtl hv C. & -JE. Clarfe, eEtftulmrg;!).
In demy 8vo, price 10s. 6d., Second Edition,
THE GOSPEL HISTORY:
A COMPENDIUM OF CRITICAL INVESTIGATIONS IN SUPPORT OF THE
HISTORICAL CHARACTER OF THE FOUR GOSPELS.
BY DR J. H. A. EBRARD,
PROFESSOR OF THEOLOGY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF ERLANSEN.
' Nothing could have been' more opportune than the republication in English of this
admirable work. It has long been highly valued in Germany, and has done most effective
service" against the many assailants of the Gospels in that country. ...... We are
heartily glad that such a thorough and comprehensive work on the vital subject of the
Gospels should at this moment have been presented to the British public, and we
anticipate much good from it, iD view of the attacks which have already been made, and
which will doubtless for a time be continued, on the inestimably precious records of our
Saviour's life.' — British and Foreign Evangelical Review.
' Executed with the hand of a master ; Ebrard is on countless matters of detail, as
well as principle, invaluable. Let our University students acquaint themselves with such
a work as this, and they will find their own way safely to the rest of our Gospel literature.'
— Literary Churchman.

BT TEE SAME AUTHOR.
In demy 8vo, price 10s. 6d.,
COMMENTARY 01 THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS.
In demy 8vo, price 10s. 6d.,
COMMENTARY 01 THE EPISTLES 0E ST JOHN.
' Dr Ebrard is one of the finest of German evangelical scholars in the department of
philology and criticism. He has comprehensiveness of intellect, and is eminent for
spiritual insight and theological depth.' — Nonconformist.

In Three Volumes, demy 8vo, price 31s. 6d.,
BIBLICAL COMMENTARY ON THE PEITATEUCH.
BY PROFESSORS KEIL AND DELITZSCH.
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make this work most acceptable. The Commentary, while it is verbal and critical, has
also the faculty of gathering up and generalizing the lesson and the story, which will
add immensely to its value. It aims to be an exegetical handbook, by which some fuller
understanding of the Old Testament economy of salvation may be obtained from a study
in the light of the New Testament teachings.' — Eclectic Review.
' We can safely recommend this work to the clergy and others who desire to study
the Bible as the Word of God.' — /Scottish Guardian.

BY THE SAME AUTHORS.
In 8vo, price 10s. 6d.,
Biblical Commentary on Joshua, Judges, and Ruth.

In Two Volumes, 8vo, price 21s.,
REFORMERS BEFORE THE REE0RMATI0I.
PRINCIPALLY IN GERMANY AND THE NETHERLANDS.
BY DR CARL ULLMANN.
' Beyond doubt one of the finest ornaments of the recent theology of Germany, and a
nasterpiece of historical research and composition, as profound as it is clear.' — Dr Schaff.

OTorfes guMiri&rir &j) HL. & HL. Clarft, ffiBinlutrgf).

A COLLECTION OF ALL THE WORKS OF THE FATHERS OF THE
CHRISTIAN CHURCH, PRIOR TO THE COUNCIL OF NIOEA,

EDITED BY THE
REV. ALEXANDER ROBERTS, D.D.,
AUTHOR OP **" DISCUSSIONS ON THE GOSPELS,' ETC. ;
AND
JAMES DONALDSON, LL.D.,
AUTHOR OF 'A CKITICAL HISTORY OF CHRISTIAN LITERATURE AND DOCTRINE, FROM THE DEATH OF THE
APOSTLES TO THE NICENE COUNCIL,' AND RECTOR OF THE ROYAL HIGH SCHOOL, EDINBURGH.

The First Four Volumes : — The Apostolic Fathers, in One Volume ; Justin
Martyr and Athenagoras, in One Volume ; Tatian, Theophilus, and the
Clementine Recognitions, in One Volume ; and Clement of Alexandria,
Volume First, are now ready.
Full Prospectuses on Application.
The Subscription to the Series is at the rate cf 21s. for Four Volumes wlien paid
in advance (or 24s. when not so paid), and 10s. 6d. each Volume to Non-
Subscribers.

' We give this series every recommendation in our power. The translation, so far as
we have tested it, and that is pretty widely, appears to be thoroughly faithful and honest ;
the books are handsomely printed on good paper, and wonderfully cheap  The
work being done so well, can any one wonder at our hoping that the Messrs. Clark will
find a large body of supporters ?' — Literary Churchman.
' The work of the different translators has been done with skill and spirit. To all
students of Church history and of theology these books will be of great value 
We must add, also, that good print and good paper help to make these fit volumes for
the library.' — Church and State Review.
'We promise our readers, those hitherto unaccustomed to the task, a most healthy
exercise for mind and heart, if they procure these volumes and study them.'— Clerical
Journal. ' For the critical care with which the translations have been prepared, the fulness of
the introductory notices, the completeness of the collection, the beauty and clearness of
the type, the accuracy of the indexes, they are incomparably the most satisfactory
English edition of the Fathers we know.' — Freeman.
' It will be a reproach to the age if this scheme should break down for want of encourage
ment from the public' — Watchman.
' The translations in these two volumes, as far as we have had opportunity "of judging,
are fairly executed.'— Westminster Review.

OTorfeS $ubluii)rtf fig HL. & HL. Clarfe.

1 There is everything about these volumes to recommend them, and we hope they will
find a place in the libraries of all our ministers and students,' — English Independent.
' The translation is at once good and faithful.' — Ecclesiastic.
' The translations are, in our opinion, and in respect of all places that we have carefully
examined, thoroughly satisfactory for exact truth and happy expressiveness; and the
whole business of the editing has been done to perfection.' — Nonconformist.
' The entire undertaking, as revealed in this instalment, is nobly conceived  We
can most heartily congratulate the editors on this noble commencement of their voluminous
responsible undertaking, and on the highly attractive appearance of these volumes ; and
we most heartily commend them to the notice of all theological students who have neither
time nor opportunity to consult the original authorities.' — British Quarterly Review.
' The whole getting up of the work deserves warm commendation, and we conclude by
again recommending it to notice, and expressing the hope that it will attain the wide
circulation that it well deserves.' — Record.
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library, as well as in the collections of those laymen, happily an increasing number,
interested in theological studies.' — Christian Spectator.
' If the succeeding volumes are executed in the same manner as the two now before us,
the series will be one of the most useful and valuable that can adorn the library of the
theological student, whether lay or cleric' — Scotsman.
' The editing is all that it should be. The translation is well executed, perspicuously
and faithfully, so far as we have examined  There is nothing in English to com
pete with it. Not only all ministers, but all intelligent laymen who take an interest in
theological subjects, should enrich their libraries with this series of volumes.' — Daily
Review.

MESSRS. CLARK liave the honour to include in the Subscription List, amongst
other distinguished names, both of Clergy and Laity —
His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury.
His Grace the Archbishop of York.
His Grace the Arehbishop of Armagh.
The Right Rev. the Bishop of Winchester.
The Right Rev. the Bishop of London.
The Right Rev. the Bishop of Oxford.
The Right Rev. the Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol.
The Right Rev. the Bishop of Ely.
The Right Rev. the Bishop of St. David's.
The Right Rev. the Bishop of Kilmore.
The Right Rev. the Bishop of Meath.
The Right Rev. the Bishop of Barbadoes.
The Right Rev. Bishop Eden of Moray.
The Right Rev. Bishop Wordsworth of St. Andrews.
The Rev. Principal, Cuddesdon College.
The Rev. President, Trinity College, Oxford.
The Rev. Canon Mansel, Christ Church. ••'
The Rev. Canon Robinson, Bolton Abbey.
His Grace the Duke of Argyll.
His Grace the Duke of Buccleuch.
The Right Hon. the Marquis of Bute.
The Right Hon. the Earl of Strathmore.
The Right Hon. the Lord Justice Clerk.

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