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FROM THE LIBRARY
OF
JOHN PUNNETT PETERS
YALE 1873 ,.
\1X^

O.T. "P^r,!

•^s

THE

BOOK OF PSALMS:

A NEW TRANSLATION,

INTRODUCTIONS AND NOTES

EXPLANATORY AND CRITICAL.

BY
J. J. STEWART PEROWNE, D.D.,
FELLOW OF TBINITT COLLBOB, CAUBBIDOB, AND CANON OF LLANDAFF.

VOL. II.

FnOU THE THIED LOKDOIT EDITION.

|l It Prober:
PUBLISHED BY WARREN F. DRAPER,

MAIir STSEET.

1882,

THE PSALMS.
BOOK III.
PSALMS LXXIII-LXXXIX.

PSALM LXXIII.i
There are some questions which never lose their interest, some
problems of which it may be said that they are ever old and yet ever
new. Not the least anxious of such questions are those which deal
with God's moral government of the world. They lie close to man's
heart, and are ever asking and pressing for solution. They may differ
in different times, they may assume various forms ; but perhaps no
man ever looked thoughtfully on the world as it is, without seeing
much that was hard to reconcile with a belief in the love and wisdom
of God.
One form of this moral difficulty pressed heavily upon the pious
Jew under the old dispensation. It was this : Why should good men
suffer, and bad men prosper? This difficulty was aggravated, we
must remember, by what seemed to be the manifest contradiction
between the express teaching of his law, and the observed facts of
human experience. The law told him that God was a righteous Judge,
meting out to men in this world the due recompense of their deeds.
The dourse of the world, where those who had cast off the fear of
Grod were rich and powerful, made him ready to question this truth,
and was a serious stumbling-block to his faith. And further, " the
Hebrew mind had never risen to the conception of universal law, but
was accustomed to regard all visible phenomena as the immediate
result of a free sovereign will. Direct interposition, even arbitrary
interference, was no difficulty to the Jew, to whom Jehovah was the
absolute Sovereign of the world, not acting, so far as he could see,
according to any established order." Hence it seemed to him inex
plicable that the world of life should not reflect perfectly, as in a
mirror, the righteousness of God.
This is the perplexity which appears in this Psalm, as it does in
the thirty-seventh, and also in the Book of Job. Substantially it is
the same problem ; but it is met differently. In the thirty-seventh
1 For some valuable suggestions on this Psalm I am indebted to a friend, the
Rev. J. G. Mould. T

6

PSALM LXXin.

Psalm the advice given is to wait, to trust in Jehovah, and to rest
assured that in the end the seeming disorder will be set right even in
this world. The wicked will perish, the enemies of Jehovah be cut
off, and the righteous will be preserved from evil, and inherit the land.
Thus God suffers wickedness for a time, only the more signally to
manifest his righteousness in overthrowing it. That is the first, the
simplest, the most obvious, solution of the difficulty. In the Book of
Job, where the sorrow and the perplexity are the darkest, where the
question lies upon the heart, " heavy as lead, and deep almost as life,"
the sufferer finds no such consolation. As a Gentile, he has no need
to reconcile his experience with the sanctions of the Pentateuch. But
he has to do that which is not less hard — he has to reconcile it with a
life's knowledge of God, and a life's love of God. He searches his
heart, he lays bare his life, he is conscious of no transgression, and he
cannot understand why chastisement should be laid upon him, whilst
the most daring offenders against the majesty of God escape with
impunity. Sometimes with a bitterness that cannot be repressed,
sometimes with a sorrow hushing itself into resignation, he still turns
to God, he would fain stand before his judgment-seat, plead with him
his cause, and receive a righteous sentence. But Job does not find
the solution of the Psalmist. He is driven to feel that all this is a
mystery. God will not give an account of any of his matters. "I
go forward, but he is not there ; and backward, but I cannot perceive
him" (Job xxiii.). And when Jehovah appears, at the end of the
book, it is to show the folly of man, who would presume to think that,
short-sighted and ignorant as he is, he can fathom the counsels of the
Most High. He appears not to lift the veil of mystery, but to teach
the need of humiliation and the blessedness of faith.'
In this Psalm, again, a different conclusion is arrived at. In part
it is the same as that which has already met us in Psalm xxxvii., in
part it is far higher. The Psalmist here is not content merely with
visible retribution in this world. He sees it, indeed, in the case of the
ungodly. When he was tempted to envy their lot, when he had all
but yielded to the sophistry of those who would have persuaded him
to be even as they, the temptation was subdued by the reflection that
' There is a difficulty, no doubt, in reconciling this solution, or rather non-solu-
tiou, of the problem with that which is given subsequently in the historical con
clusion of the book. There we find Job recompensed in this life for all his suffer
ings. If the historical parts of the book are by the same author as the dialogue
(as Ewald maintains), then we must suppose that when Job is brought to confess
his own vileness, and his own ignorance and presumption, Chen, and not till then,
does God reward him with temporal prosperity.

PSALM LXXTTL 7
such prosperity came to an end as sudden as it was terrible. But he
does not place over against this, on the other side, an earthly portion
of honor and happiness for the just. Their portion is in God. He
is the stay and the satisfaction of their hearts now. He will take them
to himself and to glory hereafter. This conviction it is which finally
chases away the shadows of doubt, and brings light and peace into his
soul. And this conviction is the more remarkable, because it is reached
in spit^ of the distinct promise made of temporal recompense to piety,
and in the absence of a full and definite revelation with regard to the
life to come. In the clear light of another world and its certain
recompenses, such perplexities either vanish or lose much of their
sharpness. When we confess that God's righteousness has a larger
theatre for its display than this world and the years of man, we need
not draw hasty conclusions from " the slight whisper " of his ways which
reaches us here.
It is an interesting question suggested by this Psalm, but one which
can only be touched on here, how far there is anything in common
between doubts, such as those which perplexed the ancient Hebrews,
and those by which modern thinkers are harassed.' There are some
persons, who now, as of old, are troubled by the moral aspect of the
world. To some, this perplexity is even aggravated by the disclosures
of revelation. And men of pious minds have been shaken to their
inmost centre by the appalling prospect of the everlasting punishment
of the wicked. But the difficulties which are, properly speaking,
modern difficulties, are of another kind. They are, at least in their
source, speculative rather than moral. The observed uniformity of
nature, the indissoluble chain of cause and effect, the absolute cer
tainty of the laws by which all visible phenomena are governed, these
are now the stumbling-blocks, even to devout minds. How, it is asked,
can we reconcile these things with the belief in a personal God, or at
1 This point had been touched on by Dr. A. S. Farrar in his Bampton Lec
tures, n work which, for breadth and depth of learning, has few parallels in
modern English literature, and which combines in no common degree the spirit of
a sound faith and a true philosophy. Dr. Farrar says : '¦ It is deeply interesting
to observe, not merely that the difficulties concerning Providence felt by Job refer
to the very subjects which painfully perplex the modern mind, but also that the
friends of .Tob exhibit the instinctive tendency which is observed in modern times
to denounce his doubt as sin, not less than to attribute his trials to evil as the
direct cause. The two books of Scripture (Job and Ecclesiastes), together with
the seventy third Psalm, have an increasing religious importance as the world
grows older. The things written aforetime were written for our learning." —
; Lecture I. p. 7, note.

8

PSALM LXXni.

least with an ever-active personal will ? Had the world ever a Maker?
or, if it had, does he still control and guide it ? Knowing as we do
that the order of cause and effect is ever the same, how can we accept
miracles or divine interpositions of any kind? What avails prayer,
when every event that happens has been ordained from eternity ?
How can any words of man interpret the march of the universe?
Ships are wrecked, and harvests are blighted, and famine and pesti
lence walk the earth, not because men have forgotten to pray, but in
accordance with the unerring laws which storm and blight and disease
obey. Such are some of the thoughts — the birth, it may be said, of ¦
modern science — which haunt and vex men now.
Difficulties like these are not touched upon in Scripture. But the
spirit in which all difficulties, all doubts, should be met is the same. If
the answer lies in a region above and beyond us, our true wisdom is
to wait in humble dependence upon God, in active fulfilment of what
we can see to be our duty, till the day dawn and the shadows flee
away. And it is this which Scripture teaches us in this Psalm, in
.Job, and in that other book, which is such a wonderful record of a
doubting, self-tormenting spirit, the Book of Ecclesiastes. It has been
said that the Book of Job and the seventy-third Psalm " crush free
thought." ' It would have been truer to say that they teach us that
there are heights and depths which the intellect of man cannot fathom ;
that God's ways are past finding out ; that difficulties, perplexities,
sorrows, are best healed and forgotten in the light which streams from
his throne, in the love by which his Spirit is shed abroad in the heart.
But the Psalm teaches us also a lesson of forbearance towards the
doubter. It is a lesson perhaps just now peculiarly needed. Christian
sympathy is felt. Christian charity is extended, toward every form of
misery, whether mental or bodily, except toward that which is often
the acutest of all, the anguish of doubt. Here it seems as if coldness
suspicion, even denunciation, were justifiable. And yet doubt, even to
the verge of scepticism, as is plain from this Psalm, may be no proof
of a bad and corrupt heart ; it may rather be the evidence of an honest
one. Doubt may spring from the very depth and earnestness of a
man's faith. In the case of the Psalmist, as in the case of Job, that
which lay at the bottom of the doubt, that which made it a thing so
full of anguish, was the deep-rooted conviction of the righteousness of
God. Unbelief does not doubt, faith doubts.^ And God permits the
1 Quinet, Oeuvres, tome i. c. 5, sec. 4.
2 The expression has been criticised as paradoxical, but the folk wing admirable
passages, which I have met with since the first edition of this work was published.

PSALM LXXm. 9
I doubt in his truest and noblest servants, as our Lord did in the case of
Thomas, that he may thereby plant their feet the more firmly on the
: rock of his own everlasting truth. There is perhaps no Psalm in
which faith asserts itself so triumphantly, cleaves to God with such
words of lofty hope and affection, and that precisely because in no
other instance has the fire been so searching, the test of faith so severe.
It may be well to remember this when we see a noble soul compassed
: about with darkness, yet struggling to the light, lest we " vex one
whom God has smitten, and tell of the pain of his wounded ones."
(Ps. Ixix. 26).
The Psalm consists of two parts :
I. The Psalmist tells the story of the doubts which had assailed
him, the temptation to which he had nearly succumbed (ver. 1-14).
II. He confesses the sinfulness of these doubts, and explains how
he had been enabled to overcome them (ver. 15-28).
These principal portions have their further subdivisions (which are
in the main those given by Hupfeld) :
I. a. First we have, by way of introduction, the conviction to which
his struggle with doubt brought him, (ver. 1) ; then the general state
ment of his offence, (ver. 2, 3).
b. The reason of which is more fully explained to be the prosperity
may justify my language. They are q\ioted by Archbishop Whately in his An
notations on Bacon.'s Essays, pp. 358, 359. The first is from a writer in the
Edinburgh Review for January, 1847, on ' The Genius of Pascal ' : "So little in
consistent with a habit of intelligent faith are such transient invasions of doubt,
or such diminished perceptions of the evidence of truth, that it may even be said
that it is only those who have in some measure experienced them, who can be said
in the highest sense to believe at all. He who has never had a doubt, who believes
that he believes for. reasons which he thinks as irrefragable (if that be possible)
as those of a mathematical demonstration, ought not to be said so much to believe
as to know ; his belief is to him knowledge, and his mind stands in the same
relation to it, however en-oneous and absurd that belief may be. It is rather he
who believes' — not indeed without the exercise of his reason, but without the full
satisfaction of his reason — with a knowledge and appreciation of formidable
objection^ — it is this man who may most truly be said intelligently to believe."
The other is from a short poem by Bishop Hinds :
" Yet so it is ; belief springs still
In souls that nurture doubt.

Did never thorns thy path beset ?
Beware — be not deceived ;
He who has never doubted yet
Has never yet believed."
2

10

PSALM LXXin.

of the wicked (ver.4, 5), and their insolence and pride in consequence,
ver. 6—11.
c. The comfortless conclusion which he had thence drawn (ver. 12-14).
II. a. By way of transition, he tells how he had been led to
acknowledge the impiety of this conclusion, and how, seeking for a
deeper, truer view, he had come to the sanctuary of God (ver. 15-17),
where he had seen the sudden and fearful end of the wicked (ver.
18-20), and so had learned the folly of his own speculation.
b. Thus recovering from the almost fatal shock which his faith had
received, he returns to a sense of his true position. God holds him by
his right hand, God guides him for the present, and will bring him to
a glorious end (ver. 23, 24) ; hence he rejoices in the thought that God
is his great and only possession (ver 25, 26.)
c. The general conclusion, that departure from God is death and
destruction ; that in his presence and in nearness to him are to be found
joy and safety (ver. 27, 28). [A Psalm of Asaph.']
1 Surely " God is good to Israel,
(Even) to such as are of a pure heart.
2 But as for me, my feet were almost gone,"
My steps had well-nigh slipped.
1. Sdrelt. This particle, which oc- now made him more, and more intel-
curs twice again in this Psalm, is ren- ligently, sure than ever, that God is
dered differently in each case by the good to Israel, even to such as are of a
E.V. ; here truly, in ver. 13 verily, in clean heart." — Essential Coherence of
ver. 18 surely ; but one rendering should theOld and New Testament, hy Tay brother,
be kept throughout. The Welsh more the Rev. T. T. Perowne, p. 85, to which
correctly has, yn ddiau (ver. 1), dlau I may perhaps be permitted to refer for
(ver. 13, 18). The word has been already a clear and satisfactory view of the
discussed in the note on Ixii. 1, where whole Psalm.
we have seen it is capable of two mean- It is of importance to remark that the
ings. Here it is used affirmatively, and result of the conflict is stated before the
expresses the satisfaction with which the conflict itself is described. There is no
conclusion has been arrived at, after all parade of doubt merely as doubt. He
the anxious questionings and debatings states yirsf, and in the most natural way,
through which the Psalmist has passed : the ^na( conviction of his heart.
"Yes, it is so; after all, God is good, Israel. The next clause limits this,
notwithstanding all my doubts." It and reminds us that " they are not all
thus implies at the same time a tacit Israel, which are of Israel." To the
opposition to a different view of the case, true Israel God is love; to them "all
such as that which is described after- things work together for good."
wards. " Fresh from the conflict, he Of a pure heart ; lit. " pure of
somewhat abruptly opens the Psalm heart," as in xxiv. 4. Comp. Matt, v 8
with the confident enunciation of the 2. But as for me. The pronoun
truth, of which victory over doubt had is emphatic. He places himself with

PSALM LXXin.

11

3 For I was envious at the arrogant,
When I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4 For they have no hands in their death,*
And their strength ° (continues) firm.
6 They are not in trouble as (other) men,
Neither are they plagued like (other) folk.

shame and sorrow, almost in opposition
to that Israel of God of which he had
just spoken. He has in view the hap
piness of those who had felt no doubt.
Calvin somewhat differently explains :
Even I, with all my knowledge and
advantages, I who ought to have known
better. Gone ; lit. " inclined," not so much
in the sense of being bent under him,
as rather of being turned aside, out of
the way, as in Num. xx. 17; 2 Sam.
ii. 19, 21, etc. The verb in the next
clause expresses the giving way from
weakness, fear, etc., had . . . supped ;
lit. " were poured out " like water.
3. Envious, as in xxxvii. 1 ; Prov.
xxiii. 17, wishing that his lot were like
theirs who seemed to be the favorites of
heaven. Calvin quotes the story of
Dionysius the Less, who, having sacri
legiously plundered a temple, and having
sailed safely home, said : " Do you see
that the gods smile upon sacrilege ? "
The prosperity and impunity of the
wicked invite others to follow their
example. The arrogant. The word denotes
those whose pride and infatuation
amounts almost to madness. It is dif
ficult to find an exact equivalent in
English. Gesenius renders it by superbi,
insolentes, and J. D. Michaelis by stolide
gloriosi, " vain boasters." It occurs in
V. 5 [6], where see note*, and again in
Ixxv. 4 [5]. The LXX, in all these
instances, render vaguely, &vo)i,oi, trapi,-
VOflOt. 4. Bands. This word "bands," or
" tight cords, or " fetters," occurs only
once besides (Isa. Iviii. 6). I have now
[2d ed.] adopted the- simplest and most
straightforward rendering of the words,
" They have no bands in their death "

(lit. at or for their death, i.e. when they
die), because the objection brought
against it, that such a meaning is at
variance with the general scope of the
Psalm, the object of which is not to
represent the end of the ungodly as
happy (the very reverse is asserted ver.
17, etc.), but to describe the general
prosperity of their lives, no longer ap
pears to me to be valid. For we must
remember that the Psalmist is describing
here not the fact, but what seemed to him
to be the fact, in a state of mind which
he confesses to have been unhealthy.
Comp. Job xxi. 13, and see the note on
ver. 18 of this Psalm. Otherwise it
would be possible to render [as in 1st
ed.], "For no bands (of suffering) (bring
them) to their death." No fetters are,
so to speak, laid upon their limbs, so
that they should be delivered over
bound to their great enemy. They are
not beset with sorrows, sufferings, mis
eries, which by impairing health and
strength bring them to death. This
sense has been very well given in the
Prayer-book version, which follows
Luther :
" For they are in no peril of death.
But are lusty and strong."
5. The literal rendering of this verse
would be:
" In the trouble of man they are not.
And with mankind they are not
plagued."
The first word used to express man'is
that which denotes m.in in his frailty
and weakness. See on ix. 19, 20, note";
X. 18, note'. The other is the most
general term, Adam, man as made of
the dust of the edrth. These men seem
exempt not only from the frailties and
infirmities of men, but even from the
common lot of men. They appear

12

PSALM LXXm.

6 Therefore pride is as a chain ' about their neck ;
Violence covereth * them as a garment.
7 Their eye '" goeth forth from fatness ;
The imaginations of (their) heart overflow.
8 They scoff ' and speak wickedly.
Of oppression loftily do they speak.
9 They have set their mouth in the heavens,
And their tongue walketh ^ through the earth.
10 Therefore his people, are turned' after them.
And at the full stream would slake their thirst : "

almost to be tempered and moulded
of a finer clay than ordinary human
nature. Plagued ; lit. " smitten," i.e. of
God ; a word used especially of divine
chastisement. Comp. Isa. liii. 4.
6. Is AS A CHAIN about THEIR NECK,
or " hath encircled their neck." See
for the same figure, Prov. i. 9 ; iii. 22.
The neck (the collum resupinum) is re
garded as the seat of pride ; comp. Ixxv.
5 [6] ; Isa. iii. 16.
7. From fatness, i.e. from a sleek
countenance, conveying in itself the
impression of worldly case and enjoy
ment. The whole figure is highly ex
pressive. It is a picture of that proud
satisfaction which so often shines in the
eyes of well-to-do men of the world.
Overflow. The metaphor is from
a swollen river which rises above its
banks. The verb is used absolutely, as
in Hab. ill," Then (his) spirit swells
and overflows," where the same figure
is employed in describing the pride and
insolence of the Chaldeans. See also
Isa. viii. 8. This is better than, with
the E.V., to take the verb as transitive,
',' They have more than heart could
wish" (lit. they have exceeded the im
aginations of the heart) ; the two clauses
of the verse correspond, the proud look
being an index of the proud heart;
these being followed, in the next verse,
by the proud spirit.
8.' According to the Masoretic punc
tuation, the verse would be arranged
thus :

" They scoff and speak wickedly of op
pression.
Loftily do they speak."
But the LXX arrange the clauses as in
the text and render the latter, aSucfai' eis
T^ &t|/os 4\d\Tj(Tav, and so Aq. trvKotpavriav
e| v^i/ovs \a\ovi/T€S.
Loftily, or " from on high." not
" against the Most High," as the Prayer-
book version. See note on Ivi. 2.
9. In THE heavens, not "against
the heavens." The stature of these men
seems to swell till it reaches lieaven.
Thence they issue their proud com
mands, the whole earth being the theatre
of their action.
10. Therefore. This, as Mendels
sohn has observed, is co-ordinate with
the " therefore " in ver. 6. Both depend
on the statement in ver. 4, 5. Because
the wicked have no bands, etc., therefore
pride compasseth them, etc., and there
fore others are induced to follow their
example. His people. This is capable of two
interpretations. (1 ) In accordance with
a common Hebrew idiom, there may be
an abrupt transition from the plural to
the singular, an individual being now
substituted for the mass. "Bis people,"
in this sense, are the crowd who attach
themselves to one and another of these
prosperous sinners, that they may share
his prosperity, and then "his people"
is equivalent to "their people," the
crowd which follows them. (2) The
pronoun may refer to God (so the
Chald. and LXX). Even his people.

PSALM LXXni.

13

11 And they say : " How doth God know ?
And is there knowledge in the Most High ?
12 Lo, these are the wicked.
And (these men) ever prosperous, have increased wealth.
13 Surely in vain have I cleansed my heart.
And washed my hands in innocency,
14 And have been plagued all the day long.
And chastened every morning.

forsaking him, are led away by the evil
example, just as the Psalmist confesses
he himself was.
After them ; lit. " thither," i.e. to
the persons before described, and, as is
implied, away from God. The next
clause of the verse is more difficult of
explanation. TheE. V. by its rendering,
"And waters of a full (cupj are wrung
out to them," probably means us to
understand that the people of God, when
they turn hither, i.e. to the consideration
of the prosperity of the wicked, are
filled with sorrow, drink as it were the
cup of tears ; the image being the same
as in Ixxx. 5 |6]. The Prayer-book
version comes nearer to the mark, —
" Therefore fall the people unto them,
And thereout suck they no small
advantage," —
only that apparently in the second
clause the pronoun they refers, not to
the people, but to the wicked mentioned
before. Whereas it is the people, the
crowd of hangers-on, who gather like
sheep to the water-trough, who suck
this advantage, such as it is, as the
reward of their apostasy.
And at the full stream, etc. ; lit.
"and fulness of water is drained by
them"; i.e. broad and deep are the
waters of sinful pleasures, which they,
in their infatuation, drink.
11. And they say. The reference
of the pronoun has again been disputed.
Mostly it is referred to those just spoken
of, who have been led astray by the
prosperity of the wicked to follow them.
Hupfeld thinks it is the wicked them
selves (of ver. 3) who thus speak, and
certainly the boldness of the language

employed, which questions the very
being of a God, is more natural in the
mouth of those whose long prosperity
and long security have made them un
mindful of his providence.
But much depends on the view we
take of the next three verses. Do these
continue the speech, or are they the
reflection of the poet himself ? The
former is the view of Ewald, Stier, De-
litzsch, and others. In this case the
words must be throughout the words of
those who have been tempted and led
astray by the untroubled happiness of
the wicked. They adopt their practi
cally atheistical principles ; they ask,
" How doth God know," etc. ; they
point, with a triumph not unmingled
with bitterness, at their success ; Lo,
these are the ungodly, whose sudden
and utter overthrow we have been taught
to expect ; they come to the conclusion
that the fear of God is in vain, for it
does not save a man from suffering and
disappointment, and thus they justify
their choice. It is certainly in favor of
this view that ver. 15 seems naturally
to introduce the reflections of the Psalm
ist himself, who had almost been carried
away by the same sophistry. On the
other hand, Hengstenberg and Hupfeld
suppose the reflections of the Psalmist
to begin at ver. 12. Verses 13, 14 will
then describe the temptation which
pressed upon him, the thoughts which
forced themselves into his mind, and
which, as verses 15, 16 show, he only
with difficulty repressed. He did utter
his disappointment, he was gliding on
to something worse, to the atheistic
language of ver. 11, when he checka

14

PSALM LXXm.

15 If I had said," ' I will utter (words) like these,' "
Lo, I should have been faithless to the generation of thy
children.
16 And when I pondered" it that I might know this,
It was a trouble in mine eyes ;
17 Until I went into the sanctuary of God,
(Until) I considered their latter end.
18 Surely in slippery places dost thou set them,
Thou hast cast them down to ruin.»

himself as in ver. 15. In favor of this
interpretation it may be urged, that the
LXX have introduced a xal elira at the
beginning of ver. 13.
I confess that, while inclining to the
former, I feel it difficult to decide be
tween these two views ; and the decision
must, after all, rest upon a certain
feeling and instinct, rather than upon
critical grounds.
15. If I had said, i.e. to myself (as
the verb is constantly used) ; if I had
given v/ay to the temptation to utter
thoughts and misgivings like these.
" The Hebrew Psalmist," it has been
well said, " instead of telling his painful
misgivings, harbored them in God's
presence till he found the solution. The
delicacy exhibited in forbearing unneces
sarily to shake the faith of others is a
measure of the disinterestedness of the
doubter." — Farrar, Bampton Lectures,
p. 27.
I WILL UTTER (WORDS) LIKE THESE,
or, " I will recount the matter thus."
The generation of thy chil
dren. As in xiv. 5, " the generation
of the righteous." So the people at
large are called (Deut. xiv. 1; Hos. ii. 1).
Here, however, the true Israel, " the
clean of heart," are meant. But the in
dividual is not called a son of God under
the Old Testament, except officially, as
in ii. 7.
16. I pondered. See the same use
of the verb in Ixxvii. 5 [6], " the days
of old " ; Prov. xvi. 9, " one's way."
That I might know, i.e. reconcile all
that I saw with the great fact of God's
moral government.

A trouble, or a weariness, as of a
great burden laid upon me (comp. Eccl.
viii. 17). Thought could not solve the
problem. The brain grew wearier, and
the heart heavier. Light and peace
come to us, not by thinking, but by
faith. " In thy light we shall see light."
God himself was the teacher.
17. The sanctuary is the place of
his teaching ; not heaven, as Kimchi
and others, but the temple, as the place
of his special manifestation, not only by
Urim and Thummim, but in direct
answer to prayer. There, in some hour
of fervent, secret prayer, like that of
Hannah (1 Sam. i. 13, comp. Luke xviii.
10), or, perhaps, in some solemn service
— it may have been (who can tell?)
through the words of some inspired
Psalm — a conviction of the truth broke
upon him. The word sanctuary is
in the plural, which is used here, as in
xliii. 3 ; Ixviii. 35 [36], for the singular.
18. The conclusion is remarkable.
That which dispels the Psalmist's
doubts, and restores his faith, is the
end of the ungodly in this world, —
their sudden reverses, their terrible over
throw in the very bosom of their pros
perity. Hitherto he has not taken
notice of this fact as he ought ; he has
been so dazzled with the prosperity of
the wicked, that he has forgotten by
what appalling judgments God vindi
cates his righteousness. He does not
follow them into the next world. His
eye cannot see beyond the grave. Even
the great horror of an evil conscience is
scarcely, in his view, a part of their
punishment, unless the expression " be-

PSALM LXXm.

15

19 How are they brought to desolation as in a moment,
They have come to an end, they are cut off because of
terrors.'
20 As a dream, when one awaketh,
(So), 0 Lord, when thou stirrest up thyself," dost thou
despise their image.

cause of terrors," in ver. 19, may be
supposed to point that way, which, how
ever, is very doubtful. But this The'o-
dic^e was the only one then known, and
is in fact based upon the law, which,
resting upon temporal sanctions, justi
fied the expectation of visible retribution
in this world. The judges of Israel
were appointed, as Delitzsch has ob
served, as the vicegerents of God, to
execute this retribution. Hence the
deep-rooted conviction on this point,
even in the minds of the godly. It was
not till a later period, and especially till
after the Exile, that the judgment after
death was clearly recognized. Comp.
Mai. iii. 13, etc.
It is singular that in Job xxi. 13
(comp. ix. 23) it is reckoned as an ele
ment in the good fortune of the wicked,
that they die not by a lingering disease,
but suddenly ; but it may be that Job,
perplexed and eager to make everything
tell on his side, which his friends would
urge against him, is determined not to
admit their inference from the facts of
divine providence. Otherwise this pas
sage of Job supports the obvious ren
dering of ver. 4, " They do not die by
lingering diseases, but easily," this being
the mistaken view afterwards corrected.
"We come to the conclusion," it has
been well said, " that in the case of the
wicked this Psalm does not plainly and
undeniably teach that punishment awaits
them after death ; but only that in esti
mating their condition it is necessary,
in order to vindicate the justice of God,
to take in their whole career, and set
over against their great prosperity the
sudden and fearful reverses and destruc
tion which they not unfrequently en
counter. But in turning to the other
tide of the comparison, the case of the

righteous, we are not met by the thought,
that as the prosperity of the wicked is
but the preparation for their ruin, so
the adversity of the godly is but an
introduction to worldly wealth and
honor. That thought is not foreign to
the Old Testament writers (see Psalm
xxxvii. 9-11); but it is not so much
as hinted at here. The daily chastening
may continue, flesh and heart may fail,
but God is good to Israel notwithstand
ing. He is their portion, their guide,
their help, while they live, and he will
take them to his glorious presence when
they die. ' Nevertheless I am continu
ally with thee," etc. The New Testa
ment has nothing higher or more spirit
ual than this." — Essential Coherence,
etc., pp. 86, 87.
19. This verse, taken in connection
with ver. 27, seems almost to point, as
Ewald has remarked, to some particular
instance of the divine judgment which
had recently been witnessed.
20. As A DREAM, the unreality of
which is only seen when a man awakes.
Comp. xc. 5 ; Job xx. 8. The first
member of this verse is apparently con
nected by the LXX, and perhaps by
Symm., with what goes before, " they
are cut off as a dream," etc.
When thou stirrest up thyself.
The verb in Hebrew is a different one
from that in the previous clause, although
in the E.V. both are in this passage
rendered by the same word. In xxxv.
23, where the two verbs also occur to
gether, our translators have employed
two different words to express them,
and I have thought it best to do so here.
The figure is carried on. When God
thus awakes to judgment, the image,
the shadow, of the wicked passes from
him as a dream from the mind of a

16

PSALM LXXm.

21 For my heart grew bitter,
And I was pricked in my reins ;
22 So brutish was I myself and ignorant,
I became a very beast * before thee.
23 And yet as for me, — I am always with thee.
Thou hast holden my right hand ;
24 Thou wilt guide me in thy counsel.
And afterward thou wilt take me (to) glory.

sleeper. He " despises " it, as a man in
his waking moments thinks lightly of
some horrible dream.
21. For. There is no reason to de
part from this, the common meaning of
the particle. (See Critical Note.) It
explains the whole of the previous strug
gle. I was tempted to think thus,ybr
I J)rooded over these difficulties till I
became no better than the dumb cattle.
So it ever is. Man does not show
wisdom when he wearies himself to no
purpose with the moral and speculative
problems which beset him. His highest
wisdom is to stay himself upon God.
22. So brutish ; lit. "And I myself
(the pronoun is emphatic) was brutish."
Comp. Prov. xxx. 2, 3.
A very beast. The noun is in the
plural, which is here used in a superla
tive or emphatic sense (see note on Ixviii.
35), so that we need not render " like
the beasts," still less " like Behemoth,"
as though some particular beast were
meant. 23. The words that follow, in their
exquisite beauty, need not comment or
interpretation, but a heart in unison
with them. They lift us up above the
world, above doubts, and fears, and
perplexities, into a higher and holier
atmosphere ; we breathe the air of heaven.
The man who can truly use these words
is not one who has " crushed free
thought," but one who has seen all his
doubts swallowed up in the full light of
God's love. "Though all else in heaven
and earth should fail, the one true, ever
lasting Friend abides." — Ewald.
It strangely mars the force of such a
passage to limit its application to this

life. To render the words of ver. 24 as
Grotius and others do, " Thou shalt
receive me with honor" (in allusion to
David' as placed on the throne), or
" bring me to honor," i.e. in this world,
is to rob the whole passage of its divine
significance. The verb " Thou shalt
take me," is the same as that employed
in xlix. 15 (where see note), and Gen.
V. 24, to which last passage there is
doubtless an allusion in both places in
the Psalms. But this Psalm is an ad
vance on Ps. xlix.
The great difference, though with
essential points of contact, between the
hope of the life to come, as portrayed
even in such a passage as this, and what
we read in the New Testament, will best
be understood by comparing the lan
guage here with St. Paul's language in
the fourth and fifth chapters of the
Second Epistle to the Corinthians, and
the first chapter of the Epistle to the
Philippians, ver. 21-23.
Thou hast holden ; either implying
that thus he had been saved from falling
altogether, when his feet were almost
gone (ver. 2), or perhaps rather as stat
ing more broadly the ground of his
abiding communion with God, at all
times and under all circumstances. Cf.
Ixiii. 8 [9].
24. Thou wilt guide me. " With
confidence he commits himself to the
divine guidance, though he does not see
clearly the mystery of the divine purpose
(counsel) in that guidance." — Delitzsch.
It is because he has forgotten to look to
that counsel, and to trust in that counsel,
that his faith has received so startling
a shock.

PSALM LXXin. I'j
25 "Whom have I in heaven (but thee) ?
And there is none upon earth in whom I delight beside
thee.
26 (Though) my flesh and my heart fail,
(Yet) God is the rock of my heart and my portion forever,
27 For behold they that are far from thee must perish ;
Thou hast destroyed every one that goeth a whoring
from thee.
28 But as for me — it is good for me to draw near unto God ;
I have made in the Lord Jehovah my refuge.
That I may tell of all thy works.
25. But thee, or "beside thee"; lit. 27. The figure is very common. Israel
" with thee." These words are to be is the spouse of God, and idolatry is the
supplied from the next clause, a word breaking of the marriage vow. But
or a phrase belonging to two clauses here it seems to be used, not merely of
being commonly in Hebrew expressed idolatry, but of departure from God,
only in one. such as that described in ver. 10.
There is none, etc. ; lit. " I have 28. At the end of this verse the LXX
no delight (in any) upon the earth." add, "in the gates of the daughter of
26. Fail ; lit. " have failed," i.e. Zion," whence it has passed through
" may have failed," the preterite being the Vulgate, into our Prayer-book
here used hypothetically. version.
* See Psalm 1. note ", and General Introduction, vol. i. pp. 75, 77.
^ '^» , surely, or as it may be rendered, with Mendels. and others,
even more pointedly, nevertheless. The exact force of the particle
here has been best explained by Calvin : " Quod autem abruptum facit
exordium, notare operae pretium est, antequam in banc vocem erum-
peret David, inter dubias et pugnantes sententias aestuasse. Nam ut
•strenuus athleta seipsum exercuerat in pugnis difBcillimis : postquam
vero diu multumque sudavit, discussis impiis imaginationibus, constituit.
Deum tamen servis suis esse propitium, et salutis eorum fidum esse
custodem. Ita subest antithesis inter pravas imaginationes quas sugges-
serat Satan, et hoc verae pietatis testimonium quo nunc se confirmat :
acsi malediceret carnis suae sensui qui dubitationem admiserat de provi-
dentia Dei. Nunc tenemus quam emphatica sit exclamatio . . . quasi
ex inferis emergeret, pleno spiritu jactare quam adeptus erat victoriam."
This has been seen also by some of the older interpreters (Symmachus,
ttXjjv ; Jerome, attamen), as well as by the Rabbinical and other ex
positors. In like manner we have in Latin writers passages beginning
with a nam or at, where something is implied as already existing in
the mind of the writer, though not expressed.
VOL. II. 3

1§ PSALM LXXIII.
« i>B3 . « The K'thibh is part. pass, sing., either absol. with the
accus. following, or in the stat. constr. ¦'IBp , with the gen., either con
struction of the part. pass, being admissible. Comp. 2 Sam. xv. .j2
with 2 Sam. xiii. 31 ; Ezek. ix. 2 with 11 (Gesen. § 132). For this the
K'ri very unnecessarily substitutes 3d pi. perf . I-'BJ , but in the full form,
which would only be suitable in pause. In the same way the following
nasu; , which is no doubt nsBip , 3d fem. sing., with the plur. noun i^tok
(a not uncommon construction, as in xxxvii. 31, see Gesen. § 143, 3),
has been just as unnecessarily corrected in the K'ri to i:s;j . It is,
however, possible that the punctuation, ''b?'n and ^'ivrs , as plur., depends
on the K'ri of the verbs, and that these words in the K'thibh are
meant to be singular (as xliv. 19 ; Job xxxi. 7). So Cler., Hasse, and
others." — Hupfeld.
^ cniab . This, as it stands, must mean "/br, or at, or belonging to,
their death," i.e. when they die. So the E.V. " in their death," and so the
Welsh, " yn eu marwolaeth." But this, it has been said, does not fall in
with the general scope of the passage, where not the death, but the life,
of the wicked is described as one that seems enviable. Hence Hupfeld
would render, " till their death '' and refers to the use of the prep, in
Isa. vii. 15 to justify this interpretation, but there iny^b means not " till
he knows,'' but ¦' when he knows," as both Ewald and Knobel take it ;
and Drechsler, on the passage, has clearly shown, in opposition to
Gesenius, that the prep, h is in no instance used to mark duration of time
up to a certain point, and therefore never means until. Bates, quoted by
Horsley, proposed to make of nniai two words, on irb , joining io^
with the first clause, " they have no bonds," and nn , as an adjective,
with what follows, ''sound and fat is their body." This has been
adopted by Strut, Fry, etc., and by Ewald, who defends this sense of
DP (which is nowhere used of physical, but always of moral, soundness),
by the use of the noun cri in Job xxi. 23 [Delitzsch refers to the
similar use of dipn , xviii. 33 ; Prov. i. 12 ; but the first of these seems
doubtful]. Mendelssohn supposes Ciniai to be for crn»i^ , and ren
ders : " Kein Knotten hemmt ihrer Tage Lauf " ; the figure being that
of the thread of life, which, if it becomes knotted and entangled, is
liable to be broken. But retaining the reading of the present Jlaso-
retic text, two interpretations are possible: (1) "They have no fetters
for their death," which may either mean, if we take fetters (as in Isa.
Iviii. 6, the only other passage in which the word occurs) in the literal
sense, " they are not delivered over bound to death " ; or, if we take it
metaphorically, " they have no sufferings, diseases, etc., which bring
them to death. So Hulsius : " Nulla sunt ipsis ligamenta ad mortem

PSALM LXXm. 19
eorum, i.e. nullis calamitatibus, nullis morbis sunt obnoxii ; morbi sunt
mortis ligamenta quod in mortis potestatem homines conjiciant." And
Delitzsch, in his first edition, " Denn keine Qualen gibts, daran sie
stUrben." (2) " They have no fetters (i.e. troubles, cares, sufferings)
in their death." In this case the Psalmist is stating here by anticipa
tion, not \iis, present conviction as to the death of the wicked, but the view
which he once took of it, in a mood of mind which he afterwards dis
covered to be wrong. So Aq. ovk eio-t Svo-Ta^eiat tZ Oavarto avruiv. It
is of importance to observe, however, that Symm. and Jerome seem to
have had a different reading. The former has on ovk iveOvpovvro irepl
6avd.Tov avTwv, the latter, '' quod non cogitaverint de morte sua." Did
they read n-'^'in 'j^x ? Or did they intend to explain the present text
in this sense, " they have no troubles, anxious reflections, etc., with
reference to their death " ? The Syr. also here, as indeed throughout
the Psalm, differs from the Heb. It has \sjB Aa^ , " there is no
end to their death," the exact meaning of which is not very clear. The
rendering of the LXX is equally obscure : ovk ecmv avdvevcri'; iv tm
Oavarw aiiTCiv. With all this variation in the ancient versions, they
agree in one respect — they all have the word death. But for this, I
should be disposed to accept the alteration of the text proposed above, as
the simplest solution of the difficulty. Delitzsch has now (in his 2d ed.)
accepted this, and renders : Denn keine Qualen leiden sie, Gesund
und mastig ist ihr Wanst.
' obiis , from the noun bix , strength (connected with fili^sj is , etc.,
from the root bix), with the, suffix, and occuring only here (an alleged
plur. form, 2 Kings xxiv. 15, is doubtful). Symm. and others of the
ancient interpreters, supposed it be the noun oblN , meaning vestibule,
portico, etc., and hence the rendering of Symm. o-Ttpca ^v to. irpoTrvXa
avTwv, and Jerome, vestibula. The LXX have icat o-Tep€wpLa iv rg
' larp:? , a denominative from pJ? , a necklace, and occurring in the
Kal only here.
8 na""' . The second clause of this verse will admit of four render
ings : (1) n^d may be in constr. with Dan (comp. Isa. lix. 7), " a clothing
of violence," and iaii , the object of the verb (which is the construction
of other verbs of clothing, comp. b r&3, Isa. xi. 9) ; (2) ri'iJ may be
the predicate (which the accent Rebia Geresh would indicate), " vio
lence covereth them as a garment " ; (3) iab may belong to Dan , and
the object of the verb be understood, "their violence covereth (them)
as a garment " [this rendering is most in accordance with the accents] ;
(4) By an enallage of number, sing, for plur., "they cover (themselves)

20 PSALM LXXin.
with their own violence as with a garment." So the LXX, Trefiepa-
XovTo aBiKiav ; Symm., vir€pi]<f>avlav ¦^ptfiiacra.vTo, and Jerome, Lircum-
dederunt sibi iniquitatem.
^ iaiis) [or iai:^5 , which is found in some mss., the dual noun being
with the sing. verb. Stier, indeed, maintains that this is the only
correct form, as ia-; is not used with a singular noun, but we have
ia-'DiK in ver. 5, which is only a plena scriptio for 'ia.;¦'^? , T^X having no
plural ; lit. " their eye goeth forth (looks out proudly) from fatness
(i.e. a sleek countenance)." Comp. Job xv. 27. Aq. i^XOov a.Tro aria-
TOi o(^6aXpo\ avTuiv, and Symm. irpoi-inTrTov oltto XnraporrjTOi (al. cfr/eo-av
ttTTo Xiirovs) 01 6(j>6. avT., take '"^3 as plural. Ewald, Hupfeld, and
others, following the LXX, i^eXdjcrerai u)s ek orearos rj aSiKia avrCiv,
would read iaiis , " their iniquity," or withoat changing the word,
would take 'jis here to stand for "[IS, as in Zech. v. 6, and the K'ri in
Hos. X. 10. (And so the Syr. _o(iil»Q^). They also take abn, as in
xvii. 10, in the sense of heart, or, as Ewald renders, aus feistem Innern,
the word fatness denoting a stupid, insensible heart. And so Gesen.
Thesaur. in v.
' ip'^a^ . The word occurs only here. It is doubtless to be connected
with the Aramaic p*a , Eng. mock. Comp. the Greek, pvKo%, pvKTi^p,
the nose, as expressing scorn pvKT-qpi^oi, etc. So Symm. KaTap.wKuip.evoi,
and Jerome, irriserunt. The Chald., Eabb., and others, wrongly con
nected the word with ppa , either (1) trans. " they make to melt, i.e.
afflict, others" ; or, as the Prayer-book version, " they corrupt others '' ;
or (2) " they melt away, i.e. they are dissolute, corrupt," etc.
^ ti^nn , as in Ex. ix. 23, for r^bn , though it looks almost like an
abbreviated Hithpael, a form which would be peculiarly suitable here
in its common meaning, grassari. sinia in the first clause of the verse
is for wj , as in xlix. 15, and with the tone on the ult. The perfect,
followed by the future, shows that the second clause is subordinated
to the first : " They have set, etc., whilst their tongue goeth," etc. The
construction is the same as in ver. 3.
' 2^'i"' . If we retain the K'thibh, we must assume that the sing.
is here put for the plur., the subject being virtually the same as that
of the plur. verbs in ver. 7, 8, only that now these prosperous sinners are
regarded singly, not collectively. " He, i.e. one and another of these
proud, ungodly men, makes his people (those whom he draws after
him) turn hither, i.e. copy his example"; or, more generally, "one
turns his people," which is equivalent to the passive, " his people are
turned." Hence the K'ri, according to which ia? is the subject, is un
necessary. Phillips, who adopts the K'ri, refers the suffix to Jehovah.

PSALM LXXHL 21
His people, i.e. the people of God. And so the Chald., and Abu
Walid, and the LXX, who have 6 Xaos p.ov.
™ ISB"^ , from the root nso , to wring out, to drain. The verb is
several times used with nniZJ , to drink, in order to convey the idea of
draining to the dregs. So in Ixxv. 9 ; Isa. Ii. 17 ; Ezek. xxiii. 34. It
is used of wringing out (a) the dew from the fleece, in Judges vi. 38 ;
(5) the blood of the sacrifices, Lev. i. 15 ; v. 9. Our version has every
where employed wring out as the equivalent, except in Ezek., where
it has suck out. Mendelssohn renders :
Bethoret folgt ihm das Volk in ganzen Haufen,
Stromt ihm, wie Wasserfluthen, nach.
In the Beor, " waters to the full " is explained to mean " the waters
of a full river, which rush along with strength," and to be used as a
figure or comparison ; " so the men of their generation run after them";
and ISH"; is said to be for flxsa^ , the N being dropped, as in Num. xi.
11 and Ezek. xxviii. 16. So this word was taken, too, by the older
interpreters. The LXX, ripepai (reading la'^) irXrjpels ivevptdrjo-ovrai
iv auTots ; Sym. Kai SiaSo;^ TrX^pTjs fvpeOrjcrerai, iv auTOis ; Jerome, quis
(•^a) plenus invenietur in eis.
" ¦'n'as . The word, Hupfeld thinks, is out of place. What is the
meaning, he asks, '" If I had said (or thought, i.e. said to myself) let
me declare thus " ? Not the forming the purpose to speak so, but the
speaking so itself, would have been the treachery against the children of
God. And therefore he would transpose the word either before the
particle ox , " I said (thought) if I should declare thus," etc., or to the
beginning of ver. 13. See on xxxii. note "'. But is it not possible that
in'ax may stand parenthetically : " If (methought) I should declare
thus"? " las . If the reading be correct, this word must here stand as an
adverb, in the sense so, thus = I? , a meaning, however, in which it
never occurs anywhere else. Maurer, however, contends for this as the
primary meaning, 3 being abbreviated from '{3 and ia :^ na , indefinite,
quidquam ; hence the compound ias means tale quid.] Some would
punctuate ias , and suppose it to stand for ons , like them (the persons
mentioned before), or like these things (such words as those just
repeated), but this form, again, is never found. Ewald would read
nan'ijaB , and supposes the nsn to have been dropped out because of the
following nifi, and we must either adopt this supposition, or, with
Gesen., Hupfeld, and Delitzsch, conclude that the word 'ia3 is here used
abnormally as an adverb, as the older interpreters take it. LXX, ei
tXeyoi', hiyiyqa-opMi ouTcos ; Aq. (perhaps Symm.), Theod., ei £. S. roiaura,

22

PSALM LXXIII

Delitzsch compares the elliptical use of the prep. b»3 , Isa. lix. 18, and
the absolute use in Hos. vii. 16 ; xi. 7.
p n3<^'nsi. The punctuation of the 1 with Pathach here, instead of
Kametzj appears to be arbitrary. Delitzsch, indeed, draws a distinction,
and says that with 1 the word would mean et cogitavi, whereas with 5 it
means et cogitabam (or, which would be unsuitable here, et cogitare volo).
But in other passages where this last form occurs, as Ixix. 21 ; Judges
vi. 9 ; Job xxx. 26, it is joined either with another verb in the fut., with
^ , or with a verb in the pret., without any mark of difference of time.
There is more force in what Delitzsch says as to the cohortative form
of the fut, which often serves, without a particle of condition, to intro
duce the protasis. (See on xiii. note °.) So here we might render,
" And when (or if) I thought to understand," etc., kcu d iXoyii6p.rjv, as
Aq. and Theod.
In the next clause it is unimportant whether we adopt the K'thibh
Kin , or the K'ri Kin . The former may refer more immediately to the
preceding rxT, and the latter to the whole preceding sentence; but
either must be taken equally in a neuter sense.
1 nsiira occurs again only in Ixxiv. 3. It is related, as Hupfeld
remarks, to such forms as nsiaa , and the like, but is not to be derived
from nxo , as if it were for nis^suja , " an impossible form," but from
a root Ki:;5 , with the common interchange of letters in weak stems.
(See next note.) The LXX, KaTtjSaXes airovs iv tu! iirapO^vai, connect
ing the word with the root KiUJ .
' rinba . The noun is apparently, by transposition of letters, for
nbna. It occurs once in the sing, in Isa. xvii. 14, elsewhere only in
Job and Ezekiel, and there always in the plural.
° n^ra . So far as the grammatical form goes, this might mean in
the city, as the ancient interpreters understood (whence our Prayer-
book version, but in defiance of grammar, " Thou shalt make their image
vanish out of the city"). But the sense is not suitable. The word is
evidently a contracted form of Hiphil infin. for ^^sna, and is used in
transitively, as in xxxv. 23. For other instances of this contracted
infin. see Jer. xxxi.x. 7 ; 2 Chron. xxxi. 10; Prov. xxiv. 17.
* la . According to Hupfeld, this introduces the protasis " when my
heart," etc., the apodosis beginning with 1 in ver. 22, and the imperfects
(futures) being relative preterites. Similarly Ewald. But I know of
no instance by which such a construction can be defended. Commonly
when 12 introduces the protasis, followed by a verb in the future, that
tense is used in its proper future (not its imperfect) meaning. Comp.
Ixxv. 3 ; 2 Chron. vi. 28. DeUtzsch, feeling this, supposes that the

PSALM LXXIV. 23
Psalmist is speaking, not of the past, but of a possible return of his
temptation, and renders, si exacerbaretur animus meus atque in renibus
meis pungerer, '• if my mind should grow bitter, etc., . . . then I should
be," etc. But I cannot see why, if ^B be taken simply as a conjunction,
(LXX, Aq., oTi) for, and not as governing the clause, the verbs may
not be regarded as imperfects, describing continued past action. The
first verb means, properly, "to turn acid" (lit. " make itself acid").
Flam, acescere ; Calvin, acidum esse instar fermenti. Perhaps Aq.
meant this by his rendering irvpovro. The second is also strictly a re
flexive, " to prick oneself." Both verbs, misunderstood by the ancient
interpreters, were first rightly explained by Eashi.
° 'n liaa . The Hebrew will admit of the rendering, " Thou wUt
receive me with glory " (accus. of instrument). So the LXX, /neTo
Sdfijs Trpoo-cXa/Sov pi. Symm. takes 'a as the nominative, and the verb
as in the 3d pers. koL varepov npr] SteSe'^aro pe. Contrary to the accents,
others would take "nx as a prep, (referring to Zech. ii. 12, which is not
really analogous) : " Thou leadest me after glory," i.e. as my aim
(Ewald, Hitzig), or in the train of glory" (Hengst.). But the other
interpretation, " to glory," i.e. '• to the everlasting glory of God's
presence," is far better, "inx is an adverb, as in Gen. x. 18 ; xxx. 21 ;
Prov. XX. 17, and many other places. On the use of the verb npi in
this sense, see xlix. 16. The whole context is in favor of the rendering
« to glory."

PSALM LXXIV.

This Psalm and the seventy-ninth both refer to the same calamity,
and were, it may reasonably be conjectured, written by the same author.
Both Psalms deplore the rejection of the nation, the occupation of
Jerusalem by a foreign army, and the profanation of the sanctuary ;
but the seventy-fourth dwells chiefly on the destruction of the temple ;
the seventy-ninth on the terrible slaughter of the inhabitants of Jeru
salem. Assuming that both Psalms refer to the same event, we have
to choose between two periods of Jewish history and only two, to which
the language of the sacred poet could reasonably refer. The descrip
tion might apply either to the invasion of Nebuchadnezzar, or to the
insolent oppression of Antiochus Epiphanes ; and with one or other
of these two occasions it has been usually connected.
That no presumption can be raised against the latter of these dates

24 PSALM LXXIV.
from the history of the canon, I have already shown in the General
Introduction to Vol. i. pp. 15, 16, and the introduction to Ps. xliv. ;
and there are, more particulary in this Psalm, some expressions which
are most readily explained on the supposition that it was composed in
the time of the Maccabees.
(a) One of these is the complaint (ver. 9), " There is no prophet
any more." It is difficult to understand how such a complaint could
have been uttered when Jeremiah and Ezekiel were both living ; or
with what truth it could be added, " Neither is there any among us
who knoweth how long," when Jeremiah had distinctly foretold that
the duration of the captivity should be seventy years (Jer. xxv. 11 ;
xxix. 10).^ On the other hand, such words are perfectly natural in
the mouth of a poet of the Maccabean age. For two hundred and fifty
years, from the death of Malachi, the voice of prophecy had been silent.
During that long interval no inspired messenger had appeared to
declare and to interpret the will of God to his people. And how
keenly sensible they were of the greatness of their loss in this respect
we learn from the frequent allusions to it in the First Book of Macca
bees (iv. 46 ; ix. 27 ; xiv. 41). The language of this Psalm, then, is
but the expression of what we know to have been the national feeling
at that time.
(b) Another feature of this Psalm is the description of the profana
tion of the sanctuary, and the erection there of the signs (ver. 4), the
military standards or religious emblems, of the heathen. The Book of
Maccabees presents the same picture. There we read that Antiochus,
on his return from the second Egyptian campaign, " entered proudly
into the sanctuary, and took away the golden altar, and the candlestick
of light, and all the vessels thereof" (i. 21). Two years later, the
king sent a division of his army against Jerusalem, which fell upon the
city, and having made a great slaughter of the inhabitants, plundered it,
set it on fire, pulled down the houses and walls, and carried away
captive women and children and cattle. A strong garrison was placed
in the city of David, the sanctuary was polluted, and the sabbaths and
festival duy.s profaned. The abomination of desolation was set up on
the altar, and sacrifice offered " on the idol altar, which was upon the
altar of God." (1 Mace. i. 30-53 ; see also ii. 8-12 ; iii. 48-51.)
On the other hand, it has been urged that there is nothing in the
language of the Psalm inconsistent with the supposition that it refers
1 It has been suggested to me by a friend, that this complaint would not be
unsuitable to the time of Esar-haddon's invasion (2 Chron. xxxiii. 11). That
period was singularly barren in prophets.

PSALM LXXIV. 25
to the Chaldean invasion. The desolation of Jerusalem and the pro
fanation of the sanctuary are described in terms quite as suitable to
that event. Indeed, one part of the description, " They have cast thy
sanctuary into the fire" (ver. 7), it is argued, would only hold good of
the destruction of the temple by the Chaldeans. Antiochus Epiphanes
plundered the temple, but did not burn it. On the contrary, we are
particularly informed that not the temple itself, but the gates of the
temple (1 Mace. iv. 38; 2 Mace. viii. 33), and the porch of the temple
(2 IMacc. i. 8), were burned, nor is the complete destruction of the
whole building implied in the same way as it is in the Psalm.
It has also been contended that even the complaint of the cessation
of prophecy is not absolutely at variance with the older date, provided
we suppose that the Psalm was written during the Exile, when both
Jeremiah and Ezekiel had ceased to prophesy, and before Daniel en
tered upon his office. (So Delitzsch ; and Calvin admits this to be
possible.) Tholuck, however, observes that verses 10, 18, 23, lead us to
infer that the Chaldean army was still in the land, and even in Jerusa
lem itself, and therefore that the Psalm must have been written when
Jeremiah had already been carried away in chains to Ramah, on his
way to Babylon (.Ter. xl. 1). He suggests further, that these words
(and the same may be said of the words which immediately follow,
"Neither is there any among us who knoweth," etc.), need not be
taken in their exact, literal meaning. The deep sorrow of the poet
would lead him to paint the picture in colors darker and gloomier than
the reality. Seventy years — who could hope to see the end of that
weary length of captivity ? — who knew if the end would ever come ?
Such was the language of despondency. To one who refused to be
comforted, the end promised was as though it were not.
Further, both Jeremiah and Ezekiel, it has been observed, indulge in
a similar strain. Thus the former sings : " Her gates are sunk into the
ground ; he hath destroyed and broken her bars : her king and her princes
are among the Gentiles: the law is no more ; her prophets also find no
vision from Jehovah" (Lam. ii. 9). And the latter threatens: "Then
shall they seek a vision of the prophet ; but the law shall perish from
the priest, and counsel from the ancients " (Ezek. vii. 26). Neither of
these passages, however, so absolutely denies the existence of a prophet
as that in the Psalm. One other expression in the Psalm (ver. 3), " Lift
up thy feet to the everlasting ruins," seems, it must be confessed, most
suitable in the mouth of an exile during the Babylonish captivity.
The relation both of this Psalm and the seventy-ninth to the writ
ings of Jeremiah, presents another difficulty. Jer. x. 25 is almost
VOL. II. 4

26 PSALM LXXIV.
word for word the same as Ps. lixix. 6, 7. Again, Lam. ii. 2 resem
bles Ixxiv. 7, and Lam. ii. 7 is very similar to Ixxiv. 4 ; and, as we
have already seen, there is at least a point of connection between Ixxiv.
9 and Lam. ii. 9 ; besides these, other minor similarities may be
observed, on a comparison of the Psalmist with the prophet. Now
we know that it is the habit of Jeremiah to quote largely and frequently
from other writers, and in particular from the Psalms anc^the prophets.
But on either of the hypotheses above mentioned, as to the date of
our two Psalms, the writer of these must have imitated the language
of Jeremiah. This is, of course, quite possible. A similar problem,
and a very interesting one, arises out of the relation of Jeremiah to
the later chapters of Isaiah, xl.-lxvi. That one of the two writers
was familiar with the other is beyond a doubt.
On the whole, I am inclined to think that this Psalm may be most
naturally explained by events that took place in the time of the Macca
bees. If, in any particular, the language seems too strong as applied to
that time — as, for instance, the description of the burning of the
temple — this may be as readily explained by poetic exaggeration, as
verse 9 is so explained by those who hold the opposite view. Or, per
haps, as Calvin suggests, the writer, overcome by the moui-nful spectacle
before his eyes, could not but carry back his thoughts to the earlier
catastrophe, and thence borrowed some images, blending in his imagi
nation the two calamities in one.
The Psalm does not consist of any regular system of strophes.
It opens with a cry of complaint, and a prayer that God would
remember his people in their desolation (ver. 1-3).
It then pictures the triumph of the enemy, the destruction of the
sanctuary, and the loss of divine counsel in the day of peril (ver. 4-9).
Then again there is an appeal to God for help (ver. 10, 11), and a
calling to mind of God's past wonders on behalf of his people, and of
his almighty power as seen in the world of nature (ver. 12-17).
And finally, based upon this, a prayer that God would not suffer
reproach to be brought upon his own name by the triumph of the
heathen over his people (ver. 22, 23).
[A Maschil of Asaph,"]
1 0 God, why hast thou cast (us) off forever,
(Why) doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy
pasture ?
1. Hast thou cast off. See note supplied from the next clause, viz. "the
on xliv. 9. The object here may be sheep of thy pasture."

PSALM LXXIV.

27

2 Remember thy congregation which thou hast purchased of old.
Which thou hast ransomed to be " the tribe of thine
inheritance,
(And) the mount Zion wherein thou hast dwelt.

Why doth thine angek smoke.
For the figure, compare xviii. 8 [9],
where see note. There is a change in
the tenses, the preterite in the first clause
being used to denote the act of casting off,
the future (present) here to denote the
continuance of the same. See on xliv. 9.
Sheep of thy pasture ; a favorite
figure in those Psalms which are ascribed
to Asaph. (See Introduction, vol. i.
pp. 77-79. It is found also in Jer.
xxiii. 1. The name contains in itself
an appeal to the compassion and tender
care of the shepherd. Can the shepherd
slay his sheep "?
2. Thou hast purchased . . . thou
hast ransomed. Both verbs contain
in themselves a reason why God should
remember his people. The first verb
(k&nd/:) may mean only to get, to acquire,
the idea of a price paid for the acqui
sition being not necessarily contained in
the word. So Gen. iv. 1, " I have gotten
a man with (the help of) Jehovah";
Gen. xiv. 22, " the most High God, pos
sessor of heaven and earth " ; Prov. viii.
22, " .Jehovah possessed me in the begin
ning of his way." And Jerome renders
here possedisti and the LXX, fKTfia-a.
Exactly analogous is the use of the
Greek nepnToiiiaeai. ; Acts xx. 28, " The
church of God which he purchased (ac
quired) with his own blood." 1 Tim.
iii. 13: "Purchase (acquire) to them
selves a good degree." Comp. Eph. i.
14 and 1 Thess. v. 9, where see Vau-
ghan's note. The second verb (ga-al, to
ransom, -whence goSl,) from a root mean
ing to loosen [see Fiirst's Concord.], is
the technical word for every kind of
redemption under the law, whether of
fields (Lev. xxv. 25), tithes (Lev. xxvii.
13, 1.5, etc.), or slaves (Lev. xxv. 48, 49).
The next of kin was called Goel, because
on him devolved the duty of redeeming
land which his poor relation had been
'Compelled to sell (Lev. xxv. 25), and
also because on him fell the obligation

of redeeming, demanding satisfaction for
the murder of a kinsman (Num. xxxv.
12, 19, and often). A third word is com
mon in Hebrew {padah], which .means
properly to separate, and then to \yisen,
and so to redeem, as in Deut. ix. 26,
" Thine inheritance which thou hast re
deemed." This word is also employed,
but more rarely, in the technical sense
of the redemption of the first-born of
animals for instance (Ex. xiii. 13;
xxxiv. 20). Both this and the verb ga al
are frequently used of the deliverance
from Egypt and from Babylon.
Of old, as in xliv. 2, with reference,
doubtless, to the deliverance from
Egyptian bondage.
The tribe. Such is, apparently,
the meaning of the word here, the whole
nation being regarded, not as many
tribes, but as one tribe, probably in ref
erence to other nations. The same ex
pression occurs besides only in Jer. x..
16 and Ii. 19, whereas in Isa. l.xiii. 17
we have the plural form, "the tribes oj
thine inheritance." The E.V. has here
" rod of thine inheritance," and so Lu ther,
Calvin, and others, and the word fre
quently means "rod, staff (as in xxiii.),
sceptre (as in xlv. 6 [7]), etc., but here it
is usually explained to mean measuring-
rod, and so the portion measured out, — a
meaning, however, in which the word
never occurs. Jerome explains it by
sceptre and so Theophylact, StjAoi Si fi
pd$Sos r^f $a(Ti\eiay.
The congregation represents the
people in their religious aspect, the
tribe in their national and political
aspect, or as distinct from other nations
(Delitzsch); cf. Jer. x. 16; Ii. 19, with
Isa. Ixiii. 17. The two great facts, the
redemption from Egypt, and God's
dwelling in the midst of them, the one
of which was preparatory to the other,
seem here, as in the sixty-eighth Psalm,
to sum up all their history.
3. Lift up thy feet (lit. footsteps^

28

PSALM LXXIV.

3 Lift up thy feet unto the everlasting ruins ! "
The enemy hath laid waste all in the sanctuary ,
4 Thine adversaries have roared in the midst of thine assembly ; *
They have set up their signs as signs.

the word being a poetical one), i.e.
Come speedily to visit those ruins which
seem as though they would never be
repaired. A similar phrase (though the
words in the original are different) oc
curs in Gen. xxix. 1, where it is said of
Jacob, that after his vision "he lifted
up his feet," a phrase " which in Eastern
language still signifies to walk quickly,
to reach out, to be in good earnest, not
to hesitate." — Kitto, Bible Illustrations,
i. 305. Everlasting, the same word as in
ver. 1, "forever," i.e. which seem to
human impatience, looking forward, as
if they would never be built again. In
Isa. Ixi. 4, " the everlasting ruins,"
(where, however, the Hebrew words are
different) are so called, looking back on the
long past continuance of the desolation.
In the sANCTnARY. This is his
greatest grief. His country has been
laid waste with fire and sword, his
friends slain or carried into captivity,
but there is no thought so full of pain
as this, that the holy and beautiful house
wherein his fathers worshipped has been
plundered and desecrated by a heathen
soldiery. Instead of the psalms, and
hymns, and sacred anthems which once
echoed within those walls, has been
heard the brutal shout of the fierce in
vaders, roaring like lions (such is the
meaning of the word in the ne.xt verse)
over their prey. Heathen emblems,
military and religious, have displaced
the emblems of Jehovah. The magnfi-
cent carved work of the temple, such as
the cherubims, and the palms, and the
pillars, with pomegranates and lily-work
(1 Kings vi. 15, etc., if the allusion be to
the first temple) which adorned it, have
been hewed down as remorselessly as a
man would cut down so much wood in
the forest. And then that splendid pile,
so full of sacred memories, so dear to
the heart of every true Israelite, has

been set on fire, and left to perish in the
fiames. Such is the scene as it passes
again before the eyes of his mind.
4. Thine assembly, i.e. here evi
dently "place of assembly," a word
originally applied to the Mosaic taber
nacle, and afterwards to the great
national festivals. Here it would seem
the temple is meant. Comp. Lam. ii. 6,
where the word occurs in both senses.
" He hath destroyed his assembly (or
temple; E.V. his places of assembly) . . .
He hath caused to be forgotten solemn
feast and sabbath," etc. It comes from
a root signifying to fx to establish, etc.,
and hence is used both of a fixed time
(see on Ixxv. 2) and a fixed place.
Their signs. An emphasis lies on
the pronoun, comp. ver. 9. I have re
tained the literal rendering, together
with the ambiguity of the original.
These were either military ensigns,
standards, trophies, and the like (as in
Num. ii. 2 IF.), the temple having been
turned into a barrack ; or, religious em
blems, heathen rites and ceremonies,
perhaps even idols, by which the temple
and altar of Jehovah were profaned.
(In this last sense the words would aptly
describe the state of things under Anti
ochus Epiphanes. Comp. 1 Mace. i. 54
and 59, " Now the five-and-twentieth
day of the month they did sacrifice upon
the idol altar, which was upon the altar
of God." Again in chap. iii. 48, it is
said that " the heathen had sought to
paint the likeness of their images " in
the book of the law.) This last sense is
further confirmed by the use of the word
in ver. 9. But both meanings may be
combined, the word sign being here used
in its most general sense of all symbols
of a foreign power of whatever kind.
So Geier : " Ita ut accipiatur pro indicio
potestatis alienae, quae est tum politica,
turn religiosa : ita nam.jue hostes muta-
verant quoque signa priora, quibus tum

PSALM LXXIV.

29

5 It seems " as though one lifted up on high
Axes against the thickets of the wood :
6 And now the carved work thereof ' altogether
With hatchet and hammers they break down.
7 They have set on fire thy sanctuary.
They have profaned the dwelling-place of thy name (even)
unto the earth.
8 They have said in their heart : " Let us make havoc ^ of them
altogether."
They have burnt up all the houses "^ of God in the land.

Dei, tnm magistratus proprii jurisdictio
ac veneratio designabatur."
5. This verse has been completely
misunderstood by our translators, who
have here followed Calvin, as well as
by nearly all the older interpreters. It
does not describe the preparation once
made for building the temple, by hewing
down cedars in the forest of Lebanon,
but it compares the scene of ruin in the
interior, the destruction of the carved
work, etc., to the wide gap made in some
stately forest by the blows of the wood
man's axe. See the use of the same
figure, Jer. xlvi. 22. Buchanan's par
aphrase gives the true meaning :
Aedis mentis it fragor :
Quales sub altis murmurant quercus
jngis
Caesae bipenni quum ruunt.
It SEEMS ; lit. " it is known, makes
itself known, appears," etc. as in Gen.
xli. 21; Ex. xxi. 36; xxxiii. 16. Or
possibly, "he, i.e. the enemy, makes
himself known as one who lifts up," etc.
7. They have set on fire ; lit.
" They have cast into the fire." Hup
feld compares the German, "in Brand
legen, stecken," and the French, " mettre
h. feu." They have profaned . . . unto
the earth, i.e. " by casting it to the
earth," as the expression is filled up in
the E. v., but in the Prayer-book version
the English idiom is made to adapt
itself to the Hebrew, and this I have
followed. We have a similar construc
tion in Ixxxix. 39 [40], " Thou hast

defiled his crown to the earth," i.e. by
casting it to the earth. For the fuller
expression on the other hand, see Lam.
ii. 2.
8. All the houses of God in the
LAND ; lit. " all the assemblies," which
must here mean " places of assembly,"
as in ver. 4, and Lam. ii. 6. The work
of devastation does not stop short with
the temple. The plain meaning of the
words is, that there were many other
places for religious worship in the land
beside the temple, and that these, as
well as the temple, were destroyed. All
attempts to get rid of this meaning are
utterly futile. It is assumed that this
Psalm refers to the Chaldean invasion,
and as we hear of no synagogues or
legalized holy places before the Exile,
therefore it is said the temple must be
meant, the plural being here used for
the singular. It is quite true that we
have other plural forms applied to the
temple. Thus in xliii. 3, " Thy taber
nacles," Ixxii. 17, "the sanctuaries of
God," the plural being used to denote
the several parts, courts, chambers, etc.,
of the one building. But it is not only
the plural word that we have here, but
the far wider phrase " all the places of
assembly in the land." Hupfeld tries to
escape from this difficulty by saying that
all the previous different names of the
sanctuary are finally comprised in one —
that one house which may be called
"all the houses of God," because it
represents and is the substitute for all ;
and he attempts to defend this by Isa

30

PSALM LXXIV.

9 Our signs we see not ; there is no prophet any more,
Neither is there with us any who knoweth how long.
10 How long, 0 God, shall the adversary reproach ?
Shall the enemy despise thy name forever ?

iv. 5, where, however, " every dwelling-
place," and " her assemblies," are ex
pressly confined to " Mount Zion."
Mendelssohn has a similar explanation,
except that he supposes the expression
to be used from the point of view of the
enemy ; " They say in their heart, that
by destroying this house, we shall de
stroy all the assemblies of God together " ;
Israel having but one sanctuary, while
all other nations build houses of assembly
for their gods in every city and district.
But all this is the merest trifling, and
it is surprising that commentators of
unquestioned ability should have re
course to such strained interpretations.
Such interpretations are unnecessary,
even on the assumption that this Psalm
refers to the Chaldean invasion. Be
fore that time synagogues are not men
tioned, it is true, nor indeed are they in
the Books of the Maccabees; still it is
scarcely credible that even before the
Exile there were no houses of God, no
places for religious worship, except the
temple in Jerusalem. Without holding,
as Vitringa surmised, and as others have
thought, that sacred places, such as
those consecrated by the patriarchs and
others, in early times — Ramah, Bethel,
Gilgal, Shiloh — are meant, or " the
high places" (see 2 Chron. xxxiii. 17;
comp. 1 Kings xviii. 30, from which it
appears 'that in [? before] Elijah's time
there was an altar of Jehovah on Mount
Carmel), there must have been buildings
where it was customary to meet, espec
ially on the Sabbath (which in Lev.
xxiii. 3 is called " an holy convocation "),
and to pray, turning towards Jerusalem.
There must surely have been some
public worship beyond the limits of the
family, and if so, places, houses, for its
celebration. If, however, the Psalm be
of the age of the Maccabees, there is no
difficulty, for before that time, there can
be little doubt, synagogues were estab

lished. Our translators would seem by
their rendering " synagogues," to have
regarded this as a Maccabean Psalm.
See more in Critical Note.
9. Our signs, i.e. the signs of God's
dominion and presence in the midst of
us. Taken in connection with what
immediately follows, " There is no
prophet," etc., these may mean miracu
lous signs, in which sense the word fre
quently occurs. Or it may only denote
here religious emblems, which were dis
placed to make room for the signs of
the heathen. See ver. 4.
No prophet. Such a complaint seems
most suitable to the time of the Macca
bees, when, in fact, the complaint was fre
quent. See introduction to the Psalm.
Stier draws attention to the emphatic
way in which the lament here closes ;
no signs — religion destroyed and rooted
out ; no prophet — to announce ap
proaching consolation, or to begin the
work of restoration ; none of us all,
therefore, knows how long this sad state
of things shall last. The latter expres
sion refers, not to the prophet (as Hup
feld), but to the mass of the people.
10. Taking up that word, How long?
the Psalmist turns with it to God, be
seeching him not to suffer this reproach
to be cast upon his name. Twice the
same appeal is made (see ver. 18 and
22). This holy jealousy for the honor
of God, as bound up with his people's
deliverance, is characteristic of the Old
Testament. The feeling is strikingly
exemplified in the prayers of Moses, Ex.
xxxii. 12, 13; Num. xiv. 13-16; Deut.
ix. 28, comp. xxxii. 27.
11. Why withdrawest thou; lit.
why makest thou to return, i.e. into thy
bosom. See Ex. iv. 7, where the full
expression occurs ; it denotes, of course,
a state of inactivity, the hand being
enveloped in the ample folds of the
Eastern robe.

PSALM LXXIV.

31

11 Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even thy right hand ?
(Pluck it out) from the midst of thj bosom, consume
(them) !
12 Surely God is my King of old,
Working deliverances in the midst of the earth ;
13 Thou didst divide the sea through thy strength.
Thou brakest the heads of the monsters upon the waters.
14 Thou didst crush the heads of Leviathan,
That thou mightest give him as food tb the people
inhabiting the wilderness.'

(Pluck it out.) It seems necessary
to supply the ellipse in this way. The
construction is a pregnant one, similar
to that which we have already had in
ver. 7. For the absolute use of the
verb, consume, comp. lix 13 [14]. It
may either be rendered as above, or
perhaps, as Meyer, t>tier, and others,
" JIake an end," i.e. of this state of
things. 12. Surely, or, "and yet," in spite
of this seeming inactivity. The appeal
rests, first, on the fact that God has
already manifested his power in signal
instances on behalf of his people, and
next, on the dominion of God as Creator
and absolute Ruler of the universe.
My King, expressive of the strong
personal feeling of the Psalmist. See
note on xliv. 4, and comp. Hab. i. 12,
where, in like manner, the prophet claims
his own covenant relation to God, whilst
speaking as the representative of the
people, "Art thou not from everlasting,
O Jehovah my God, my Holy One ! —
we shall not die."
13-15. Special instances of God's
wonder-working power in the passage.
of the Red Sea, in bringing water from
the rock, and in the passage of the
Jordan. The monsters. (Symmachus, tUv
Krrriii', the whales.) A symbolical de
scription of the Egyptians. Comp. Isa.
Ii. 9 and Ezek. xxix. 3, where Pharaoh
is called the " monster which is in the
sea." The E.V. has in all these places
"dragon" as the equivalent word.

Here the LXX have SpaKav, to express
both this word and Leviathan in the
next clause. The same Hebrew word,
tannin, is employed again cxlviii. 7, and
also Gen. i. 21 (where it is rendered
whales), to denote huge sea-monsters;
lit. creatures extended, stretched out,
hence serpents, crocodiles, etc. Perhaps
the crocodile (as in the next verse Z€-
viathan) is meant here as emblematic of
Egypt. The head of the monster has
been smitten, and the huge unwieldy
carcase lies floating on the waters. The
plural heads has been supposed to refer
to Pharaoh and his princes, but it may
be only poetic amplification.
14. Leviathan, i.e. the crocodile, as
in Job xl. 25 (E.V. xli. 1). In what
sense is this said to be given as food to
the people inhabiting the wilderness?
Bochart, who is followed by Hengsten
berg and others, supposes that the allu
sion is to the Ichthyophagi who, ac
cording to Agatherides, fed on the sea-
monsters which were thrown up on their
shores. Comp. Herod, ii. 69. Similarly,
the LXX render \aoTs Tort At$t6'fit.
Others, again, think that by the people
inhabiting the wilderness are meant the
Israelites, to whom the Egyptians are
said, figuratively, to be given as food,
i.e. as plunder. But by far the simplest
way is to understand the passage as
me.aning that the corpses of the Etryp-
tians were cast upon the shore, and so
became the prey of the wild beasts, which
are here called a people inhabiting the
wilderness, as i a Prov. xxx. 25, 26 the

32

PSALM LXXIV.

15 Thou didst cleave fountain and brook ;
Thou driedst up everflowing rivers.
16 Thine is the day, thine also is the night.
Thou hast established the light and the sun.
17 Thou hast set all the borders of the earth :
Thou hast formed summer and winter.
18 Remember this, how the enemy hath reproached Jehovah,
And how a foolish people have despised thy name.

ants and the conies are called " a people."
Comp. also Joel i. 6 ; Zeph. ii. 14.
Inhabiting the wilderness. On
this word see on Ixxii. note l^.
15. Thou didst cleave fountain,
etc. Another instance of a pregnant
construction : for " Thou didst cleave
the rock, whence fountain and brook
issued forth." Comp. Ixxviii. 15 ; Hab.
iii. 9. The reference, is, no doubt, to
Ex. xvii. 6.
Thou driedst up. The same word
is used. Josh. ii. 10 of the Red Sea, and
iv. 23; v. 1, of the Jordan.
Everflowing rivers; lit. "streams
of constant flow." The same word
occurs in Ex. xiv. 27, " The sea returned
to its constant flow, its usual current."
See also Deut. xxi. 4 ; Amos v. 24.
Here the Jordan is meant, the plural
being used, not to denote the several
streams by which it is fed (as Kimchi),
but merely by way of poetic amplifica
tion. Aq., TTuTa/xoi's (rrepovs ; Sym., tt.
apxaiovs. 16. From the wonders wrought by
God on behalf of his people in their
history, the poet rises to the wider view
of his ever-continued, ever-displayed
power and majesty in the world of nature.
The miracle does not lead him to forget ,
God's power and goodness in that which
is not miraculous. The one is rather a
witness to, and an instance of, the other.
Light, or rather " luminary," cor
responding to the Greek tpuuTitp (which
Aquila employs here). It is the same
word which occurs in Gen. i. 14, 16, and
is there rendered "lights." The sing
ular is used collectively for the plural,
all the heavenly bodies being meant,

and then of these the sun is named as
chief. In the same way we have, as
Hupfeld remarks, Judah and Jerusalem,
Ephraim and Samaria, and so the Greeks
say, 'EKXTtvU te Kal 'Adrivutoi, and the
like. 17. The borders of the earth,
i.e. not those merely by which the land
is divided from the sea (Gen i. 9, comp.
Prov. viii. 29 ; Job xxxviii. 8, etc.), but
all the boundary lines by which order
is preserved, as those of the seasons,
those of the nations (Deut. xxxii. 8 ;
Acts xvii. 26), etc.
Summer and winter, as before, day
AND night, as marking the everlasting
order of fiie world, and perhaps with
reference to Gen. viii. 22. The literal
rendering is, "Summer and winter —
thou hast formed them," This verb is
used of the fashioning of men and the
animals (Gen. ii. 7, 19), from the dust,
and here it is applied to the seasons, as
in Isa. xlv. 7 to " the light and the
darkness," as creatures of God's hand.
18. Remember. The petition recurs
(comp. ver. 2) with renewed force after
the Psalmist has comforted himself with
the recollection of God's almiijhty power,
as both ruling the history of Israel, and
giving laws to the material universe.
A foolish people, i.e. the heathen
oppressors of Israel, whether Chaldean
or Syrian. In ver. 22, again, we have
the same word, " the foolish (man)."
There theTargum has, " a foolish king,"
which has been supposed tto mean An
tiochus Epiphanes, though it might, of
course, refer to Nebuchadnezzar. The
same Chaldee word (Xl^BB tiphsha) is in
the Targum on Deut. xxxii. 21 the

PSALM LXXIV. 3S
19 Give not the soul of thy turtle-dove to the wild beast.
The life of thine afflicted forget not forever.
20 Look upon the covenant,
Por the dark places of the land are full of the habitations
of violence.
21 0 let not the oppressed turn hack confounded,
Let the afflicted and the poor praise thy name !
22 Arise, 0 God, plead thine own cause ;
Remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee all the
day long.
23 Forget not the voice of thine adversaries.
The tumult of them that rise against thee which goeth
up forever.
equivalent of the same Hebrew word, as expressing, generally, misery, gloom,
where again the reference is to a heathen etc., or as Delitzsch explains (who un-
nation employed as the instrument of derstands the Psalm of the Chaldean
Israel's chastisement. In Lev. xxvi. 41, invasion), " Turn where we may, the
it is equivalent to the Hebrew uncircum- darkened land is full of abodes of tyranny
cised. In Eccles. 1. 26, the Samaritans and oppression." It seems most prob-
are called " that foolish people." able, however, that those spots are
20. Look upon the covenant, meant which were the best fitted for
The appeal lies to that, not to anything scenes of violence and murder — the
in the Psalmist himself, or in his people, haunts of robbers, who there lay in wait
"This," says Tholuck, "is the ever- for their victims. The banditti would
lasting refuge of the saints of God, even speedily become numerous in a country
in the greatest dangers. And even if where law and order were at an end.
they have broken it, can the unbelief of Comp. x. 8.
men make the truth of God of none 21. The oppressed; literally "the
eflFect"? The covenant is that made crushed" ; turn back, as in vi. 10 [11],
first with Abraham, and then renewed or, perhaps, simply " return " (the usual
with him and with the fathers. Comp. meaning of the verb), i.e. from his ap-
Ixxviii. 10 ; Isa. Ixiv. 8. proach and entreaty to thee.
The DARK places, or, "darknesses." 22. Remember how, etc.; lit. "Re-
The word occurs elsewhere of the dark- member thy reproach from a foolish man
ness of the grave -(Ixxxviii. 6 [7] ; cxliii. all the day." See note on ver. 18.
3 ; Lam. iii. 6), and hence it may be 23. Goeth up, i.e. which ascends to
used here in a figurative sense, merely .heaven, crying aloud for vengeance.
' On Maschil, see above on xxxii. note *, and General Introduction,
Vol. i. p. 69 ; on Asaph, see 1. note ", and General Introduction, Vol.
i. p. 77.
^ 'piJ isaid . These words seem to be a predicate, the relative being
supplied before T\b»i . So Ewald : " Hast erlost zum Stamme," etc.
Mendelss. renders somewhat differently, as if oaia depended on '^b? , and

34 PSALM LXXIV.
'ns were the predicate : " (Denke), Des Stammes, dir zum Eigenthum
befreiet." But in the Beor it is explained as I have rendered it above.
Delitzsch (1st ed.) takes this clause as parenthetical, and says that the
relative form of expression is here given up, though the next clause
depends on ibt. ; but in his 2d ed. renders as in text.
" mx^CJa . On the form and derivation of this word see on Ixxiii.
note "i.
* T(iS''^ . A large number of MSS. and editions have the plur. ~'''nSio,
as in ver. 8. The Chald., Kimchi, and others, have also adopted it,
and it is in itself admissible, even if the tenjple be meant. See note
on ver. 8.
* 'J'-^^'l . ft is known, and so it appears, see note on ver. 5. This
word puzzled all the ancient interpreters. The Chald. omits it alto
gether, but gives the true sense of the passage, which all the others
have missed. As regards the construction, either this and the next
verse describe, as in a parenthesis, the scene of destruction, and hence
the verbs are presents, giving more vividness to the narration ; or
perhaps the two verses may be taken as protasis and apodosis. As . . .
so now (nnj"i). Kiaas, lit. as one causing to come in, or perhaps as
one bringitig. So Gesen. Thesaur. in v. N?2, comp. Job xii. 6. In 7^20
the vowel is Kametz, not Kametz-Khatuph, as Nurzi calls it. Comp.
n^n-an3 , Esth. iv. 8.
^ fjinms , carved wood-work, as in 1 Kings vi. 29. The fem. suff.,
cannot refer immediately to any of the preceding nouns. It seems to be
used here as a neut., in an indefinite sense, referring generally to the
" sanctuary " and " assembly " mentioned before.
^ d:-'? . Kimchi first rightly explained this as 1st plur. fut. Kal. of
nji (elsewhere, except in the Part., occurring only in Hiph.), with
suff. ti-;^ instead of n- , as B'niJ , Num. xxi. 30.
"" ^^"¦''!!?'''=i • The word isio, as has been remarked, may be used
either of a fixed place of meeting (hence the tabernacle was called
'a }ir<k , tent of meeting, i.e. where God met the people ; or of a fixed
time, and so of the festivals, as in Lev. xxiii. 2, 4, 37. The ancient
interpreters were divided as to the signification here. Aq. has ivinprjcrav
Trao-as ras avvayoyya';. On the Other hand, Symm., Trao-as ras crvvraya.^
rov ®€ov ; Theod., Travra^ Kaipou?. And the LXX, who put the words
into the mouth of the enemy, render, SeSre, KaTawavcrtupiv (7rao-as) rets
copras Tov Kvptov airo r^s y^s. The sixth translator in the Hexapla
(Montf.) has KaTaKavcroipev, which may have been the original reading
of the LXX, as Jerome (in his Ep. to Sunnia and Fretela) contends.
It might easily have been altered to avoid the awkwardness of sayin^,

PSALM LXXIV. 35
" Let us hum up all ^e feasts." Jerome translates the LXX, Quiescere
faciamus omnes diesfestos Dei in terra; but his own rendering of the
Hebrew is Jncenderunt omnes solennitates Dei in terra.
> 0''*sb Erb . This is grammatically indefensible. If the two nouns
are in apposition, then the first cannot be in the stat. constr. It must
be cs^ . But more probably the second b has been inserted by mistake
before O'l's. See a similar instance in Isa. xxxii. 1. The LXX, Xaots
Toi'i AWioij/Lv; Aq., rots iieXeva-op.evoi'S ; Theod. (Xaw) t(3 ea^ara), E'
(Xaw) TU i^iXTjXvOoTi.
^ n^nb . According to the accents, this word is not to be joined with
what follows ; hence many regard it as the constr. state put for the
absol. But there is no instance of such usage. Others would supply
rrnia or some such word, beast of (the field). It is better to regard it
as an instance of a feminine noun terminating in its absolute state, in
-ath instead of -ah. Sea on Ixi. note ', and Kimchi's remark there
quoted. It is, then, doubtful whether we should take n^n in the sense
of wild beasts, or in the sense of host (sc. of enemies). Delitzsch con
tends that the latter is required, because in the very next clause it occurs
in this sense, " the congregation or host of thine afflicted." Comp. Ixviii.
10 [11], and note there.
Others would connect dEJ P^nb together, taking irs? in the sense of
eagerness, as in xvii. 9 (where see note). Hence 'a 'b would either
mean to the eager host (sc. of enemies) — so Gesen, Maurer, and others —
or, to the eager (fierce, devouring) wild beast.
Hupfeld thinks the difficulty at once got over by the simple remedy
of transposition, 'n rfin lasib "inn bs , " Give not to rage (to the fierce
will of the enemy) the life of thy turtle-dove." He tries to defend this
absolute use of BSJ in the sense of fierce desire, by reference to xxvii.
12 ; xli. 2 [3], where the word, however, occurs with a genitive (" will
of mine enemies "), which he thinks may be supplied here from the con
text. In the next clause he keeps the same meaning of 'n , " the life
of thine afflicted."
None of these explanations is satisfactory, though there can be no
doubt as to the general sense of the passage. All the ancient versions
have misunderstood 'TTP\ . The Chald. seems to have read ?]n~in, as it
paraphrases, " the souls of them that teach thy law." Symm., (i/^x^i')
i]v cSiSa^as Toi' vd/Aor; Jerome, animam eruditam lege tua. Others,
apparently, as the LXX, Syr., Arab., and Ethiop., read '^'T^ ¦ " the
soul (which) confesseth, or giveth thanks, to thee." All agree in
rendering the first part of the sentence alike, " Give not to the
wild beasts," except the Syr., which has j^Al^u, "ne des fractioni"

36 PSALM LXXV.
(Dathe) ; but why not praedae ? as in Isa. v. 29. Does not this point
to a reading nm or niiin , and may not the copyist have fallen into the
error by his eye catching n*n in the next line ?

PSALM LXXV.

The Psalm celebrates in prophetic strain the righteous judgment of
God. The voice of God himself from heaven declares his righteous
ness, announces to the world that he is not, as human impatience has
ever been wont to deem, regardless of wrong and suffering ; but that
he only waits for the moment which to his infinite wisdom seems best,
that he may chastise the insolence of evil-doers.
There are no clearly marked historical allusions in the Psalm. It
seems, however, not improbable, as has been conjectured by many
commentators (Ewald, Tholuck, Delitzsch, etc.), that it may refer to
the time of the Assyrian invasion, either as celebrating, or immediately
anticipating, the defeat of Sennacherib. Like Ps. xlvi. it bears some
resemblance to the prophecies of Isaiah uttered at that time. But
there is, as Ewald has observed, a difference in the manner in which
the prophet and the Psalmist treats his subject. The prophet adds
thought to thought and scene to scene ; he expands, enlarges upon,
diversifies his theme. He sees in this one act of righteous judgment
the prelude to many others. He threatens not the Assyrian only, but
other nations who lift themselves up. The poet, on the other hand,
seizes upon the one truth, the single thought of God's righteous judg
ment as manifested in this instance, and strives to present it to others
with the same force and vividness with which it has filled his own mind.
He, too, is a prophet, a prophet who has heard the word of God
(ver. 2, etc.) and seen the vision of the Most High ; but a prophet, as
it were, under narrower conditions and for a more limited purpose.
The close resemblance between many of the expressions in this
Psalm and parts of the song of Hannah in 1 Sam. ii. is very noticeable.
The Psalm opens with the ascription of praise which God's wonders,
now and in all past time, have called forth (ver. 1).
It passes then to the prophetic announcement of the truth which has
been uttered from heaven and echoed with triumph upon earth, of
God's righteous judgment (ver. 2-8).
Finally, it concludes with a determination to publish the praise of
Jehovah forever, whilst the same prophetic strain of triumph is heard,
as in one last echo, repeating itselE (ver. 9, 10).

PSALM LXXV,

37

iTor the Precentor. (To the Melody) " Destroy not," '
Asaph, a Song,

A Fsalm of

1 We give thanks to thee, 0 God, we give thanlis ;
And (that) thy name is near thy wondrous worlis have told.
2 " When the set time is come
I myself will judge uprightly.

1, 2. The connection between these
verses is not, at first sight, very ob
vious. It may, perhaps, be traced as
follows : firSt, the Psalmist blends in
one the past and the present. God has
been, and is now, the object of Israel's
praise ; as he has both in the past and
in the present displayed his wonders on
their behalf. (Hence the use of the
perfect tense ; lit. " We have given
thanks," etc.) Then he abruptly cites
the words of God, words whose fulfil
ment he had just witnessed, or whose
approaching fulfilment he saw in the
spirit of prophecy, words that were
themselves an exemplification of the
truth that God is near, despite the mad
ness of men and the disorders of the
world. And (that) tht name is near.
The construction of this member of the
verse is doubtful. It may be rendered
in two separate clauses : "And thy name
is near ; they (i.e. men, or our fathers,
as in xliv. 1, [2] ; Ixxviii. 3) have told
of thy wonders " (so Ewald). But it is,
perhaps, better to connect the two
clauses, as our translators have done.
Luther and Mendelssohn, and, more
recently, Hupfeld and Bunsen, have
taken the same view.
Tht name is near, not "near in
our mouth," i.e. as the great object of
praise (as Hengstenberg and others ex
plain it, referring to Jer. xii. 2, a pas
sage which is totally different), but near
in presence, near in self-manifestation,
near in love and power, near in succor
and blessing. So in Deut. iv. 7, " What
nation is there that hath God so near
unto them." Comp. xlviii., Ixxvi., 1.,
" His name is great in Israel," and see

xxxiv. 18 [19] ; cxiv. 18, and the note
on XX. 2.
2. God is abruptly introduced as the
speaker, as in xlvi. 10 [11]. The oracle
is thus given as from the mouth of God
himself, to those who may be in doubt
or perplexity because their lot is cast in
troublous times.
When the set time is come ; lit.
" When I shall have taken (reached)
the set time," i.e. the time appointed in
the divine counsels. The thread of time
is ever running, as it were, from the
spindle, but at the critical moment God's
hand arrests it. (For this strong sense
of the verb take, see xviii. 16 [17] and
comp. Kaiphs Bsktos, einrp6a5eKTos of
2 Cor. vi. 2.) God is ever the righteous
Judge, but he executes his sentence, not
according to man's impatient expecta
tions, but at the exact instant which he
has himself chosen. The words are an
answer to all such misgivings as those
in Ixxiii. 3, as well as a rebuke to all
hasty and over-zealous reformers, who
would pull up the tares with the wheat
rather than wait for the harvest.
Set time. The Hebrew word (mo'ed)
has also the signification assembly, con
gregation, which our translators have
adopted here, and which is common in
the phrase "tabernacle of the congrega
tion," etc. The root idea is that of
something fixed, whether time or place
(and hence persons gathered in a placej.
See note on Ixxiv. 4. The former sense
is clearly preferable here. Comp. cii.
13 [14] (where the E.V. has correctly
" set time " instead of " congregation "
as here) ; Hab. ii. 3, " the appointed
time," i.e. for the accomplishment of the
vision. And so also Dan. viii. 19 ; xi.

38

PSALM LXXV.

3 (Though) the earth and all the inhabitants thereof are
melting,
I myself have set up the pillars of it. [Selah.]
4 I said unto the arrogant, Deal not arrogantly,
And to the wicked, Lift not up (the) horn,
5 Lift not up your horn on high,
Speak (not) with a stiff neck." *
6 For not from the East, and not from the West,
And not from (the) wilderness (cometh) lifting up.«
7 No, God is Judge,
He putteth down one, and lifteth up another.

27, 35. The proper rendering is given
by the LXX, Hrav Ac£j3w Kaipiv. Jerome
and the Vulgate, cum accepero tempus.
Symmachus, apparently, led the way
with the other interpretation, irav XaSw
i^v avpayayijp. The " congregation "
would, of course, mean all who are as
sembled to behold the solemn act of
judgment, as in vii. 7 [8] ; 1. 5.
I MYSELF. The pronoun is emphatic.
The Greek version known as the Fifth
renders it still more emphatically : " I
am ; I prepared the pillars thereof for
ever " ( iyit et/Lii, TiToifxaa'a roiis fTTv\ovs
auTijs aei). The same prominence is
given to the pronoun in the second
member of the next verse.
3. Such a critical moment is the pres
ent. The world itself seems "utterly
broken down and clean dissolved " (Isa.
xxiv. 19, 20), but he who once built it
up like a stately palace, still stays its
pillars with his hand. The natural
framework and the moral framework
are here identified. To the poet's eye,
the world of nature and the world of
man are not two, but one. The words
of Hannah's song (1 Sam. ii. 8) furnish
an exact parallel : " For the pillars of
the earth are Jehovah's, and he hath
set the world upon them," — language
which, as the context shows, has a moral
application. Have set up ; lit. " poised, bal
anced." A word properly used of fix
ing a thing by weight or measure. Cf.
Job. xxviii. 25; Isa. xl. 12, 13.

4. I SAID. Ewald and others suppose
the divine utterance to end with the
previous verse. This is possible; for
the poet, speaking as a prophet, may
thus triumph in the revelation which
has just been made, and turn it into a
defiance of the proud. At the same
time, as there is no indication of any
change of speaker, it is better to regard
this and the next verse as a continuation
of the divine oracle.
IJnto the arrogant, etc., or, "Unto
the madmen. Deal not madly," — the
same words as in Ixxiii. 3, where see
references. 5. With A stiff neck. Here, again,
there is evidently an allusion to the
words of Hannah's song (1 Sam. ii. 3).
6. For. The poet himself speaks,
taking up and applying to himself and
to others the divine sentence which he
had just been commissioned to deliver.
Glory and power come not from any
earthly source, though a man should
seek it in every quarter of the globe, but
only from God, who lifteth up and cast-
eth down, according to his own righteous
sentence. Again, an allusion to 1 Sam.
ii. 6.
From the wilderness, i.e. the
south, the great wilderness lying in
that direction. Thus three quarters are
mentioned, the north only being omitted.
This may be accounted for, supposing
the Psalm to refer to Sennacherib, by
the fact that the Assyrian army ap
proached from the north ; and therefore

PSALM LXXV.

39

8 For there is a cup in the hand of Jehovah,
And the wine foameth,* it is full of mixture ;
And he poureth out of the same :
Surely the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth
Shall drain (them) out in drinking (them).
9 But as for me — I will declare forever,
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
10 And all the horns of the wicked will I cut off,
(But) the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up.

it would be natural to look in all direc
tions but that, for assistance to repel
the invader.
Lifting up. The word is evidently
an emphatic word in the Psalm ; it is
the same which occurs in ver. 4 and 5,
and again in ver. 7 and ver. 10. I have,
therefore, given the same rendering of it
throughout. The rendering of the E.V.
" promotion," besides losing sight of the
manifestly designed repetition of the
same word, is peculiarly unfortunate in
conveying a wrong idea. " Lifting up,"
In its Hebrew sense, does not mean
" promotion," as we commonly under
stand it, but deliverance from trouble ;
safety ; victory. The image, in partic
ular, of lifting up the head or the horn
(the last, borrowed from wild beasts,
such as buffaloes, etc., in which the horn
is the symbol of strength), denotes
courage, strength, victory over enemies.
See iii. 3 [4] ; xviii. 2 [3] ; xxvii. 6.
For other interpretations of this verse,
see Critical Note.
8. The solemn act of judgment. God
puts the cup of his wrath to the lips of
the wicked, and holds it there till they
have drained it to the uttermost. It is
the same figure which we have already
had in Ix. 3 [5]. In the prophets it
occurs frequently : Isa. Ii. 17-23 (comp.
xix. 14); Hab. ii. 15, 16; Ezek. xxiii.
32, etc. ; Jer. xxv. 27 ; xlviii. 26 ; xlix.

12 ; and, in the form of a symbolical
action xxv. 15, etc.
Foameth, i.e. as it is poured into the
cup from the wine-jar, as is expressed
in the next member of the verse.
Mixture, i.e. the aromatic herbs, etc.,
which were put into the wine to make
it more intoxicating. See the article
"Wine" in Smith's Diet, of the Bible.
Poureth out, i.e. from the wine-jar
into the cup.
Of the same, the wine ; the dregs
thereof are the dregs of the cup.
(See Critical JJote.)
9. But as for me — placing himself
and the congregation of Israel in oppo
sition to the proud oppressors — I will
be the everlasting herald of this great
and memorable act. This is the true
Non omnis moriar.
10. Triumphantly in this last verse
he claims, for himself and for the church,
a share in the signal act of deliverance.
That which God threatens (ver. 4, 5),
he accomplishes by the hand of his
servants. Every horn of worldly power
must fall before him. Comp. Rev. ii.
26, 27. Ewald sees an emphasis in the
word all, repeated ver. 8 and here.
The punishment is, as yet, only begun.
Some only have drunk of that deadly
wine, but the cup is large, and all the
wicked must drain it.

' See above on 1. note ", Ivii. note ", and General Introduction, Vol. i.
pp. 72, 77.
* pns. Delitzsch and others take this, not as an adj. qualifying the

40 PSALM LXXV.
preceding noun, but as immediately dependent on the verb of speaking,
which is, in fact, its usual .construction. So in 1 Sam. ii. 3 ; Ps. xxxi.
19, xciv. 4. In this case in isa must be taken absolutely; "with the
neck," meaning " with a proud, stiff neck," a mode of expression which
it is supposed may be defended by Job xv. 26, " he runneth against
him with the neck," where, however, as Hupfeld remarks, the phrase
seems only equivalent to our expression " with the head."
° Di-;n ^aiBa . This reading is supported by most of the MSS. and
editions, and can only be translated from " the wilderness of the moun
tains " (Symm., aTro Iprjpov opioiv ; LXX, airo ip-qpu>v opiwv), which is
usually explained to mean the Arabian desert, so called because it is
walled in by the mountains of Idumea. " The desert of the moun
tains" is, then, a mode of describing the south, and, according to
Hengst., the allusion is to Egypt, as the great southern power which
was the hope of Irsael in the Assyrian invasion. According to this
reading, there is an aposiopesis. Not from the east, etc., and not from
the wilderness of mountains — [cometh judgment (Hengst.) or lifting
up (Delitzsch)]. But it is far bettter to read, 131B5? (absol. instead of
constr. and to take B'^i.n as the Hiph. Inf. used as a noun, lifting up,
like "I'^ari , xxxii. 9. Kimchi testifies that in his time (end of the twelfth
century) this was the reading of the best mss. (it is still found in
several), and the Midrash expressly says that harim means harim
(i.e. mountains) everywhere but in this passage. The whole scope of
the Psalm, where so much is said of " lifting up," confirms this view.
Ewald also adopts the reading 'na'ia , but applies the copula before
Di"in , which he takes in its usual signification " mountains," i.e. Leba
non, etc., as descriptive of the north. Thus he completes the four
quarters, as the Chald. has done also, only inverting the order and un
derstanding the north by the desert and the south by the mountains.
¦^ 'rcT\ 'f'^ . It seems doubtful whether 1'^^ is here accus. or nom.
So far as the constr. is concerned, it may be the former : " It (i.e. the
cup) foameth with wine." The objection to this is that the verb is in
the masc, whereas 013 is, in almost every instance, fem., and the suffix
in fi^-iTid would seem to show that it is fem. here. To this Hupfeld
replies : (1) that in Jer. xxv. 15, bia is masc. (and therefore a noun
of common gender), and (2) that the fem. suffix here refers to 'rayq
and not to 013.
The LXX, (TTOT^piov) . . . oXvov uKpoLTOV TrX^p€s Kepdaparo's. Symm
Kut oivos ctKpaTos ttXtjpCiv iK)(y6tL'S.
xia is a verb followed by the aecus. See Ixv. 10.

PSALM LXXVI. 4^

PSALM LXXVI.
This is one of several Psalms which, as has been remarked in the
introduction to Psalm xlvi., were composed in celebration of the
miraculous overthrow of Sennacherib's army. From the days of
Israel's first occupation of the land, when God went forth with their
hosts, giving the victory by signs and wonders from heaven, no deliv
erance so signal had been witnessed. Hence it roused in an extrac .'di-
nary degree the religious fervor of the nation, and called forth loud
songs of thanksgiving. Like Psalms xlvi., xlvii., xlviii., this is an ode
of victory over the Assyrians. It tells of Zion's glory and Zion's
safety (to which there may be an allusion in the name Salem), because
God has chosen it for his dwelling-place. It tells of the discomfiture
of that proud army, whose might was weakness itself when arrayed
against the might of Jehovah. It tells how the warriors sank into
their last sleep before the walls of the city, not beaten down before a
human enemy, not slain by an earthly arm, but at the rebuke of the
God of Jacob. And then- the poet looks beyond the immediate scene.
He beholds in this great deliverance, not the power only, but the right
eousness of God. It is God's solemn act of judgment. It is his voice
speaking from heaven and filling the earth. And the lesson which
this act of judgment teaches is, the foUy of man who would measure
his impotent wrath against the majesty of God ; and the wisdom of
submission to him who is the only worthy object of fear.
The internal evidence points so clearly to the occasion for which
the Psalm was written, that the LXX have inscribed it, t/dos tov
'Ao-o-Jpiov, and this reference has with few exceptions, been recognized
by commentators, ancient and modern.
The Psalm consists of four strophes, each of which is comprised in
three verses.
I. The first celebrates Jerusalem and Zion as the abode of God, and
the place where he has manifested his power (ver. 1-3).
II. The second describes in a forcible and animated manner the
sudden destruction of the beleaguering army (ver. 4-6).
III. The third dwells on that event as a solemn, far-reaching act of
judgment, conveying its lesson to the world (ver. 7-9).
IV. The last tells what that lesson is, counselling submission to him
whose power and whose righteousness have so w'onderfully made
themselves known (ver. 10-12).
VOL. SI. 6

42

PSALM LXXVI.

[Per the Precentor, with Stringed Instruments.
A Song.]
1 In Judah is God known.
His name is great in Israel.
2 In Salem also hath been his tabernacle,
And his dwelling-place in Zion.

A Psalm of Asaph.

1-3. The whole emphasis of this first
strophe consists in the prominence given
to the particular locality where God has
manifested his power. It is on the same
field where he has so often gotten to
himself glory. It is in Judah, in Salem,
in Zion. It is there (ver. 3, the word is
peculiarly emphatic) that he hath dashed
in pieces the might of the foe.
1 . Is KNOWN, or perhaps more exactly,
" maketh himself known," as xlviii. 3
[4], i.e. by the present deliverance which
he has wrought. The participle ex
presses present action.
In Israel. According to Hupfeld,
Israel is here mentioned in the paral
lelism merely for the sake of the poetry,
although Judah only is meant. He
accounts for such usage by saying that
" Judah and Israel " was a common
phrase to denote the whole nation. But
if the date assigned to the Psalm be
correct, there may be a special reason
for the mention of Israel. Hezekiah
was the first monarch who made any
attempt to restore the ancient unity of
the tribes. After the fall of Samaria,
and the deportation of the inhabitants
of the northern kingdom by Esar-haddon,
Israel, i.e. the ten tribes, had no longer
a national existence. And yet we read
that Hezekiah, on his accession, after
purifying the temple, and restoring the
worship of God, " sent to all Israel and
Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim
and Manasseh, that they should come to
the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, to
keep the passover unto the Lord God of
Israel (2 Chron. xxx. 1). A study of
the whole chapter will show what im
portance was attached to this union of
Israel with Judah, at the time, and will
ex])lain, as it seems to me, the mention
of both together in the Psalm.

2. Salem. The LXX render ^j/ eip^j/jj,
and the Vulg. in pace; but the word is
evidently a proper name. " It seems
to be agreed on all hands,'' says Mr.
Grove, " that Salem is here employed
for Jerusalem, but whether as a mere
abbreviation, to suit some exigency of
the poetry and point the allusion to the
peace which the city enjoyed through
the protection of God [this is Ewald's
view], or whether, after a well-known
habit of poets, it is an antique name
preferred to the more modern and
familiar one, is a question not j'et de
cided. The latter is the opinion of the
Jewish commentators, but it is grounded
on their belief that the Salem of Mel
chizedek was the city which afterwards
became Jerusalem. This is to beg the
question." He shows that this was the
general belief, up to the time of Jerome,
of Christians as well as Jews. But
Jerome places the Salem of Melchizedek
near Scythopolis, and identifies it with
the Salim of John the Baptist. The
narrative in Genesis does not mark the
return route of Abraham, so as to furnish
any data for fixing the locality of Salem.
It is probable that Abraham " would
equally pass by both Scythopolis and
Jerusalem." On the other hand, the
distance of Sodom from the former place
(80 miles), renders it unlikely that the
king of Sodom should have gone go far
to meet Abraham, and makes it more
possible that the interview took place
after his return ; and this " is, so far,
in favor of Salem being Jerusalem."
Mr. Grove, who has discussed the whole
question with his usual learning and
ability, throws out the suggestion that
the antithesis in ver. 1, between " Judah "
and "Israel" may "imply that some
sacred place in the northern kingdom is

PSALM LXXVI.

43

3 There ^ brake he the arrows ° of (the) sow.
Shield, and sword, and battle. [Selah.]
4 Glorious * art thou, excellent
From the mountains of prey.

contrasted with Zion, the sanctuary of
the south. And if there were in the
Bible any sanction to the identification
of Salem with Shechem [according to a
tradition of Eupolemus, which he has
quoted] , the passage might be taken as
referring to the continued relation of
God to the kingdom of Israel." But
see note on ver. 1. Salem and Zion
denote the lower and upper city respec
tively. His tabernacle; lit. "booth," as
made of interwoven or interlacing boughs
of trees, etc. (So the feast of tabernacles
is the feast of booths or huts.) The
name may have been used of any tem
porary structure, and so of the tabernacle,
and then, as here, of the temple. Comp.
xxvii. 5, and Lam. ii 6. But I am
inclined to prefer another meaning here,
and one more in accordance with the
context. The word may signify a dense
thicket, the lair of wild beasts. (It
occurs in this sense in x. 9, " like a lion
in his lair.") In ver. 4 it is said, " Thou
art glorious from the mountains of prey."
May not God be here likened to a lion
couching in his lair, and going forth
from those mountains to destroy ? This
seems almost certain, when we find that
the word in the parallel " His dwelling,"
is also used in civ. 22 of the den of lions ;
"the lions roaring after their prey, etc.
. . . lay them down in their dens." The
same word occurs in the same sense in
Amo.s iii. 4. Then we should render :
"In Salem is his covert, and his lair in
Zion." Dean Stanley, I find, takes the
same view, Sinaiund Pal., p. 177, note 2.
As regards the figure itself, Jehovah is
said in two other passages to roar (as a,
lion), Joel iii. 16 [iv. 16|. He is here,
as it were, identified with " the lion of
the tribe of Judah."
3. There. Emphatically pointing to
the spot where the great deliverance had
been accomplished. Comp. for this use

xxxvi. 12 [13] ; Ixvi. 6, and for the
general sense of the verse xlvi. 9 [10] :
" Who stilleth wars to the end of the
, earth,
Who breaketh the bow and cutteth
the spear in sunder,
And burneth the chariots in the fire."
Arrows of the bow ; lit. " fiery
shafts, or lightnings of the bow," the
arrows being so- called, from their rapid
flight, and their glittering in the air ; or
possibly with an allusion to the burning
arrows employed in ancient warfare.
See on vii. note'.
4. There is no comparison, as in the
E. v., " more glorious than the mountains
of prey," though the Hebrew would
admit of such a rendering (see an in
stance of the same ambiguity in the use
of the pre]josition, Iv. 8 [9], and note
there), and it has been adopted by many
commentators. They suppose that the
Assyrian power is tacitly compared
either to a lion going forth to ravin
(comp. the fuller picture in Nab. ii. 1 1-13
[Heb. 12-14]), or to robbers issuing
from their strongholds in the mountains.
And thus the power of God is said to be
" more excellent " than the power of
Assyria, whether regarded as that of a
lion, or as that of armed banditti. But
such a comparison is flat and tame, and
the rendering given in the text, which
is that of all the Greek translators and
of Jerome, is far preferable. See note
on ver. 2. God goes forth victoriously
from Zion to crush his foes. " The
promise," Tholuck says, "is fulfilled:
' I will break the Assyrian in my land,
And upon my mountains tread him
under foot' (Isa. xiv. 25).
Yea, upon the mountains of Jerusalem
they themselves must become a prey,
who had hoped there to gather the prey."
The plural, mountains, either used in
the wider sense, as in the passage just
quoted from Isaiah, or possibly of Zion

44

PSALM LXXVI.

5 The stout-hearted have been spoiled,'
They have sunk into their sleep.
And none of the men of valor have found their hands.
6 At thy rebuke, 0 God of Jacob,
Both chariot and horse are cast into a dead sleep.
7 Thou, even thou, art to be feared.
And who can stand before thee when once thou art angry ?
8 From heaven thou didst cause judgment to be heard ;
The earth feared and was still.

only, as in Ixxxvii. 1 ; cxxxiii. 3. The
great prominence always given to the
mountains of their native land, both by
Psalmists and prophets, is a further con
firmation of the view that the mountains
of Palestine, not those of Assyria, are
here meant. See Mr. Grove's admirable
article, " Palestine," § 26, in Diet, of the
Bible. 5. They have sunk into their
SLEEP. (Comp. 2 Kings xix. 35.) The
verb (which is of a different root from
the noun "sleep") expresses the languor
and lassitude by which a man is over
powered, and so falls asleep. In all
other passages where it occurs, the E.V.
renders it hy slumber. See, for instance,
cxxi. 3, 4 ; Isa. v. 27, etc., and comp.
Nah. iii. 18, "Thy shepherds slumber,
O king of Assyria," where the word is
used, as here, of the sleep of death. A
third word is employed in the next verse.
Have pound their hands finely
expresses the helplessness and bewilder
ment of those proud warriors who but
a short while before had raised their
hands in scornful defiance against Jeru
salem (see Isa. x. 32). The idiom is
apparently similar to our common ex
pression " losing heart." (Comp. 2 Sam.
vii. 27, to "find heart.") Hupfeld thinks
that this rendering is not supported by
usage, and would render " have found
nothing, i.e. achieved, affected nothing,
with their hands." But this is hyper
critical. 6. Are cast INTO A dead SLEEP. In
the Heb. this is but one word (a participle,
denoting present condition). It is used

of a profound slumber, either ( 1 ) natural,
or (2) supernatural, the sleep into which
God casts men. Comp. Judges iv. 21 ;
Dan. X. 9, and the noun from the same
root. Gen. ii. 21 ; 1 Sam. xxvi. 12.
Chariot and horse, i.e. of course
the riders in chariots and on horses (as
the ancient versions paraphrase). The
figure is so obvious, that it might be
left to explain itself, were it not for the
strange prosiac misunderstanding of
Hengstenberg, who supposes that the
chariot is said to sleep, because it has
ceased to rattle. Byron's animated lines
on the destruction of Sennacherib, which
may have been partly suggested by this
Psalm, will occur to every reader :
"And there lay the steed with his nostril
all wide,
But through it there rolled not the breath
of his pride :
And the foam of his gasping lay white
on the turf.
And cold as the spray of the rock-
beating surf.
And there lay the rider distorted and
pale.
With the dew on his brow, and the rust
on his mail."
7. When once thou art angry ;
lit. "fromthe time of thine anger." See
a similar form of expression, Euth ii. 7 ;
Jer. xliv. 18.
8. As in the last Psalm, God is spoken
of as the Judge (this is a peculiar feature
in the Psalms ascribed to Asaph) ; and,
as in that, he speaks from heaven, ter
rifying his enemies with the thunder o(
his word. Comp. Ixxv. 2, 3, 7, 8 [3, 4,

PSALM LXXVL

45

9 When God arose to judgment,
To save all the afflicted of the earth. [Selah.J
10 For the wrath of man must praise thee.
With the remainder of wrath thou girdest thysjlf.'
11 Vow and pay unto Jehovah your God ;
Let all that are round about him bring presents unto
Him who ought to be feared.
12 He cutteth off the spirit of princes :
He is to be feared by the kings of the earth.

8, 9]. The train of thought in that
Psalm has certainly sufficient in common
with the train of thought in this to jus
tify us in assigning both to the same
period. 10. With THE REMAINDER op wrath,
etc. The meaning is not very clear.
Whose wrath is here meant — that of
man, or that of God ? Some understand
the latter, and explain the verse thus:
All the wrath of men, every attempt
that they make to defeat the will of God,
does but turn to their own discomfiture,
and his glory ; and after all their efforts,
he has a store, a residue, of wrath to
pour out upon them as punishment.
But the objection to this is, that in the
previous clause the wrath spoken of is
that of man ; and it is better to retain
the same subject in both clauses. Then
we have : (a) Man's wrath doth but
praise God. (6) With the remainder of
man's wrath, his last impotent efforts to
assert his own power, God girds himself,
puts it on, so to speak, as an ornament —
clothes himself therewith to his own
glory. Thus the parallelism of the two
clauses is strictly preserved. The word
WRATH is in the plural, denoting either
wrath of every kind, or wrath in its
intensity. See note on Ixviii. 35 [36],
and for a like use of the plural ( 1 Sam.
ii. 3), where "a God of knowledge " is
lit. "a God of knowledges."
' rtissa . See on iv. note ', and General Introduction, Vol. i. p. 70.
On Asaph, see 1. note '.
* naiB here used apparently as = Dia . Hupfeld refers to its use in
the common phrase naia Cfii ISJK -iiok (Ex. xxix. 42 al.), " where I

11. This is the end. God has wrought
his terrible act of judgment — but the
first of a long series of judgments to be
executed on the nations, unless by timely
submission they acknowledge him as
their King. See the similar exhortation
in ii. 11.
Vow AND PAY. See on xxii. 25
[26], BRING PRESENTS, comp. Ixvili. 29
[30]. All that are round about, i.e.
the heathen nations, who are to bring
presents in token of homage, as in
Ixviii. 30.
Unto him who ought to be feared;
lit. " to the fear," i.e. the proper object
of fear. See the same use of the word
in Isa. viii. 12. In like manner God is
called " the Fear of Isaac " in Gen. xxxi.
42, 53 (though there the word is dif
ferent). 12. This verse, or at least the first
clause of it, reminds us of the last verse
of the preceding Psalm, which closes in
a similar strain.
He cutteth off, like a vine-dresser,
who prunes away the rank boughs, or
cuts off the ripe clusters of the vine.
Comp. Isa. xviii. 5, where the same
image is employed by the prophet at
the same time. Judges viii. 2; xx. 45;
Jer. vi. 9 ; 11. 33 ; Joel iii. 13 [iv. 13] ;
Rev. xiv. 15.

id PSALM LXXVI.
. meet with you " ; but surely there motion to a place is implied =
whither I go to meet you.'' More in point is Ezek. xlviii. 35, Jehovah
shommah, "Jehovah is there." See also cxxii. 5; Isa. xxxiv. 15
(where dB occurs in the parall.) ; -ler. xviii. 2 ; 1 Chron. iv. 41. "The
Semitic accus. has a wide signification, and denotes not only the whither
(and how long), but also the where (when and how), so that, for instance,
nno in the accus., and ntiriQ , mean before, or at the door, as f'^JTC , at
the gate. Again, the accusative ending fi-^ , is only met with in a partial
and fragmentary manner ; and in dying out seems to have lost much
of its original meaning. Finally, of this particular word neither the
Arab, nor Aram, has the simple form, but only the accus. form in the
same sense. The above is from Hupfeld. •
" 'p isa:"i . The word t)0'n denotes any hot, glowing substance.
Hence Cant. viii. 6, ilJx "'S'^'i (where observe the Dagesh, which is
wanting here), " coals of fire"; Job v. 7, 'i ^ia, "sons of burning," or,
o firebrand, interpreted by many to mean sparks. In Hab. iii. 6, the
the word is used of a burning fever.
"" "liutj , a Niphal form from ii'x (which, like iBia ai'a , is intrans.),
and therefore questionable; for "iiN.7, in 2 Sam. ii. 32, is not fut. Niph.,
but Kal, like laia;; , as Hupfeld observes. He therefore thinks that
perhaps N^i; should be read ; comp. ver. 8, 13, and so Theod., (^oyScpds.
Symm., however, has cTi^acrjs ; the LXX, <^(t)Tt^€is ; Aq., <j>oiTia-p6s ;
Jerome, Lumen. As regards the construction of ¦)» in the next
hemistich all the Greek versions render it by avo. Jerome has a
montibus captivitatis.
^ iVi^inas ; lit. have suffered themselves to be plundered (an Aramaic
form instead of 'nan . Comp. ^annx , 2 Chron. xx. S5 ; inVissx , Isa.
Ixiii. 3). This is an instance, according to Hupfeld, of the passive use
of the Hithpael. He quotes other instances given by Gesen. and
Ewald, of an alleged similar use. But in every one of these examples
the reflexive meaning may be retained ; and in fact it is retained, in
most cases, by some one of the translators or commentators. Here,
for instance, Phillips says : " They have been plundered, or they have
exposed themselves to plunder, agreeably to Abu Walid, who has taken
the verb in a reciprocal, and not in a passive sense : they have despised
themselves, i.e. they have cast away their weapons." So in Judges xx.
15, 17, Zunz has, "stellten sich zur Musterung," and in xxi. 9, "Hess
sich mustern." (Indeed it is quite astonishing that the Hipth., in these
instances, should have been regarded as a passive.) In Mic. vi. 16, he
renders "halten sich." On Eccl. viii. 10, Preston remarks : " The verb
insniC'; , being in the Hipth., expresses that their quiet and unostenta-

PSALM Lxxvn. 47
tious lives cause them to be forgotten, 'that they sink of themselves
into oblivion.' " In Prov. xxxi. 30, gets to herself praise ; and in Lam.
iv. 1, pour themselves out (inanimate things, by a common figure, having
life attributed to them) ; in 1 Sam. iii. 14, shall not make atonement
for itself; lit. shall not cover itself, are the proper renderings of the
several Ilithpaels. There is no necessity, I am satisfied, in any case,
to lose sight of this strict reflexive meaning of the conjugation, though
it may be more convenient in another language to employ the passive.
just as in rendering the German phrase, " davon findet sich keine
Spur," in English, we must say, " No trace of it is found " ; yet it
would be absurd to maintain that the German reflexive is here used as
a passive. Ewald, indeed, limits this passive use of the Hithp. to rare
cases, and to the later books chiefly, and only gives the two passages
from Micah and Ecclesiastes, as illustrating it (Lehrb. d. H. S. ^ 124:
c. p. 284, 6'^ Auf.) ; but even in these the proper reflexive force is re
tained. The rendering is merely a question of idiom.
^ ijnn. There is no reason for departing from the ordinary meaning
of the root. (Jerome, accingeris ; and so apparently the Chald. and
Symm., Xeupavov dvpwv Trepi^uio-et.) Comp. Isa. lix. 17, etc. Kimchi
and others have taken it in the sense to restrain (as in a passage of the
ISIishna, and in accordance with the signif. of the cognate roots in Arab.
and Syr.). The LXX again have eoprao-et crot, and must therefore have
read ?J5rin , shall hold festival to thee, answering to the parall. shaU
praise thee. This Ewald adopts, observing: "Ver. 11 contains a very
lofty thought. The only object with which Jehovah judges and
punishes is, that even the most furious transgressors may at last attain
to wisdom and to the praise of Jehovah ; and though many fall under
his chastisements, at least the remainder, taught by these terrible
examples, will be saved. Or, to put it in a shorter and more emphatic
form : '' The wrath of man itself will praise thee, being suddenly
changed to its opposite, and as it were against its wUl."

PSALM LXXVII.

This Psalm is the record, first, of a sorrow long and painfully ques
tioning with itself, full of doubts and fears, trying in vain to find in
itself, or in the past, a light for the present ; and then, of the triumph
over that sorrow by the recollection of God's love and power, as mani
fested in the early history of Israel. By whom the Psalm was written,

48 PSALM LXXVII.
or to what period of the history it is to be referred, it is now impossible
to say. The manner in which, towards the close, the passage of the
Red Sea is dwelt upon, has led many to conclude that it was written
by one of the exiles during the Babylonish captivity. Those two
memorable events, the deliverance from Babylon, and the deliverance
from Egypt, were always associated in the minds of the Jews ; the one
being regarded, in fact, as the pledge of the other. This, however, in
itself, is not decisive. At any time of great national depression, the
thoughts of the true-hearted in Israel would naturally revert to God's
flrst great act of redeeming love ; and other Psalms (Ixxviii., Ixxx.,
Ixxxi.), evidently not written during the Exile, look back to the Exodus,
and the wonders of God's hand displayed then and in the journey
through the wilderness. Besides, an inference of a positive kind, in
favor of an earlier date, has been drawn from the relation of this Psalm
to the prophecy of Habakkuk. Delitzsch, in his commentary on the
prophet, has traced carefully the coincidences in thought and expression
between Ilab. iii. 10-15, and verses 16-20 [17-21] of the Psalm.
Among the various arguments by which he endeavors to establish the
priority of the Psalm, two seem to be of weight : first, that the prophet
throughout his ode is in the habit of quoting from the Psalms ; and
secondly, that, with his eye on the future, he arrays all the images of
terror and magnificence which are suggested by the past, in order to
describe with more imposing pomp the approaching advent of Jehovah;
whereas the Psalmist is not looking to the future, but dwelling on the
past. Hence it is far more probable that the prophet imitates the
Psalmist than that the Psalmist borrows from the prophet. Supposing
this to be satisfactorily established, we might reasonably infer that this
Psalm was not written later than the reign of Josiah. But on the
other hand, as Hupfeld has pointed out, the mode of expression in
Habakkuk, as compared with that here employed, would lead us to an
exactly opposite conclusion. (1) The figure in Hab. iii. 10, "The
mountains saw thee; they were afraid" (lit. in pangs or throes), is
more natural and correct than the use of the same figure as applied in
the Psalm to the waters (ver. 16 [17]). (2) The phrase, "the over
flowing of the waters," in Hab. iii. 10, is more simple and natural than
the corresponding phrase in ver. 17 [18] of the Psalm, as I have re
marked in the Critical Note on that verse; the verbal form here
employed occurring nowhere else. Hence it is most likely that the
latter was a designed alteration in copying from the former. (3) That
the lightning should be termed the "arrows" of God in Habakkuk is
quite in keeping with the martial character and figures of the whole

PSALM LXXVII. 49
passage. In the Psalm, on the other hand, the figure seems more out
of place.
There is some force, no doubt, in this argument. There is less, I
think, in that which Hupfeld urges, on the ground of the apparent want
of connection between the "lyric episode" (ver. 16-19 [17-20]), and
the rest of the Psalm. It is true that the rhythm of this portion is
different, being in three members, instead of in two ; and that here the
strophe consists of four verses [or five], whereas the preceding strophes
consist of three. But these are of themselves unimportant variations.
Nor do I see that verse 20 [21] is naturally connected with verse 15
[16]. On the contrary, it is far more striking (see note) in its present
position. As to the objection that a single instance of God's deliverance
is so enlarged upon, is made to occupy so prominent a place, that is
surely quite in accordance with the true genius of lyric poetry ; not to
mention that it was the one great act from which the whole history
dated, and which has left its stamp on all the literature of the people.
But whenever, and by whomsoever, the Psalm may have been
written, it clearly is individual, not national. It utterly destroys all
the beauty, all the tenderness and depth of feeling in the opening
portion, if we suppose that the people are introduced speaking in the
first person."^ The allusions to the national history may indeed show
that the season was a season of national distress, and that the sweet
singer was himself bowed down by the burden of the time, and oppressed
by woes which he had no power to alleviate; but it is his own sorrow,
not the sorrows of others, under which he sighs, and of which he has
left the pathetic record.
The Psalm falls naturally into two principal parts ; the first (ver.
1-9), containing the expression of the Psalmist's sorrow and disquietude;
the second (ver. 10-20), telling how he rose above them.
Of these, again, the former half consists of strophes of three verses
(1-3, 4-6, 7-9), the end of the first and third being marked by the
1 It is much to^be regretted that Mr. Thrupp should have committed himself to
the theory that all the Psalms ascribed to the Levitical singers are of necessity
national. He has thus been obliged to give a most strained and unnatural inter
pretation to many of them. Thus, for instance, he holds that this Psalm is " the
lamentation of the Jewish church for the terrible political calamity .... whereby
the inhabitants of the northern kingdom were carried into captivity, and Joseph
lost, the second time, to Jacob." (Art. " Psalms," in Smith's Diet, of the Bible,
vol. ii. p. 957.) And still more strangely, of Psalm Ixxiii., that "though couched
in the first person singular, (it) is really a prayer of the Jewish faithful against
the Assyrian invaders." (Ibid., p. 950.) This is, I must think, an entire mis
understanding of a very striking Psalm.
VOL. n. 7

50

PSALM LXXVII.

Selah. The latter may also be divided into three strophes, the first
two only being of three verses each (10-12, 13-15, the second having
the Selah), and the last consisting of five (15-20).
[ror the Precentor, After the manner of Jeduthtm." A Psalm of Asaph.]
1 With my voice unto God let me cry,*"
With my voice unto God, and may he give ear unto me."
2 In tlie day of my distress I sought the Lord ;
My hand was stretched out in the niglit and failed not.
My soul refused to be comforted.
3 I would remember God, and must sigh,
I would commune (with myself), and my spirit is over
whelmed. [Selah.j

1. And mat he give ear, or more
literally, in the form of an address to
God, "And do thou give ear." The
constant interchange of tenses in the
first six verses lends vividness to the
expression of the Ps.almist's feelings.
Sometimes, as in ver. 2, 4, 5, we have
the past tenses in n.arration, and then
alternating with these, the paragogic
future or optative, as in ver. 1, 3, 6, ex
presses purpose, resolve, and the like.
And thus are marked the fiuctuating
emotions of the mind, ever passing from
the mere statement of fact to the utter
ance of feelings and desires.
2, 3. These verses show both the
reality and earnestness of the prayer,
and the strong faitli of the Psalmist.
It is no occasional petition hastily put
up, but a struggle, like that of Jacob,
through the livelong night. It is even
a sorer confiict, for he has not found the
blessing as Jacob did. He cannot be
comforted. He would thinji of God,
but even that thought brings him no
strength ; he looks within, and his
sorrow deepens.
2. Was stretched out ; literally
"poured out" like water (2 Sam. xiv.
14) ; or, as the eye is said to be poured
out or dissolved in tears (Lam. iii. 49) ;
here apparently applied to the hand
stretched out in prayer. " The stretched
out, weak, and powerless hand," says

Hengstenberg, " conveys the picture of
a relaxation of the whole body." Or,
there may be a confusion of metaphor,
that being said of the hand which could
only properly be said of the eye (hence
the Targum substitutes the latter for
the former). The Rabbinical writers
understood my hand to mean the hand,
or blow, laid upon me, and hence came
the singular rendering of the E.V., my
sore ran, etc.
And failed not (or it may be ren
dered as an adverbial clause, without
intermission. Symm., eKTeraTo SirifeKws) ;
lit. " and grew not cold," like a corpse ;
" became not weary," used, like the last
verb, of tears. Comp. Lam. ii. 18, "Let
tears run down like a river day and
night; give thyself no rerf;" and iii. 49,
"Mine eye trickled down (the word
rendered above vmis stretched out), and
ceaseth not, \\ithout any intermission."
Tlie words rest and intermission are de
rivatives from the verb here employed,
and are applied to tears, perhaps as
frozen at their source.
Refused. Comp. Gen. xxxvii. 35,
where the same is said of Jacob when
he received the tidings of Joseph's death.
3. Must SIGH. See Rom. viii. 26 (o-t ¦
vayiioLS a.\a\-fiTots). " St Paul teaches
us that it is the Holy Ghost who in
such sighs makes intercession for be.
lievers with God." — Tholuck.

PSALM LXXVII.

51

4 Thou hast held mine eyes waking ; '
I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
5 I have considered the days of old,
The years of ages (past) ;
6 I would call to remembrance my song in the night,
I would commune with my heart, — and my spirit hath
made diligent search :
7 " Will the Lord cast off forever ?
And will he be favorable no more ?
8 Hath his loving-kindness come to an end forever ?
Hath (his) promise failed to all generations ?
9 Hath God forgotten to be gracious ?
Hath he shut up in anger his tender mercies ? " [Selah.]
10 Then I said : This is my sorrow,'
That the right hand of the highest hath changed.

4. I CANNOT SPEAK. Silcncc and
thought succeed to the uttered prayer.
But the heart still prays on in secret,
though the mouth is silent.
6. My song, properly, a song sung
to a stringed instrument, as the harp.
He would console himself with the rec
ollection of a happier past. Such recol
lections, as Tholuck remarks, may hush
the storm of the soul, may give a man
courage to say to himself. Thou art his,
he cannot forsake thee. But such rec
ollections may also be made the very
instruments of Satan's temptations,
when the soul asks. Why is it not
always thus ? and so falls into the sad
and desponding thoughts which follow
in the next verses.
In the night. This repeated men
tion of the night (see ver. 2) shows that
he was one who loved the stillness and
the solitude of night for meditation and
prayer. (Comp. xvi. 7; xvii. 3; Isa.
xxvi. 9.)
8. God's loving-kindness and God's
promise (or, word, as in Ixviii. 11 [12],
and Hab. iii. 9) are the two props of his
faith. 9. In anger his tender mercies.
The words are evidently placed with

design in juxtaposition, in order to
heighten the contrast. Comp. Hab. iii.
2, " In wrath remember mercy," where
there is the same juxtaposition in the
Hebrew. 10. All this that I have been asking
myself, and saddening myself with ask
ing, seems impossible, and yet it is this
very change which perplexes me.
My sorrow, or perhaps " my sick
ness," i.e. as Calvin explains, a disease
which is only for a time, and to which,
therefore, I should patiently submit.
Comp. Jer. x. 19. Others, "my infirm
ity," i.e. the weakness of my own spirit,
which leads me to take this gloomy view,
and which I must resist.
That the right hand, etc. ; lit.
"the changing of the right hand."
This fact, that it is no more with him as
in days past, it is which fills him with
grief. And then in the next verse he
recovers himself, and passes from self-
contemplation to record God's wonders
for his people. But another rendering
is possible. The word changing (sh'noth)
may mean years : " The years of the
right hand," etc., and the whole verse
might be understood thus :
" Then I thought : This is my sadness,^

52

PSALM LXXVIL

11 (But) I will celebrate the deeds of Jah,
For I will call to remembrance thy wonders of old ;
12 Yea, I will meditate on all thy work.
And commune with myself of thy doings.
13 0 God, thy way is holy !
Who is a great God as (our) God ?
14 Thou, even thou, art the God that doest wonders.
Thou hast make known thy strength among the pe(»ples.
15 Thou hast with (thine) arm redeemed thy people.
The sons of Jacob and Joseph. [Selah.]

The years of the right hand of the
Most High."
i.e. the very recollection of those years,
and God's help vouchsafed in times past,
does but increase my present gloom.
The E.V. connects this second clause
with the following verse, and repeats the
verb from that verse. See more in
Critical Note.
11. With this verse the change of
feeling begins. Hitherto he has looked
too much within, has sought too much
to read the mystery of God's dealings
by the light of his own experience merely.
Hence the despondency, when he con
trasts the gloomy present with the far
brighter and happier past. He cannot
believe that God has indeed forgotten to
be gracious, that he has indeed changed
his very nature ; but that he may be re
assured and satisfied on this point, his
eye must take « wider range than that
of his own narrow experience. There
lies before him the great history of his
people. There recurs especially the one
great deliverance never to be forgotten,
the type and the pledge of all deliver
ances, whether of the nation or of the
individual. On this he lays hold ; by
this he sustains his sinking faith. Cal
vin says : " Jam animosius contra ten-
tationes exsurgit propheta quae fere ad
opprimendam ejus fidem praevaluerant.
Nam recordatio haec operum Dei ab ea
cujus ante meminit [ver. 5] dilFert : quia
tunc eminus intuebatur Dei beneficia,
quae lenire vel minuere dolorem nondnm
poterant. Hie vero arripit quasi certa

testimonia perpetuae gratiae, et ideo
vehementiae causa sententiam repetit."
Thy wonders. The word is in the
singular (though the ancient versions
and many mss. have the plural) here,
and also in ver. 14. So also in the next
verse thy work, because the one great
wonder, the one great work in which
all others were included, is before his
thoughts. Comp. Hab. iii. 2, " Revive
thy work."
13. Is holy; lit. "is in holiness,"
not as others, " in the sanctuary," for
the Psalmist, though speaking generally
of God's redeeming love and power, is
evidently thinking chiefly of the deliver
ance from Egypt, on which he afterwards
dwells. In this and the next verse there
is an allusion to Ex. xv. 11: "Who is
like unto thee, O Jehovah, among the
gods'! Who is like thee, glorious in
holiness, fearful in praises, doing won
ders ? "
15. Thou hast redeemed, a word
especially applied to the deliverance
from Egyptian bondage. See note on
Ixxiv. 2. " The word ' redemption,'
which has now a sense far holier and
higher," says Dean Stanley, " first en
tered into the circle of religious ideas at
the time when God ' redeemed his people
from the house of bondage.' " — Jewish
Church, Lect. v. p. 127.
Joseph, mentioned here apparently
as the father of Ephraim (comp. Ixxviii.
67), and so as representing the kingdom
of Israel (as Ixxx. 1 [2] ; Ixxxi. 5 [6]) ;
perhaps this special mention of Joseph

PSALM LXXVn.

53

16 The waters saw thee, 0 God, the waters saw thee, they
were troubled ;
Yea, the depths also trembled ;
17 The clouds poured out ^ water ; the skies thundered ;
Yea, thine arrows went abroad ;
18 The voice of thy thunders rolled along,""
The lightnings gave shine unto the world :
The earth trembled and shook.
19 Thy way was ' in the sea,
And thy paths ^ in the mighty waters.
And thy footsteps were not known.

may indicate that the Psalmist himself
belonged to the northern kingdom.
16-20. There follows now a descrip
tion of the manner in which the redemp
tion (ver. 15) was accomplished in the
passage of the Red Sea. Inver. 17, 18,
the rain, the thunder and lightning, and
the earthquake, are features of the scene
not mentioned in the history in Exodus,
though Tholuck sees an allusion to a
storm in Ex. xiv. 24. Both Philo ( V. M.
I. 32) and Josephus (Ant. ii. 16 § 3) add
this circumstance in their narrative of
the event. " The passage, as thus de
scribed," says Dean Stanley, " was
effected, not in the calmness and clear
ness of daylight, but in the depth of
midnight, amidst the roar of the hurri
cane, which caused the sea to go back —
amidst a darkness lit up only by the
broad glare of the lightning, as the Lord
looked out of the thick darkness of the
cloud." He then quotes these verses of
the Psalm {Jewish Church, pp. 127, 128).
This is one of those instances in which
we obtain valuable incidental additions,
by means of the Psalmists and prophets,
to the earlier narratives. SeeMr. Grove's
Article on " Oreb," in Smith's Diet, of
the Bible.
16. Saw thee. Comp. cxiv. 3, where
both the Red Sea and the Jordan are
mentioned, a passage which Hupfeld
thinks is the original from which both
this and Hab. iii. 10 are copied.
Were troubled ; lit. " were in pain,"

as of travail. The same expression is
used of the mountains in Hab. iii. 10:
" The mountains saw thee, they were in
pain " ; where the verb seems more aptly
to describe the throes of the earthquake,
by which the mountains are shaken.
17. The way is made by means of
tempest and hurricane.
Poured out. Comp. Hab. iii. 10
(where the noun is from the same root) :
"the overflowing of the waters." E. V.
In the same way the lightning is spoken
of as " the arrows " of God; in Hab.
iii. 11.
18. Rolled along ; lit. " was in the
rolling," with allusion to God's chariot ;
or perhaps "in the whirlwind" or
" rolling cloud." See Critical Ncte.
Gave shine. I have adopted here
the Prayer-book version of the same
words in xcvii. 4 (its rendering in this
place is less correct), in preference to
that of the E. V., " the lightnings ligh
tened," (1) because the verb and the
noun are from entirely different roots ;
(2) because the idiomatic "gave shine"
is an exact equivaleut of the Hebrew.
19. Thy footsteps were not known.
" We know not, they knew not, by
what precise means the deliverance was
wrought ; we know not by what precise
track through the gulf the passage was
effected. We know not, and we need
not know; the obscurity, the mystery,
here, as elsewhere, was part of the les
son. . . . All that we see distinctly is

54 PSALM Lxxvn.
20 Thou leddest thy people like sheep
By the hand of Moses and Aaron.
that through this dark and terrible 15.) So ends the Psalm. Nor tan I
night, with the enemy pressing close see in such a close that abruptness which
behind, and the driving sea on either has led some commentators to suppose
side, ho led his people like sheep by the that the Psalm was never finished. The
hand of Moses and Aaron." — Stanley, one great example is given, and that is
Jewish Cliurch, p. 128. enough. All is included in that; and
20. This verse stands in beautiful and the troubled, desponding spirit has found
touching contrast with the last. In that peace and rest in the view of God's re-
we have portrayed the majesty, the demption. " He loses himself, as it
power, the unsearchable mystery of were in the joyful recollection." (De
God's ways; in this, his tender and Wette.) So may every sorrowful spirit
loving care for his people, as that of a now find peace and rest in looking, not
shepherd for his flock. (See for a like to itself, not even to God's dealings with
contrast, Isa. xl. 10-12 ; Ii. 15, 16 ; Ivii. itself, but to the cross of Christ.
" liniiT^ ^5 , see on xxxix, note °, and General Introduction, Vol. i.
p. 71.
'' r;;;:;'3X". The use of the conjunction here maybe explained by
supposing in the previous clause an ellipse =: " my voice (is directed)
to God, and I would fain cry." Hupfeld assumes a double subject,
as in iii. 5 ; cxlii. 2, though it is sufiicient in these instances to take ibip
as accus. of the instrument.
The paragogic n shows that the verb is an optative. The same form
recurs ver. 4, 7, 12, 13. Alternating as it does with the perfects,
it well describes the strong emotions of the Psalmist's mind. This
nice distinction of tenses has been too often completely overlooked.
° "p'.xln'i , not the infin., but the imperat. And do thou give ear to
me, by a somewhat abrupt transition. Ewald and others would soften
this harshness by taking it as the preterite, with change of vowels, for
"pV^yi ¦ And in this they are supported by the LXX, Kal rj ^invri pov
Trpos TOV ®iov, Kal 7rpoa-ecr)(£ poi, and Symm., xai /3or;o-avTOS pov Trpos tov
©601', irapiay^i ras d.Koa.% avrov.
* The double paragogic form may be taken here as marking protasis
and apodosis. " When I remember, then I sigh," etc. (so Ewald) ; or
as in the text. See on xiii. 5, note '', and Iv. 3, 18.
^ ri-.^a , only here. It may be either for, (1) n-':rx , the night-
watches. Comp. for the sense Ixiii. 7 ; and then, " Thou hast held the
night-watches of mine eyes," = " Thou hast held mine eyes in the
night-watches." Or (2) the eyelids, so called as guards, keepers of the
eye. So the Chald., Gesen., De Wette, etc., the meaning being, Thou
hast held them so that I could not close them in sleep. Or (3) it may
be the part, pass., as a predicate to the noun eyes = watchful, waking.

PSALM LXXVn. 55
' ''rifeti , with the accent drawn back, because of the tone on the
following monosyllable. This is either (1), as Kin;.chi takes it, an infin.
(like niiH , ver. 10) from blsn , meaning lit. my wounding, and so my suf
fering. Comp. for this use of the verb, cix. 22 (so Ewald). Or (2)
infin. Piel. of nbn , my sickness, lit. " that which makes me sick." See
the same verb in the Piel, Deut. xxix. 21, "the diseases wherewith
Jehovah hath made it sick." Hiph., Isa. liii. 10. This seems to be
supported by the parallel passage, Jer. x. 19, " And I said, surely this
is my sickness (•^'bn rri), and I wUl bear it," i.e. God has laid his hand
upon me, and I will resign myself to his chastisement. Here, too,
there is a similar expression of resignation. Or (3), the verb has been
supposed to occur here in the same sense as in the phrase 's i;d rtn ,
to entreat the favor of any one. Hence it has been rendered 7ny sup
plication. But the objection to that is, that here the phrase is incom
plete, the noun being wanting, whereas the verb by itself never means
to supplicate.
There is another word in this verse which presents a difficulty.
nij'J . This is capable of two meanings. Either it is (1), infin.
constr. of the verb rijd , to change, in a neuter sense = to be changed
(the verb in Kal. is never used transitively) ; or (2), the plur. constr.
of the noun ~5ia , a year. According to these different renderings of
these two words, the passage has been very differently interpreted.
Even the Chald. gives two explanations :
(a) " This is my infirmity ("'niS'nn) ; the strength of the right hand
of the Highest is changed (i-ipnax)." (5) Another Targum : " This is
my sup/plication ("'nisa), (that) the year of the end (should come) from
the right hand."
The LXX, vvv rjpidpr]v (a meaning which fhn has only in the Hiph.),
avTTj rj dXAoi'oio'ts t^s StfiSs tov v{J/l<ttov.
Of more modern interpretations the following may be mentioned :
Mendelssohn, " Flehen steht bei mir ; dndern in des Hochstens Macht"
which is ingenious ; bat even admitting that Isn can mean flehen, ';b
cannot be transitive. The same objection applies to Luther's transla
tion : " Ich muss das leiden ; die rechte Hand des Hiichsten kann alles
dndern" Zunz has, " Das ist mein Flehen — die Jahre der R. d.
Hochsten ! " which certainly gives a very good sense : " This is what I
long and pray for — those years of God's right hand in which he ex
hibited his grace and power." The right hand of God cannot mean,
as some would take it, " His chastening hand," but his supporting
hand." It would be possible, however, to render, "This it is which
saddens me, — the years of the right hand," etc., i.e. the remembrance of

56 PSALM LXXVn.
God's power and grace in past times, as compared with my present
lot. And this falls in with the previous complaint : " Hath God for
gotten," etc. On the whole, however, the rendering of J. H. Michaelis
is to be preferred : " meine Krankheit (i.e. the misery of my spirit)
ist das : dass die R. des H. sich gedndert habe." So also Hupfeld.
And Maurer well explains : " quod aegrum me facit hoc est, haec est
mea calamitas : quod se mutavit, non amplius ut olim parata est ad
juvandum dextera Altissiml." He then supports interpretation (2) of
¦'niiin , and observes of nsii) " mutari in deterius, ut Thren iv. 1, in fide :
Prov. xxiv. 21 ; Mai. iii. 6, quo posteriore loco in contrarium haec
leguntur baud nihil lucis accendentia huic quem tractamus loco : ego,
Jova, non mutor, ideoque vos, filii Jacobi, non periistis." Not unlike
this is the rendering of Aq., appojo-Tta pov, avrr] dAXotoicris 8. v. (except
that be must have understood 'in of bodily infirmity, not of mental
suffering). Theod. and the quinta, (LSTi'es (pov) elcnv, aXXoiuxris 8. v.
In this instance the E. V. and the Prayer-book version coincide ; the
latter not following here either the Vulg. or the German. Our trans
lators have copied Aben-Ezra and Kimchi, in supplying the verb Twill
remember, from the next verse. In so doing, they have followed the
K'ri, whereas the Iv'tliibh, T'S'iN , / will celebrate, is preferable, as it
avoids the tautology with fTn3T'< in the next verse.
B !ra-'T , only here, sometimes regarded as a Poel, but better as a
Pual, the construction being that of the accus. ^'"0 , with the pass., " the
clouds were poured forth (in_, or with) water.'' (Phillips, indeed, would
make 'a the subject, and suggests an ellipse of the prep, yo from the
clouds, but such an ellipse is quite out of the question). Comp. 'o wyt ,
Hab. iii. 11, which certainly looks like the original expression. In
^^Ssn we have the expanded poet, form, instead of T]^sn (comp.
¦'C':^ , i~in , etc.), perhaps chosen to express the zig-zag flash of the
lightning. The verb in the Hithp. fut. is also expressive : " kept going
hither and thither."
'' bsb: , properly, a wheel. (1) Some, following Kimchi, understand
it of the globe or sphere of heaven. So Luther and the E.V., and with
this has been compared the difficult and doubtful expression Tpo^os t^s
•yeveo-co)?, in Jas. iii. 6. (2) J. D. Michaelis and others render it whirl
wind. So Ewald, im Wirbel. In Ixxxiii. 14, it means "a whirling
mass," or perhaps " a dust-storm." It is better, therefore, to take the
word here in the sense of rolling, a sense to which it might easily pass
from that of wheel, and which its etymology confirms. The rolling
will be that of the chariots of God. Comp. Hab. iii. 8 ; Joel ii. 5
Or possibly the wheel may stand by metonymy for the chariot.

PSALM Lxxvni. 57
' The omission of the copula, here and in the previous verse, where
the reference is clearly to the past, is rare. See a similar instance in
Jer. vii. 12 : "ib'^ira imx "'pipa bx NJ-wb , " Go to my place which was
in Shiloh."
^ ?l"'b''au . So the K'thibh in the plur., as in Jer. xviii. 15, the only
other place where it occurs. The K'ri is an unnecessary correction.

PSALM LXXVIII.i

In this, the longest of the historical Psalms, the history of Israel
is briefly recapitulated, from the time of the Exodus to the final union
of the tribes under David, and the establishment of the kingdom in his
family. This appeal to the past is made evidently with a purpose.
The Psalmist comes forward as a prophet to rebuke the sin, the in
gratitude, the rebellion of his people. This he does by showing them
the present in the light of the past. God had wrought wonders in
behalf of their fathers of old ; God had redeemed them from Egypt,
led them through the wilderness, brought them to his holy mountain.
But the history of their nation had been at once a history of wonders
and a history of rebellions. Miracle had followed on miracle to win
them ; chastisement had Bucceed^d to chastisement to deter them ; but
the miracle was forgotten, the chastisement produced but a temporary
reformation. They had ever been " a faithless and stubborn generation."
It is evident, from his opening words, that the Psalmist was anxious
to bring out sharply and clearly the lessons with which the past teemed.
He saw that his people were in danger of forgetting those lessons.
He saw in that history, instruction, warning, reproof, for the age in
which he lived.
It is, however, remarkable that another and more special purpose
appears in the Psalm. If the whole nation is rebuked, the rebuke falls
heaviest upon Ephraim. Ephraim is singled out as the leader in the
earlier apostasy of the people, as the very type of a faithless and
recreant spirit (ver. 12). The rejection of Ephraim and the choice of
Judah are dwelt upon at the close in a tone of satisfaction and triumph,
as the fulfilment of the purpose of God. It is scarcely possible, there
fore, to resist the conclusion that the Psalm was written after the
defection of the Ten Tribes, and that it was designed either to curb the
1 On this Psalm see Isaac Taylor, Spirit of the Hebrew Poetry, p. 154.
VOL. u. 8

58 PSALM LXXVin.
pride of the northern kingdom, or to address a warning to Judah,
based on the example of Ephraim.
Various conjectures have been hazarded as to the time when the
Psalm was written. Ilengstenberg, who is determined, at the risk of
any absurdity, to maintain the authority of the inscription, which gives
this Psalm to Asaph, is obliged to place it in the reign of David. He
says that the object of the Psalmist is " to warn the people against a
possible revolt from David, and from the sanctuary in Zion ; he cannot
therefore have composed the Psalm after this event had taken place."
But if the Psalmist had any such object in view, he seems most effect
ually to have disguised it. Indeed, Hengstenberg is obliged to admit
that he does " not once name the disruption which he is anxious to
prevent, and makes no express mention whatever of any inclination to
this, which might exist at the time " ; and tries to account for this sin
gular reticence by supposing that " it was of importance not to irritate,
for fear of increasing the dissatisfaction." But could any more effectual
mode of irritation have been devised than first to exhibit Ephraim as
chief in transgression (ver. 12), and then to commemorate in tones of
triumph the degradation of that tribe from its ancient supremacy, and
the exaltation of the rival tribe of Judah in its place ? Was this a
method likely to heal those heart-burnings and animosities which even
David had failed altogether to allay ? When Hengstenberg, therefore,
adds, that " to deny that the Psalm belongs to the time of David mani
fests utter ignorance of its contents," we can only say that the facts
point to an exactly opposite conclusion.
Ewald, with equal dogmatism, and equal improbability, places the
Psalm as late as the fifth century B.C., in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah.
According to him, it was composed in a spirit of strong antagonism to
the Samaritans, " the new Ephraim," in whom the poet sees the old
Ephraim revived. In this spirit he reviews the ancient history of his
nation : " what would happen if Ephraim were the centre, he infers
from the misfortunes of the period between Joshua and Saul, when the
ark of the covenant was yet in Shiloh, which belonged to that tribe,
whereas the true worship of Jehovah was only firmly established in
Zion under David  The history itself was a witness that rest and
faith could not be found in Ephraim." But so arbitrary a treatment of
the Psalm as this may at once be dismissed. Where is the proof that
the Samaritans were ever regarded as the successors and legitimate
representatives of Ephraim ? Or what trace is there in the Psalm of
any such feeling as that which Ewald supposes to have iinilueiiced the
writer ?

PSALM LXXVIII. 59
The Psalm itself furnishes us with the following data for a conlusion.
(1) It is clear from the concluding verses that it was written after
David was established on the throne ; from verse 69 it might even be
inferred after the temple had been built. (2) The manner in which
these events are spoken of leads naturally to the inference that they
were of no very recent occurrence ; men do not so speak of events with
in their own memory. (3) The sharp contrast between Ephraim and
Judali, the rejection of Shiloh and the choice of Zion, are an indication,
not of a smouldering animosity, but of an open and long-existing
separation. But at this point two hypotheses become possible.
(a) On the one hand, the Psalmist's object may have been, by
holding up the example of Ephraim, to warn Judah against a like
falling away, not from the house of David, but from the God of their
fathers. In this case we must suppose that a particular prominence is
given to the conduct of Ephraim, in the past history, though the whole
nation was guilty, in order to prepare the way for what is said of
Ephraim's subsequent rejection (see note on ver. 9). Such a warning
might be compared to that of Jeremiah at the time of the Chaldean
invasion (chap. vii.).
(b) On the other hand, the Psalmist's design may have been not so
much to warn Judah, as to rebuke Ephraim. Hence it is that whilst
speaking of the past history of all Israel he mentions only Ephraim
by name. Though all the burden of guilt in that mournful past did not
rest exclusively upon them, yet it is with them only that he is con
cerned. Hence it is, too, that he dwells with so much pride and satis
faction on the transference of the sanctuary from Shiloh to Zion.
That haughty tribe, strong in numbers and in power, might boast that
it had recovered its ancient ascendency. Ten out of the twelve
tribes might be lost to David's house. But God's presence and favor
were not with the ten, but with the two. His sanctuary was not in
Shiloh, but in Zion. He had chosen to be the ruler of his people, no
scion of the thousands of Ephraim, but the shepherd stripling of the
tribe of Judah.
On the whole, I confess that the tone of triumph with which the
Psalm concludes seems to me to favor the last hypothesis, though
I fear I must also add that I am unsupported in this view by other
commentators. The Psalm has no regular strophical division. Groups of four
verses frequently occur, and the general structure may be said to rest
on the common principle of pairs of verses. Here and there certain

60 PSALM LXXVin.
expressions recur, such as, "They tempted and provoked the Most
High " ; " When God heard this, he was wroth," etc., which, •as Hupfeld
says, gives a kind of epic character to the Psalm. In tho review of
the past history, the narrative is not given in bare chronological order,
but is rather combined in two principal masses. In the first of theso
the Psalmist but mentions the " wonders in Egypt," and passes on to
detail the events in the wilderness. Then, having set forth all God's
marvellous works there, and all the rebellion of Israel, he begins the
history again. He will paint more fully those " signs in Egypt," which
were of themselves so wonderful a proof of God's redeeming love, he
will show still more convincingly Israel's ingratitude, and having done
this, he pursues the narrative, passing lightly now over the march through
the wilderness, touching on the history in the time of the judges, and
bringing it down to the days of David, in whose election God had agam
magnified his grace. [A Maschil of Asaph."]
1 Give ear, 0 my people, to my law,
Incline your ear to the words of my mouth.
2 I would open my mouth in a parable,
I would utter dark sayings of old.
3 (The things) which " we have heard and known.
And our fathers have told us,
1-4. The introduction, announcing often in the Book of Proverbs. It is
the Psalmist's purpose. He will recall the teaching of a prophet (Matt. xiii. 35),
the past, that it may act as a warning and in that sense a law — a law of life
for the present, and that the wholesome to those who hear it.
lessons which it teaches may be perpet- 2. I would open. The form of the
uated in the future. In the following tense expresses the wish, resolve, etc.
four verses he declares that such com- The sentence is very similar to that in
memorationof God's wonders is the very xlix. 4 [5]. The two words parable
destiny of Israel. For this end did he and dark sayings are the same which
give them his law, and the lively oracles occur in that passage, where see note.
of his mouth. The former (mashal) etymologically sig-
1. My people. This does not imply nifies a comparison, the placino- of two
that God or the Messiah is the speaker, objects in their due relation, whether of
The prophet, speaking in the name and likeness or unlikeness ; hence it is used
by the authority of God, as his inspired of gnomic sentences, proverbs, parables
messenger, thus addresses the nation, and indeed of poetical discourse gen-
The opening of the Psalm is similar to erally (see Num. xxi. 27, hammosh'lim
that of Ps. xlix. See also Deut. xxxii. " the ballad-singers"), as being based
1 ; Isa. i. 2. on the principle of parallelism, or of
Mt law, here evidently used in its antithesis. The latter means, properly
wider sense of instruction generally, as either (1) a sharp or pointed saying- or

PSALM LXXVm.

61

4 We will not hide (them) from their children ;
Teling to the generation to come the praises of Jehovah;
And his strength and his wonderful works that he hath
done.
5 For he established a testimony in Jacob,
And appointed a law in Israel,
Which he commanded our fathers
To make known unto their children ;
6 To the intent that the generation to come might know (them),
(Even) the children which should be born.
Who should rise up, and tell (them) to their children ;
7 That they might put their confidence in God,
And not forget the doings of God,
But keep liis commandments ;

(2) a perplexed saying, a riddle. (For a
discussion of these words, see Delitzsch
on Hab, ii. 6, and in Gesch. der Jud. Poesie,
S. 196, 199). Having said so much on
the meaning of these words, we have
two further questions to consider, (a)
In what sense is the early history of
Israel, which forms the subject of the
poem, called here a "parable" and
" dark sayings " ? Does the Psalmist
merely announce his purpose of treating
that history in language of poetry (we
have seen that the word " parable " may
be almost equivalent to "poetry"), or
does he mean more'? Does he mean
that he has a moral end in setting forth
that history ? that under it truths are
veiled which have a significance and an
application to present circumstances for
those who can read them aright ? Prob
ably, though we can hardly say certainly,
the last. (6) How are we to understand
the quotation made by St. Matthew of
this passage, who sees a fulfilment of it
in the parables spoken by our Lord
(Matt. xiii. 34, 35) ? It cannot be sup
posed for a moment that these words
were a prediction of our Lord's mode of
teaching, or that he himself is here the
speaker. But here, as elsewhere, that
which the Old Testament prophet says
of himself finds its fittest expression, its

highest realization, in the Great Prophet
of the kingdom of heaven. " Citatur
hie locus a Mattbaeo, et accommodatur
ad Christi personam. ... In hac igitur
parte quum similis prophetae fuerit, quia
de sublimibus mysteriis concionatus est
in altiore dicendi forma, apposite trans-
fertur ad ejus personam quod propheta
de se aflSrmat." — Calvin. St. Matthew's
quotation runs, Hirus ir\ripa>0^ t6 j)i)S\v
Stct TOV TrpotjyfiTov \4yovTos, 'Avoi^w 4if
ffopojSoAoiS rh ffrifia fiov, ipeii^oixal K6-
KpvfjLfxeva air^ KaTu^oKTJs {K6(rfj.ov). The
LXX have in the latter clause : (pdiy^onat
•jrpofiX-fjIMna dir' dpxi)s.
4. We will not hide. Comp. Job
XV. 1 8, where it is used in like manner
of the faithful transmission of truths
received. All truth known is a sacred
trust, given to us, not for ourselves
alone, but that we may hand on the
torch to others.
5. The very object with which God
gave HIS LAW and his testimony (see
on these words, note on xix. 7) was,
that they might be preserved, not in
writing only, but by oral communication
and transmission, that they might be a
living power in the people. See the
commands in Ex. x. 2 ; xii. 26, 27 ;
xiii. 8-10, 14, 15; Deut. iv. 9; vi.
20, etc.

62

PSALM LXXVni.

8 And might not be as their fathers,
A stubborn and rebellious generation,
A generation that was not steadfast in heart.
And whose spirit was not faithful towards God.
9 The children of Ephraim, being equipped" as archers,
Turned back in the day of battle.

8. That was not steadfast in
heart; lit. "that did not establish its
heart," was ever wavering in its allegi
ance. This sense is most in accordance
with the parallelism ; though perhaps
the rendering of the E.V., " that set not
their heart aright," i.e. towards God,
might be defended ; comp. 1 Sam. vii. 3 ;
Job xi. 13.
9. The CHILDREN OP Ephraim. An
example of that " stubborn and perverse
generation " mentioned ver. 8. But why
are " the children of Ephraim " men
tioned, and what particular sin of theirs
is here alluded to ? (1 ) We must not be
led astray by the expression " equipped
as archers," etc., to look for some defeats
of the tribe in battle (as the Chald., the
Rabb., Schnurrer, and others do), for it
is not a chastisement, but a sin, which is
spoken of. Hence the description of
their carrying bows and turning back
must be a figure, employed in the same
sense as that of " the deceitful bow "
(ver. 57). (2) The allusion cannot be
to the separation of Ephraim and the
other tribes from Judah (as Venema, De
Wette, etc., explain), because it is the
earlier history of the nation in the wil
derness which is here before the poet's
eyes. (3) Nothing is gained by intro
ducing the particle of comparison (so
Luther, Eosenm., etc.), as in the Prayer-
book version, " like as the children of
Ephraim," etc., for such a comparison
rests upon nothing. (4) Nor can " the
children of Ephraim " here stand merely
for the whole nation, as has sometimes
been maintained by referring to Ixxx. 2
[3], and Ixxxi. 5 [6] ; for in ver. 67 the
distinction between Ephraim and Judah
is marked. (5) It would seem, then,
that their treacherous conduct is here
specially stigmatized, in order, as it
were, to sound the note of that rejection

on which the Psalmist afterwards dwells
(ver. 67). Ephraim had been, after the
settlement in Canaan, the most numerous
and the most powerful of the tribes.
Shiloh, the religious capital of the nation,
and Shechem, the gathering-place of the
tribes (Josh. xxiv. 1 ; Judges ix. 2 ;
1 Kings xii. 1 ), were both within its
borders. ' During the time of the judges
it seems to have asserted a kind of su
premacy over the rest. Possibly the
Psalmist is thinking of this. Having
their rejection in view, he remembers
their ancient position, and regards them
as leaders of the people, and, morally,
leaders in their sin. It is true this could
only apply to their history in the land
of Canaan. During the wanderings in
the wilderness, with which a large part
of the Psalm is occupied, the tribe of
Ephraim, so far from holding a leading
position, was the smallest of all, except
Simeon. It may be, however, that the
Psalmist forgets or neglects this circum
stance, and only thinks of the tribe as
the rival of Judah in later times, and the
leader in the revolt. But see the remarks
in the introduction to the Psalm. A
different interpretation is given in the
article " Ephraim " in Smith's Diet, oj
the Bible. Hupfeld would expunge the
words " the children of Ephraim " as a
gloss ; but it is difficult to see how such
a gloss could have crept in.
Equipped as akcheks. This and
the next clause are designed apparently
to express, in a figure, the faithlessness
of the Ephraimites. They are like
archers who, fully equipped for war, at
the critical moment when they should
use their weapons, afraid to meet the
shock of battle, wheel round and fly in
disorder. Turned back. Comp. Judges xx.
39, 41. Panic-struck, when they were

PSALM LXXVm.

63

10 They kept not the covenant of God,
And refused to walk in his law ;
11 And they forgat his doings.
And his wonderful works which he haci showed them.
12 In the sight of their fathers he did wonders.
In the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.
13 He clave (the) sea, and caused them to pass through,
And made (the) waters to stand as an heap.
14 And he led them with the cloud in the day-time,
And all the night through with a light of fire.
15 He clave '^ rocks in the wilderness.
And gave them drink as it had been the great deeps.*

expected to be of service; hardly (as
Maurer suggests) pretending flight, like
the Thracian archers, in order to take
the enemy at greater advantage. In any
case, the image is one of faithlessness.
The next verse is an explanation of the
figure. The following paraphrase is
given in the Catena Aurea. (from Aug.
Cassiod. and the Glossa Ord.) : "The
children of Ephraim taking aim and
shooting with the bow, that is, promis
ing to keep the law, and openly saying.
All that the Lord hath said unto us we
will do and hear, turned back in the day
of battle, when they said unto Aaron,
Make us gods to worship. They failed
in the day of battle, that is, in the day
of temptation; for the prophet Hosea
saith : Ephraim is as a silly dove that
hath no heart. For it is not hearing,
but temptation, that puts to the proof
the promise of obedience."
12. ZoAN. Its Greek name was Tanis.
It " lay near the eastern border of Lower
Egypt, ... on the east bank of the canal
which was formerly the Tanitic branch"
(of the Nile). " Zoan is mentioned in
connection with the plagues in such a
manner as to leave no doubt that it is
the city spoken of in the narrative in
Exodus, as that where Pharaoh dwelt.
The wonders were wrought ' in the field
of Zoan,' which may either denote the
territory immediately round the city, or
its nome, or even a kingdom. This

would accord best with the shepherd-
period." (See the article "Zoan," in the
Diet, of the Bible, by Mr. R. S. Poole.)
May not " the field of Zoan " be the rich
plain which, as he tells us, "anciently
extended due east as far as Pelusium,
about thirty miles distant," and the
whole of which, " about as far south and
west as Tunis, was anciently known as
' the fields ' or ' plains,' ' the marshes '
or 'pasture-lands,' and which is now
almost covered by the great Lake Men-
zeleh " ¦? The name only occurs once in
the Pentateuch, in Num. xiii. 22. (See
the passage discussed in the article just
quoted ) It is remarkable that, after
beginning in this verse to speak of the
wonders in Egypt, the Psalmist drops all
mention of them till ver. 43 (which is a
resumption of this verse), and turns
aside to dwell on the wonders in the
wilderness (see the introduction).
13. Now follows the exemplification,
in certain detailed instances, of the faith
lessness and disobedience and forgetful
ness of their fathers in the wilderness.
First (inver. 13-16), some of God's won
ders wrought on their behalf are men
tioned, and then (ver. 17-20) the thank
less and perverse spirit in which these
wonders were regarded.
As AN heap ; borrowed from Ex. xv.
8. See note on xxxiii. 7.
15. Rocks. The word fein" shows that
the Psalmist is thinking in this verse of

64

PSALM LXXVin.

16 He brought forth streams also out of (the) cliff,
And caused waters to run down like the rivers.
17 Yet they went on still to sin more against him.
To rebel against *¦ the Most High in the desert.
18 And they tempted God in their heart.
To ask food for their lust,
19 Yea, they spake against God ;
They said, " Can God prepare a table in the wilderness!
20 Lo, he smote (the) rock, that waters gushed out.
And torrents rushed along :
Can he give bread also ?
Will he provide flesh for his people ? "

the miracle at Horeb, recorded jn Ex.
xvii. (See note on ver. 16.) The plural
does not necessarily imply that the two
great instances in which this miracle
was performed, the one in the first and
the other in the last year of the wander
ing, are here brought together (Ex. xvii.
and Num. xx. ); for both that and the
verb, which (being here without the
Vau consecutive) is apparently the aorist
of repeated action, may only be used in
the way of poetic amplification. The
miracle seems as if ever repeated.
As IT HAD BEEN THE GREAT DEEPS ;
lit. " and gave them, as it were, the
great deep to drink" (or, "as from the
depths in abundance"). DeWette calls
this a " gigantic " comparison. But
" the deep " here may mean, perhaps,
not the sea, but the great subterranean
reservoir of waters from which all foun
tains and streams were supposed to be
supplied, as Deut. viii. 7. Comp. xiii.
7 [8], and note there.
16. The word here used {Seld) "is
especially applied to the cliff at Kadesh,
from which Moses brought water, as
Tsur is for that struck in Ex. xvii." —
Stanley, Siiiai and Palestine, App. § 29 ;
see also chap. i. part ii. p. 95.
17. Yet they went on to sin. In
the verses immediately preceding no
special instance of transgression is re
corded, though such is implied in the
mention of the miracle of the water.

when they murmured against God.
Hence the murmuring for flesh is de
scribed as a further and fresh instance of
sin. Hupfeld thinks it may be only a
phrase borrowed from the Book of Judges,
where it is commonly prefixed to each
fresh act of disobedience (as in iii. 12,
etc. ) ; but there the formula is quite in
place, as it follows the narration of
previous transgression.
18. They tj.mpted God, i.e. de
manded, in their unbelief, signs and
wonders, to put his power to the proof,
instead of waiting in faith and prayer
for its exercise (repeated ver. 41, 56, as
a kind of refrain ; see also cvi. 14). The
original is Ex. xvii. 3, 7, where also the
name Massah, " tempting," is given to
the spot.
19, 20. The words here put into the
mouth of the people are only a poetical
representation of what they said, not
differing materially from the historical
narrative (Ex. xvi. 3, etc.; xvii. 2, 3, 7 ;
Num. xi. 4, etc. ; xx. 3, etc.).
19. Prepare a table ; lit. "set out
in order," the same phrase as in xxiii. 5.
20. Waters gushed out occurs also
cv. 41 ; Isa. xlviii. 21.
Provide, or " prepare," as in Ixv. 9
[10]; Ixviii. 10 [11].
Flesh ; the word is a poetical one.
" Bread and flesh " are used in the same
way of the manna and the quails, in
Ex. xvi.

PSALM LXXVHL

65

21 Therefore, (when) Jehovah heard (that), he was wroth,
And a fire was kindled in Jacob,
And anger also went up against Israel ;
22 Because they believed not in God,
And put not their trust in his salvation.
23 He commanded also the clouds above.
And opened the doors of heaven ;
24 And he rained manna upon them to eat.
And gave them the corn of heaven ;
25 Bread of the mighty did they eat every one.
He sent them meat to the full.
26 He led forth the east wind in the heaven.
And by his power he guided the south wind.

21-29. The awful punishment of their
sin. He gives the bread which they ask
(ver. 21-25), and then the Jesh (ver.
26-29), but his granting of their desire
is in itself the most terrible of chastise
ments. The representation is freely
borrowed from the two accounts in Ex.
xvi. and Num. xi., more particularly the
last. 21. A FiEE, with allusion to the " fire
of Jehovah" in Num. xi. 1 (whence
the name of the place was called Tab'e-
rah, "burning") where also occurs the
similar expression, "And when Jehovah
heard (it), his anger was kindled."
Also. This does not mark that the
fire of God's wrath was added to the
natural fire; for the last was but the
expression of the first. But the particle
belongs, logically, to the verb went up,
and denotes the retributive character of
this fiery scourge. See the same use of
the particle, for instance, Isa. Ixvi. 4.
22. His salvation, as already shown
in the deliverance from Egypt.
24. Rained. Hence the expression
in the preceding verse, "opened the
doors," etc. as in Gen. vii. 11 ; 2 Kings
vii. 2 ; Mai. iii. 10. In the same way
the manna is said to be " rained " from
heaven in Ex. xvi. 4. (Every expression
used shows plainly that it was a mirac-
ulons gift, and not a product of nature.)
VOL. II.

Hence, too, it is called corn op heaven,
for which we have "bread of heaven"
in cv. 40 ; Ex. xvi. 4 ; John vi. 31. So
again 25. Bread of the mighty (see the
marginal rendering of the E.V.) prob
ably means "angels' bread," LXX SpTof
ayy4\ui>, not as if angels were nourished
by it, or as if it were food worthy of
angels, but as coming from heaven,
where angels dwell. The word mighty
is nowhere else used of the angels, though
they are said in ciii. 20, to be "mighty
in strength." Hence many would ren
der here " bread of nobles or princes "
(such is the use of this word in Job
xxiv. 22 ; xxxiv. 20), i.e. the finest, the
most delicate bread.
26. Led forth ; lit. "madcto journey,
or go forth." The verb is again the
aorist of repeated action, as in ver. 15.
Guided (like a flock) . The two verbs
occur below (ver. 52), where they are
used of God's conduct of his people.
The usage here is borrowed from the
Pentateuch, where both verbs are said
of the wind, the first in Num. xi. 31,
the second in Ex. x. 13. The winds are
thus conceived of as God's flock, which
he leads forth and directs at his pleasure.
East wind . . . south wind. These
may be mentioned poetically, without
being intended to describe exactly the
9

66

PSALM LXXVIIL

27 And he rained flesh upon them as the dust.
And winged fowls like as the sand of the seas ;
28 And he let it fall in the midst of their camp.
Round about their habitations.
29 So they did eat and were well filled.
Seeing that he gave them their own desire.
30 They were not estranged from their desire ; —
Whilst their food was yet in their mouths,
31 The anger of God went up against them.
And slew the fattest of them,
And smote down the young men of Israel.

quarter from which the quails came.
In Num. xi. 31, it is merely said that,
" there went forth a wind from Jehovah,
and brought quails from the sea," which
Hupfeld too hastily asserts must be the
Red Sea (i.e. as he evidently means, the
gulf of Suez) ; and that consequently
the quails must have been brought by a
west wind. But Kibroth-hattaavah was
probably not far from the western edge
of the gulf of Akabah. And the quails
at the time of this event were, as Mr.
Houghton has remarked (see " Quails,"
in Diet, of the Bible), on their spring
journey of migration northwards. " The
flight which fed the multitude at Kibroth-
hattaavah might have started from South
ern Egypt, and crossed the Red Sea
near Ras Mohammed, and so up the
gulf of Akabah into Arabia Petraea."
In this ease, the wind blowing from the
south first, and then from the east,
would bring the quails.
27. Rained flesh ; as before, "rained
manna," from Ex. xvi. 4, 8, 13.
28. Let it fall. The word aptly
describes the settling of these birds, un
fitted for a long flight, and wearied by
their passage across the gulf. Pliny,
A^at. Hist. X. 33, says that quails settle
on the sails of ships by night, so as to
sink, sometimes, the ships in the neigh
boring sea. And Died. Sic, i. p. 38, ras
Bripas Tuv opTvywv inotovvTo, 4^ipovr6 re
ovToi KOT* hyiKas pai^ovs in tov ireKayovs.
The verse follows Ex. xvi. 13 ; Numb.
xi. 31.

29. Were well filled, i.e. even to
loathing, as follows, ver. 30 (see Num.
xi. 18-20. So in ver. 25, "to the full,"
from Ex. xvi. 3, 12.
Their desire, the satisfaction of
their fleshly appetite. The word (taavah)
no doubt alludes to Kibroth-/iai(aayaA
" the graves of desire, or fleshly appetite'
(Num. xi. 4, 34).
30. TlIEY WERE NOT ESTRANGED, Or,
as it might be rendered, " (Whilst) they
were not (yet) estranged," i!k. whilst
they still found satisfaction and enjoy
ment in this kind of food, whilst it was
yet in their mouths, the anger of God
went up, etc. Thus the two verses (30,
31) stand in the relation of protasis and
apodosis. The passage is manifestly
borrowed from Num. xi. 33, "And
whUa the flesh was yet between their
teetli7 ere it was chewed, the wrath of
Jehovah was kindled against the people,
and Jehovah smote the people with a
very great plague " ; and so closely
borrowed as to be evidence that this
portion of the Pentateuch already ex
isted in writing. But, unfortunately,
we cannot draw hence any argument
for the age of the whole Pentateuch in
its present form.
31. Went up. See above, ver. 21,
and xviii. 8 [9].
The fattest ; it may mean either
the strongest, or the noblest. Comp.
xxii. 29 [30]. On these and the young
men, the flower of the people, the judg
ment e«]'ccially falls.

PSALM LXXVm. 67
32 For all this, they sinned yet more.
And believed not his wondrous works,
83 Therefore did he make their days vanish in a breath,
And their years in terror.
34 When he slew them, then they inquired after him.
Yea, they turned again and sought God ;
35 And they remembered that God was their Rock,
And the Most High God their Redeemer.
36 But they flattered him with their mouth,
And they lied unto him with their tongue ;
37 For their heart was not steadfast with him,
Neither were they faithful in his covenant.
38 But he, in his tender mercy, covereth iniquity, and destroy-
eth not ;
Yea, many a time turneth he his anger away,
And stirreth not up all his fury.
39 And he remembei;ed that they were (but) flesh,
A wind that goeth, and cometh not again.

32. The allusion seems to be to Num. 13; Ivii. 11 ; lix. 13. "This returning
xiv.ll, " How long will it be ere they to God, at least so far as the majority
believe me, for all the signs which I were concerned, was not from any love
have showed among them " ; the words of righteousness, but only from the fear
of God to Moses after the return of the of punishment." — Lyra.
spies. And this is the more likely, be- 37. Their heart was not stead-
cause the next verse alludes to that fast, etc. This is the ever-repeated
cutting short of the life of the people, complaint, see ver. 8, 22. There is no
which was the consequence of their re- permanence, no stability in the refor-
bellion at that time (Num. xiv. 28-34). mation which has been produced. Cf.
33. In a breath. See xxxix. 5, 6, Hos. vi. 4.
and the complaintofMoses,xc. 9, though 38. The verbs in the first clause are
the word there used is different. present, and should be so rendered. It
34. The passage which follows, to the destroys the whole beauty of the passage
end of ver. 39, is a most striking and to render, "But he was so merciful,"
affecting picture of man's heart, and etc., as if the reference were only to a
God's gracious forbearance, in all ages : particular occasion. God's mercy is like
— man's sin calling for chastisement, himself, everlasting, and ever the same.
the chastisement producing only tem- But he. The words are emphatic.
porary amendment, God's goodness for- and the allusion is to Ex. x.xxiv. 6 ;
gotten, and yet God's great love never Num. xiv. 18, 20.
wearied, and God's infinite compassion 39. Compare Gen. vi.3; viii. 21 ; Job
ever moved afresh by man's weakness vii. 7, 9; x. 21 ; Ps. ciii. 14-16 ; and for
and misery. the word " goeth " or " passeth away "
36. Flattered. Comp. Isa. xxix. of the wind, Hos. vi. 4 ; xiii. 3.

68

PSALM LXXVm.

40 How often did they provoke him in the wilderness,
Did they grieve him in the desert :
41 Yea, again and again they tempted God,
And dishonored ^ the Holy One of Israel.
42 They remembered not his hand,
Nor the day when he redeemed them from the adversary.
43 How he had set his signs in Egypt,
And his wonders in the field of Zoan,
44 And turned their rivers into blood.
So that they could not drink of their streams.
45 He sent among them flies which devoured them.
And frogs which destroyed them.
46 He gave also their increase unto the caterpillar,
(And) their labor unto the locust.

40. After thus celebrating God's ten
der compassion in striking contrast with
the perpetual rebellion and ingratitude
of the people, the Psalmist resumes the
sad tale afresh. But instead of men
tioning other instances of rebellion in
the wilderness (ver. 40), he passes from
that topic to dwell on the wonders
wrought in Egypt, the lively recollection
of which ought to have kept the people
from these repeated provocations. Thus
he takes up again the thread dropped at
ver. 12. "The second principal portion
of the Psalm begins with this verse. It
is occupied, first, with the narrative of
the plagues in Egypt, the exodus, and
Israel's entrance into the promised land
(ver. 40-55). It then touches briefly
on the history under the judges, the
Philistine invasion in the time of Eli,
which was God's chastisement for trans
gression, the disaster at Shiloh, whereby
Ephraim was robbed of his ancient
honors, and which led to the choice of
Zion, the ascendency of the tribe of
Judah, and the union of the kingdom
under David (ver. 56-72).
41. Dishonored, or perhaps " pro
voked." Others, " limited," i.e. set
bounds to his power. See Critical Note.
43. In the enumeration of the plagues,
the Psalmist does not follow the order

of the history, except as regards the first
and the last, and omits all mention of the
third (the lice), the fifth (murrain of
cattle), the si.xth (boils and blains on man
and beast), and the ninth (darkness).
44. The first plague. Comp. Ex. vii.
17, etc.
45. The fourth plague ("Ex. viii. 20,
etc.), and the second plague (Ex. viii.
1, etc.).
Flies. The LXX and Sym.Kui/6pLvtat'.
The rendering of the E. V., " divers sorts
of files," (Aq. Tri/iniKTOp), comes from a
wrong derivation of the word from a
root signifying to mix.
46. Caterpillar, or possibly the word
means some particular species of locust,
or the locust in its larva state. See Diet.
of the Bible, iii. App. xxxix. This word
is not used in the Pentateuch, but in Joel
i. 4 it is joined with the locust, as here.
47, 48. The seventh plague, that of
the hail mingled with fire (Ex. ix. 13),
with its effects, both on the produce of
the land and on the cattle. As belong
ing to the former, vines and sycamores
are here mentioned, as in cv. 33, vines
and fig-trees. DeWette and Hupfeld
assert that the writer, as a native of
Canaan, ascribes too much prominence
to the vine, the cultivation of which was
but little attended to in Egypt, and

PSALM LXXVHL

69

47 He killed their vines with hail.
And their sycamore trees with frost :
48 He gave up their cattle also to the hail.
And their flocks to hot thunderbolts.
49 He let loose upon them the burning of his anger,
Wrath and indignation and distress,
A letting loose of evil angels'" (among them).
50 He made a free path for his anger ;
He spared not their soul from death,
But gave their life over to the pestilence ;
51 And smote all the first>-born in Egypt,
The firstlings of (their) strength in the tents of Ham.

which is not said in the Pentateuch to
have suffered. But this is an unfounded
assertion. Mr. R. S. Poole, in his
learned article on Egypt, in the Diet, of
the Bible, says : " Vines were extensively
cultivated, and there were several differ
ent kinds of wine, one of which, the
Marcotic, was famous among the Ro
mans " (vol. i. p. 497). Pharaoh's
chief butler dreams of the vine (Gen. xl.
9-1 1 ) , and the vines of Egypt, as well as
the figs and pomegranates, are thought
of with regret by the Israelites in the
wilderness (Num. xx. 5). The mural
paintings at Thebes, at Beni-Hassan,
and in the Pyramids, contain represen
tations of vineyards. Boys are seen
frightening away the birds from the ripe
clusters, men gather them and deposit
them in baskets, and carry them to the
winepress, etc.
47. Frost, or, as this is unknown in
Egypt, perhaps, rather, " huge hail
stones " ; but the word occurs nowhere
else, and its meaning is uncertain.
48. Hot thunderbolts, or "light
nings"; the same word as in Ixxvi. 3 [4],
"lightnings of the bow," where see note,
the allusion being to the fire which ran
along the ground (Ex. ix. 23). Cf. cv. 32.
49. This verse expresses generally the
whole work of devastation wrought by
the divine ministers of evil in the land
of Egypt, and so strikingly introduces
the final act of judgment, the destruction

of the first-born, which follows in ver.
50, 51. I see no reason for supposing,
as Hupfeld and Delitzsch do, that there
is any allusion to the fifth plague, that
of the murrain among cattle.
A LETTING loose, or, " a mission,"
" embassage " ; this is a noun, in appo
sition with the preceding nouns, and
further describing the action of the verb,
" he let loose." The poet lifts the veil
and shows us the wrath of God as the
source, and angels as the ministers in
the destruction.
Evil angels. Others render, " angels
or messengers (the word may mean
either, as &.yyeXos, in Greek) of evil,"
i.e. who work evil. So Hengst. and
Delitzsch, who adopt the view of Ode,
in his work De Angelis, that God makes
use of good angels to punish bad men,
and of evil angels to buffet and chasten
good men. But this cannot be main
tained: seel Sam. xvi. 14; 1 Kings xxii.
21, etc. However, whichever rendering
is preferred, it comes to the same thing,
for "evil angels" would not mean here
what was commonly understood by evil
spirits, but angels sent upon an evil mis
sion — a mission of destruction. There
can be no doubt of this, because the ex
pression must have been suggested by
" the destroyer " in Ex. xii. 13, 23.
50. Made a free path ; lit. " lev
elled a path," as Prov. iv. 26 ; v. 6.
51. Firstlings of their strength;

70 PSALM Lxxvm.
52 But he made his own people to go forth like sheep.
And guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
53 And he led them safely so that they did not fear ;
And as for their enemies, the sea covered (them).
54 And he brought them to his holy border.
To yon mountain which his right hand had purchased.
55 He drove out also the nations before them.
And allotted them as an inheritance by line.
And made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents.
56 But they tempted and provoked the Most High God,
And kept not his testimonies ;
57 But turned back and dealt faithlessly, like their fathers :
They were turned aside like a deceitful bow ;
58 And they angered him with their high places.
And moved him to jealousy with their graven images.
59 When God heard (this), he was wroth.
And greatly abhorred Israel ;
60 So that he rejected the tabernacle in Shiloh,
The tent which he pitched among men.
lit. "beginning of strengths," the plural (made to fall) unto you these nations,"
being used poetically for the singular, etc. Num. xxxiv. 2, " the land which
which is found in the same phrase (Gen. falleth to you as an inheritance."
xlix. 3 ; Deut. xxi. 17). By line. See note on xvi. 6.
Tents OF Ham. So " land of Ham," 56-58. The renewed disobedience of
in cv. 23, 27 ; cvi. 22. Comp. Gen. x. 6. the nation, after their settlement in the
52. YoN mountain, i.e. Zion, the land, during the time of the judges.
building of the temple there being rep- 56. Tempted and provoked, re-
resented, as in Ixviii. 16 [17], as the peated from ver. 17, 18, and 41; here
great crowning act to which all else the special act of provocation being the
pointed ; unless the noun is used here worship of idols in the high places.
collectively = " these mountains," i.e. Comp. Judges ii. 11, etc.
this mountain-land of Palestine, as in 57. A deceitful bow, i.e. onewhich
Ex. XV. 17, " the mountain of thine disappoints the archer, by not sending
inheritance." Comp. Isa. xi. 9. This the arrow straight to the mark ; not " a
last, it may be said, is favored by the slack bow," as some would explain, re-
parallelism, ferring to Prov. x. 4, " a slack hand."
55. And allotted them; lit. "made 60. The tabernacle was at Shiloh
them fall," in allusion to the throwing during the whole period of the judges
of the lot. The pronoun "them" is (Josh, xviii. 10; Judges xviii. 31 ; 1 Sam.
used somewhat incorrectly (the nations iv. 3). God rejected and forsook it
having been just spoken of as driven when the ark was given into the hand
out), instead of "their land." Comp. of the Philistines (1 Sam. iv.). -The ark
Josh, xxiii. 4, " See, I have allotted was never brought back thither, and the

PSALM LXXVIII.

71

61 And he gave his strength into captivity.
And his beauty into the adversary's hand.
62 Yea, he gave over his people to the sword.
And was wroth with his inheritance.
63 Their young men the fire devoured.
And their maidens were not praised' in the marriage-song.
64 Their priests fell by the sword.
And the widows made no lamentation.
65 Then the Lord awaked, as one out of sleep.
Like a mighty man that shouteth by reason of wine ;
66 And he smote his adversaries backward.
He put them to a perpetual reproach.
67 And he abhorred the tent of Joseph,
And chose not the tribe of Ephraim ;
68 But chose the tribe of Judah,
The mount Zion which he loved.

tabernacle itself was removed first to
Nob (1 Sam. xxi.), and subsequently
to Gibeon (1 Kings iii. 4). Jeremiah,
when warning the nation against the
superstitious notion that the temple
would be a defence, reminds them how
God had forsaken and rejected the place
of the first tabernacle : " For go now to
my place which was in Shiloh, where I
made my name to dwell at the first, and
see what I have done to it, because of
the wickedness of my people Israel."
(Jer. vii. 12 ; see also ver. 14, and chap.
xxvi. 6.) These passages do not, per
haps, necessarily imply a destruction of
Shiloh by enemies, — certainly nothing
of the kind meets us in the history, —
but a desolation which followed on the
removal of the sanctuary. Calvin ob
serves : " The mode of expression is
very emphatic ; that God was so offended
with the sins of his people, that he was
forced to forsake the one place in the
whole world which he had chosen."
Pitched ; fit. " caused to dwell."
Comp. Josh, xviii. 1 ; xxii. 19.
61. His strength .. . his beauty.
The ark is so called as being the place

•yhere God manifested his power and
glory. Comp. 1 Sam. iv. 3, 21 and Ps.
cxxxii. 8.
63, 64. The utter desolation of the
land strikingly pictured by its silence.
Neither the joyous strains of the mar
riage-song nor the sad wail of the funeral
chant fall upon the ear. It was a land
of silence, a land of the dead. Comp.
Jer. xxii. 18 ; Ezek. xxiv. 23 ; Job xxvii.
15. There is, perhaps, an allusion in
ver. 64 to the death of Hophni and
Phinehas. 65, 66. God punishes and then delivers.
The reference is to the long series of '
victories over the Philistines under
Samuel, Saul, and David.
65. As one out of sleep; lit. " as
a sleeper." Comp. vi. 6 [7] ; xliv. 23.
Like a mighty man ; comp. Isa.
xiii. 13.
68. The trire op Judah, though
the sanctuary was planted, not " in
Judah only, or in Benjamin only, but
on the confines of both (comp. Josh. xv.
63 with Judges i. 21); so that whilst
the altars and the holy place were to
stand within the borders of the one tribe.

72 PSALM LXXVHL
69 And he built his sanctuary like high places.
Like the earth which he hath founded forever.
70 He chose David also, his servant.
And took him from the sheepfolds ;
71 As he was following the ewes giving suck, he brought him.
To feed Jacob his people,
And Israel his inheritance.
72 So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart.
And led them with the skilfulness of his hands.
the courts of the temple were to extend 70-72. The faithful shepherd of the
into the borders of the other tribe, and flock became the faithful shepherd of the
thus the two were to be riveted together, nation; just as the obedient fishermen
as it were, by a cramp, bound by a sacred in the gospel history became the suc-
and everlasting bond." Blunt, Unde- cessful fishers of men. On the figure
signed Coincidences, etc., p. 181. here employed, see Ixxvii. 20 [21], and
69. Like high places, etc., or as the remarks in Introduction to Vol. i.
we might say, " high as heaven, and p. 78.
sure as the solid earth."
° See above, on xxxix. note ", and 1. note °.
* "icx . The relative may refer to what precedes. Or it may form
with the suffix D- following, a neuter ^ quae ; the relative clause,
contrary to rule, being placed before the antecedent. " (The things)
which we know . . . (those things) we will not hide.'' For a similar
indefinite use of the sufiix see xxxix. 7.
' 'p "^ni"! ¦'~'i.''i3 . (LXX, ivruvovn^ Kal jSaXAoires To^ov.) This is
a compound phrase, which has perplexed the commentators. For the
two words in the stat. constr. are not, as is usual in such cases, in
construction, the first with the second, and the second with the noun
following, but are each in construction with the noun n'r;; ; for we have
'p ¦'p'ZJiJ , 1 Chron. xii. 2; 2 Chron. xvii. 17, meaning "armed with bows,''
and 'p ¦'ai"! , Jer. iv. 29, " shooting with bows." Hence Hupfeld calls
it " a hybrid phrase," and would strike out one of the words as a gloss ;
but we have an exact parallel in Jer. xlvi. 9, 'p "'S'lT iirSFi , as he
admits. The phrase li*S nbiina na , lit. "the virgin of Zion, the
daughter of Zion," is another instance of the same construction.
Maurer, in a note on Jer. xlvi. 9, has drawn attention to this construc
tion, which, as he observes, has escaped the notice of the grammarians.
pB3 means properly adjungere, applicare, conserere (as in pc: , armor
as that which fits together), and then prehendere (manu), tenere
tractare.

PSALM LXXVm. 73
* Sgai . Hupfeld speaks of this merely as " a pret. without 1 consec,
as frequently in this Psalm, alternating with imperf. cons., ver. 2G, 45,
47, 49, 50 ; " but I prefer regarding it as an aor. of repeated action,
not " continuance of an action," as Phillips — who, however, well
explains the use of the tense, " as often as water was wanted by the
Israelites in the wilderness, the rock was cleft."
° na'n nJa'^Jnra . The plur. noun is apparently used for the sing.
(comp. Gen. vii. 11; Ps. xxxvi. 7), like ms!ia, riasn, etc. Hence
the adj. is in the sing. The Chald. changes the adj. into the plur., in
order to make it agree with the noun. The LXX, iv d/3uo-o-u) -rrol^Xfj.
So the older versions, generally, take the two words as in concord.
Others consider nan to be an adverb, as Ixii. 3 ; Ixxxix. 8. " The imperf.
consec. [at the beginning of the verse] marks the consequence, which
is here contrary to expectation.'' — De Wette.
* rri-iab , as Isa. iii. 8. Inf. Hiph., for mncnb , from nia (as cvi. 7 ;
comp. for other instances Ixxiii. 20 ; Isa. xxiii. 11), construed sometimes
with ace, as here and ver. 40, 56, sometimes with a or with DS .
8 VPfi. The Hiph. occurs again in Ezek. ix. 4, in the sense of
" putting a mark " (on the forehead). So it was taken by the Chald.
here, and this has been explained in two ways : (1) " they put boundaries
(marks), limits" to the power of God; or (2), as Hengst., Delitzsch,
and others, '• they branded with reproach " (Delitzsch, brandmarkten).
But we may perhaps connect it with the Syr., ]oJ, , poenituit eum,
doluit. So the LXX, irapia^vav ; Vulg., exacerbaverunt ; Jerome,
concitaverunt. ^ c-'iin i:s^T3 . This is commonly rendered " angels (or messengers)
of evU," i.e. causing evil, generally of the object, as in Prov. xvi. 4,
" messengers of death," and Q'^S^ is supposed to be a neuter = n'i:)'^ ,
" evil things." This may perhaps be defended by n^liSJ , nobilia, Prov.
viii. 6, though Hupfeld contends that a"'"i5X must be supplied there, as
with the adjectives in ver. 9 of the same chapter ; to which it may be
replied that the noun has immediately preceded, and would therefore
easily be understood, which is not the case in ver. 9. However, it is
better to explain "i 'a as " angels (belonging to the class) of evil ones,"
i.e. evil angels. (So the LXX, Ttovrjpmv; Symm., KaKowTwv.) Comp.
the same use of the adj. after the constr. in Num. v. 18, " waters (be
longing to the class) of bitter (waters)." Jer. xxiv. 2, "figs of the
early ones." See also Isa. xvii. 6; 1 Kings x. 15.
' lifeiin . This is not (as Schnurr.) pret. Hoph. of Vi'^ = ejulare
factae sunt, i.e. ejularunt ; for that must mean "they were lamented."
It is merely by incorrect orthography for ^¦SJ} (Aq. vpvyjdrja-av ; Symm.,
VOL. 11. 10

74 PSALM LXXIX.
Th., i7rrjvi6r]o-av), "were sung with praises," i.e. at the marriage feast
(Comp. Dit^fe,-!, of the harvest feast," Judges ix. 21 with xvi. 24; Lev.
xix. 24 and the Rabb. Nblbn n^a, "marriage tent").

PSALM LXXIX.

This Psalm is a lamentation over the same great national calamity
which, as we have already seen, is bewailed in terms so pathetic in the
seventy-fourth. The two Psalms have, indeed, some points of difference,
as well as of resemblance. The great features in the scene of misery
are presented in the two with a different degree of prominence. In
the one, the destruction of the temple occupies the foreground ; in
the other, the terrible carnage which had made the streets of Jerusalem
run with blood is the chief subject of lamentation. In the former, the
hope of deliverance and triumph breaks out strongly in the very midst
of the sorrow and the wailing (Ixxiv. 12, etc.) ; in the latter, the tone
of sadness prevails throughout, with the exception of the short verse
with which the Psalm concludes. There is also a marked difference
in style. The seventy-fourth Psalm is abrupt, and sometimes obscure;
the seventy-ninth, on the contrary, flows smoothly and easily throughout.
But these differences are balanced by resemblances not less observable.
Thus, for instance, we may compare Ixxix. 5, " how long forever,"
with Ixxiv. 1,10; Ixxix. 1, the desecration of the temple, with Ixxiv.
3, 7 ; Ixxix. 2, the giving up to the wild beast, with Ixxiv. 19 ; Ixxix.
12, the reproach of the God of Israel, with Ixxiv. 10, 18, 22 ; Ixxix. 13,
the comparison of Israel to a flock, with Ixxiv. 1. There is the same
deep pathos in both Psalms ; in both, the same picturesque force of
description ; both the one and the other may be called, without exag
geration, the funeral anthem of a nation.
There can, therefore, be little doubt that both Psalms, even if not
written by the same poet, yet bewail the same calamity. It is equally
certain that there are but two periods of the national history to which
the language of either could properly apply. But in attempting to
draw our inference from this Psalm, the same difficulties meet us which
have already met us in our attempts to determine the date of Psalm
Ixxiv. Does the Psalm deplore the destruction of Jerusalem by
Nebuchadnezzar, or is it a dirge over the sack of the city by Antiochus
Epiphanes ?
That the history of the canon does not exclude the later of these

PSALM LXXIX. 75
periods I must still maintain, notwithstanding the positive and con
temptuous manner in which Dr. Pusey has recently expressed himself
on this subject (Lectures on Daniel, pp. 56, 292, etc.). There is not
a shadow of proof (as I have pointed out in the Introduction to Vol. i.
pp. 18, 19) that the canon was closed before the Maccabean era. We
are therefore at liberty to form our opinion as to the probable date of
the Psalm purely on internal evidence. And, indeed, it is on this
ground that Hengstenberg undertakes to show that the Psalm refers
to the Chaldean invasion. Let us examine his arguments.
( 1) He contends that there are no traces of any special reference to
the Maccabean times. To this it may be replied that it is almost
impossible to find in any Psalm language so precise as to fix at once
the date and the occasion for which it was written. But in this instance
the fact that the desecration, and not the destruction, of the temple
is lamented, is certainly more easily explained on the Maccabean
hypothesis than on the Chaldean. Antiochus Epiphanes defiled the
temple ; Nebuchadnezzar destroyed it.
(2) He asserts that the language used in verse 1, " They have made
Jerusalem an heap of stones,'' and so general a slaughter as that
described in verses 2, 3, are not applicable to the history of the Macca
bean age. It is sufiicient answer to say that the first chapter of the
first Book of the Maccabees altogether refutes such an assertion.
The desolation of Jerusalem and the slaughter there spoken of might
adequately, and without exaggeration, be described in the language of
the Psalm ; the difference is only the difference between poetry and jsrose.
(3) He objects that in the Psalm (ver. 6) " kingdoms and nations " are
spoken of, whereas in the Syrian period the Jews had to do with only
one kingdom. But it is obvious that in the one struggle was involved
the whole principle of the antagonism to the heathen world at large.
And nothing is more common than for the prophets and poets to extend
their range of vision beyond the single enemy, or the immediate conflict,
so as to embrace a larger issue.
There is one expression in the Psalin, and one only, which may seem
to favor the Babylonish exile : " Let the sighing of the prisoner come
before thee" (ver. 11), But even this might be used equally well of
the captives who were carried away by the army of Antiochus (1 if ace.
i. 32). So far, then, there is no positive evidence — and this Delitzsch
cordially admits — in favor of one period rather than of the other.
We now come to difficulties of a more formidable kind. Two pas
sages in the Psalm are found elsewhere ; the one in Jeremiah and the
other in the first Book of Maccabees.

76 PSALM LXXIX.
Verses 6 and 7 stand almost word for word in Jer. x. 25. Does the
prophet quote from the Psalmist, or the Psalmist from the prophet ?
In favor of the former supposition it may be said : (1) That it is
Jeremiah's habit to quote largely from other writers, especially from
Job and the Psalms ; (2) That in his prophecy the verse immediately
preceding — the twenty -fourth verse of the chapter — is a quotation
from the sixth Psalm ; (3) That the words occupy a more natural
position in the Psalm than they do in the prophecy, inasmuch as the
prayer that God would punish the heathen follows immediately on the
complaint that his wrath burns like fire against Israel ; and also, inasmuch
as the word " pour out " seems to have been employed designedly with
reference to the use of the same verb in verse 3, " they have poured
out " (E."\^ " they have shed ") ; (4) That the difficult singular, verse
7 (see note), is changed in Jeremiah into the plural, and the pas.sage
further altered and expanded by the addition, " and they have devoured
him and consumed him,'' which is quite in the style of Jeremiah, who
rarely quotes without some alteration of the kind.
The first and the last of these reasons are certainly not without force.
On the other hand, Hupfeld argues with regard to (3), that the
passage, as it stands in Jeremiah, is anything but out of place ; that
the language there, on the contrary, is more definite ; the contrast being
this — that God would correct his own people with judgment, i.e. in
measure, but that he would pour out all his fury, without measure, upon
their enemies. He contends that this (expressing the same contrast
which occurs elsewhere in xxx. 11 ; xlvi. 28) must be the original pas
sage. However, this question of coherence does not go for much.
Considering the abruptness of transition natural to lyric poetry, even
a want of close connection would be no proof that the passage was
borrowed by the Psalmist. And, on the other hand, the connection for
which Hupfeld contends does not seem to be closer or more obvious
than that in the Psalm.
There is, however, another and a very serious difficulty. This Psalm,
supposing it to refer to Nebuchadnezzar, must have been written during
the exile — probably some time after the destruction of the temple.
Psalm Ixxiv., in like manner, which speaks of " the everlasting desola
tions," must have been composed at a comparatively late period of the
captivity. But when were the passages in Jeremiah's prophecy written,
which connect them with these Psalms? Jeremiah, in x. 17, 18
predicts the captivity, and hence that part of his prophecy seems to be
in time prior to the Psalm ; and Hengstenberg can only evade this
difficulty by the supposition that this chapter was not written in its

PSALM LXXIX. 77
present form till after the destruction of Jerusalem. This, however,
is a mere assumption, without a shadow of proof.
Another difficulty still remains. Verse 3 is quoted in 1 Mace. vii.
16. The quotation is introduced by the formula, Kara tov Xoyov ov
eypaij/e (in the Syriac, " according to the word which the prophet has
written"). This, Hengstenberg says, is the usual mode of citing from
the canonical Scriptures, and hence he contends that the quotation could
not be from a Psalm written at the time of the persecution of Antiochus.
But this does not follow, even if the use of iypafe be as limited as he
would make it. As I have remarked, it cannot be shown that the
canon was completed before the age of the Maccabees, and the writer
of the book lived long after the events which he narrates. Hence it
would be quite natural for him to refer to a poem which had sprung
out of the very circumstances of his history. Delitzsch even (i. 557)
thinks that the aorist eypatj/e sounds as if the quotation were from some
work which was produced under the pressure of the calamities which
the author is describing.
It has not, I believe, been noticed, and yet it appears to me almost
certain, that the prayer of Daniel (ix. 16) contains allusions to the
language of this Psalm : " For our sins and for the iniquities of our
fathers (comp. ver. 8 of the Psalm, where, though the word 'fore
fathers ' is different, the thought is the same), Jerusalem and thy people
are become a reproach to all that are about us " (comp. ver. 4 of the
Psalm). Still, the question must remain an open one, whether the passage in
Jeremiah or in the Psalm is the original. Unless this question can be
positively settled, we have no clew to guide us as to the age of the
Psalm. Its language would apply almost equally well either to the
time of Nebuchadnezzar or to that of Antiochus Epiphanes. This
seems to have been felt by some of the early commentators, who,
without venturing to bring it down in point of actual composition so
low as the latter period, have supposed it to be a prophecy of that ca
lamitous time. So Cassiodorus : " Deplorat vero Antiochi persecu-
tionem tempore Maccabeorum factam, tunc futuram, scilicet in spiritu
prophetico quasi praeteritam propter certitudinem eventus."
The Psalm can hardly be said to have any regular strophical
divisions. It consists, first, of a complaint (ver. 1-4) ; and then of a prayer that
God would visit his people again in mercy, and pour out his vengeance
upon their enemies (ver. 5-12) ; whilst a closing verse announces the
gratitude with which God's mercy will be acknowledged (ver. 13).

78

PSALM LXXIX.

[A Psalm of Asaph.]
1 0 God, the nations have come into thine inheritance ;
They have defiled thy holy temple ;
They have made Jerusalem a heap of stones.
2 They have given the dead bodies of thy servants
To be meat unto the fowls of the heaven,
The flesh of thy beloved unto the beasts ° of the earth.

1-4. Lament over the terrible calami
ties which have befallen the nation.
Nations. In former editions I re
tained in this passage the rendering of
theE.V. "heathen," because the enemies
of Jerusalem are here so designated not
merely as consisting of different nations
(though the Chaldean army was thus
composed) , but as profane intruders upon
the sacred soil. A religious idea is
evidently associated with the use of the
word. But I now think it better to
keep " nations " uniformly as the ren
dering of the Hebrew word, Goyim.
Thine inheritance, the holy land
and the holy people (comp. Ixxiv. 2 ;
Ixxviii. 62, 71 ), holy as the abode of God
(asEx.xv. 17), itself a sanctuary. The
same idea of profanation, as connected
with foreign conquests, occurs frequently
in the prophets (see Joel iii. [iv.] 17 ;
Nahum ii. 1 ; Isa. xxxv. 8; Iii. 1, and
especially, as parallel with this passage,
Lam. i. 10).
Defiled. Although to a pious Jew
this defilement would be a thing of not
less horror than the destruction of the
holy house, still it is remarkable that if
the Chaldean invasion be meant, the
profanation only, and not the destruction,
of the temple (as in Ixxiv.) should be
lamented. A HEAP of STONES, or rather, plural
"heaps of stones," "ruins." Thus was
the prophecy of Micah fulfilled, which
he uttered in the time of Hezekiah (iii.
12) ; see also Jer. xxvi. 18, where the
prophecy is quoted. In both passages
the same word is used, and in the E.V.
rendered " heaps." It occurs also in the
sing., Mic. i. 6, "I will make Samaria
a heap of the field." The LXX have

6ira>po<j>v\dKiov, " a garden-lodge," which
is explained by a scholion of the Cod.
Vatic. 754 (quoted by Delitzsch) as
KiBoKSytos tottos, Zttov t^v trrcTji'V ^X^* ^
Tcis oTTtvpas ^vKdiriraiv. The Vulg. in
pomorum custodiam, in the 'same sense,
probably, as Cassiodorus explains, with
reference to Isa. i. 8, " as a lodge in a
garden of cucumbers." Lyra says: "Id
est in acervum lapidum, custodes enim
pomorum faciunt magnum acervum
lapidum, ut desuper ascendentes videant
per totum pomoerium." But the word
employed in this sense is a different
word (see Hos. xii. 12).
2. That which the Psalmist here la
ments was threatened by Jeremiah (vii.
33), "And the carcases of this people
shall be meat for the fowls of the heaven
and for the beasts of the earth," etc.
See also viii. 2; ix. 22; xv. 3; xvi. 4;
xix. 7 ; the original passage being Deut.
xxviii. 26.
Thy BELOVED, or, "thy godly ones."
See on xvi. 10. Vaihinger argues that
such a designation of the people is a
proof that the Psalm cannot belong to
the Chaldean invasion ; for then the
nation was utterly evil and corrupt.
But in 1. 5, the same title is given to the
whole nation as in covenant with God,
at the very time when they are charged
with breaking that covenant. So Hab
akkuk, after complaining of the cor
ruption of his people, and seeing that
their sins will bring God's judgment
upon them, still speaks of them as
" righteous," in contrast with the Chal
deans, who are "wicked" (Hab. i. 13).
So it may be here ; unless, indeed, the
Psalmist is thinking rather of " the faith
ful few," the " holy seed," than of the

PSALM LXXIX.

79

3 They have shed their blood like water round about Jerusalem ;
And there was none to bury*" (them).
4 We are become a reproach to our neighbors,
A scorn and derision to them that are round about us.
5 How long, 0 Jehovah, wilt thou be angry forever ?
Shall thy jealousy burn like fire ?
6 Pour out thy fury on the heathen which know thee not,
And upon (the) kingdoms which have not called upon thy
name.
7 For they have devoured ' Jacob,
And laid waste his pasture.

many whose sins had called for chastise
ment. Some have seen in the word
Chasidim an allusion to the 'AirtSaloi who
were slain by Alcimus (1 Mace. vii.).
3. This verse is quoted, but not ex
actly (probably therefore from memory),
from the version of the LXX, in 1 Mace.
vii. 16, 17, the Greek translator of the
first Book of the Maccabees being famil
iar with the Greek Psalter, as Ewald has
shown (Jahrb. vi. 2.5). Eor the bearing
of this quotation on the age of the
Psalm, see the introduction.
Thet HAVE SUED. It might be
better, though less idiomatic, to render
" they have poured out," and so again
in ver. 10, " which is poured out." For
it is the same word which occurs also
in ver. 6, " Pour out thy fury," etc. ; and
there may perhaps be, as Hengst. thinks,
a designed antithesis in the repetition of
the word : "As they have poured out
our blood, so do thou pour out upon
them thy fury."
None to bukt, this being, according
to the deep-rooted feeling of all ancient
nations, a great aggravation of the ca
lamity. Comp. Jer. xiv. 16 ; xxii. 18, 19.
4. With the. exception of the first
word, this is an exact repetition of xliv.
14, where see note. (That Psalm, as
we have seen, may perhaps be of the
Maccabean age. ) Comp. also Ixxx. 6 [7] .
Keighboks. Such as the Edomites,
for instance (see cxxxvii. 7 ; Lam. iv.
21, 22), if the earlier date be preferred.
5-7. God may make use of the heathen

as " the rod of his anger," wherewith
to chasten his people, but nevertheless,
when his purpose is accomplished, then
his wrath is turned against the oppressor.
It is in this conviction that the Psalmist
prays (ver. 6), "Pour out," etc. The
ground of his prayer is not only that
they have not called upon God's name,
but that they have devoured Jacob.
Hence he asks for a righteous retribution.
Precisely in the same spirit Habakkuk
long before had said of the Chaldeans :
" 0 Jehovah, for judgment thou hast
ordained them, and, O thou Eock, for
correction thou hast appointed them"
(i. 12) ; and then, after portraying the
work of judgment wrought by that
"bitter and hasty nation," he tells of
" the parable " and " taunting proverb "
which shall greet their utter overthrow
(ii. 6, etc.). The same law of righteous
retribution is frequently recognized by
the prophets ; see, for instance, Isa. x.
12, 24-26, and elsewhere.
5. Fokevek. On this, as joined with
the question, see on xiii. 2.
Like fike. Comp. Ixxviii. 21, and
the original passage, Deut. xxxii. 22.
6. This verse and the next are repeated
with slight variation in Jer. x. 25. As to
the question whether the Psalmist bor
rowed from the prophet, or the prophet
from the Psalmist, see introduction.
7. Pasture ; or, " habitation of shep
herds." Such is the proper meaning of
the word (not sanctuary, as the Chald. ;
but see 2 Sam. xv. 25). Comp. Ixxxiii.

80

PSALM LXXIX.

8 Oh remember not against us the iniquities of (our) fore
fathers ; *
Let thy tender mercies speedily come to meet us,
For we are brought very low.
9 Help us, 0 God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name.
Yea, deliver us, and cover our sins for thy name's sake.
10 Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is their God ?
Let there be made known " among the nations in our sight
The revenging of the blood of thy servants which is shed.

12 [13]; Ex. XV. 13 (where "his holy
pasture " may = " his holy border,"
l.xxviii. 54); Jer. xxv. 30. The figure
is thus suggested, which is afterwards
more fully expressed in ver. 13, where
however the word rendered " pasture "
is a different one in the Hebrew. It is
a favorite image in all this group of
Psalms. See Introduction to Vol. i. p. 97.
8. Against us ; lit. "with respect to
us," i.e. so that we should thereby suffer.
Daniel ix. 16 combines in some measure
the language of this verse and verse 4.
The prophet confesses that Jerusalem
and his people have become " a reproach
unto all that are round about," not only
because of their own sins, but for " the
iniquities of their fathers." This heritage
of sin and its curse is indeed fully rec
ognized in holy Scripture. God himself
publishes it in the law (Ex. xx. 5, comp.
xxxiv. 7). See also Lam. v. 7, and
2 Kin^s xxiii. 26. Hengst., Delitzsch,
and Hupfeld are all at pains to argue
that the iniquities of the fathers are not
visited upon the children, except when
the children themselves are guilty. In
proof, they appeal to Deut. xxiv. 16,
2 Kings xiv. 6 ; Ezek. xviii. 20. But
only the last of these passages is in
point ; the other two, the latter of which
is merely a quotation from the former,
only lay down the rule by which human
tribunals are to be bound. Fully to
discuss this question in a note would be
quite impossible ; it would require a
volume. I will only remark, (1) That,
as a simple matter of fact, the innocent
do suffer for the guilty. Children re
ceive from their parents their moral and

physical constitution, and both the taint
and the chastisement of sin are trans
mitted. To this Scripture and experi
ence alike bear witness. (2) That there
is a mysterious oneness of being, a kind
of perpetual e.xistence, which manifests
itself in every family and every nation.
Each generation is what all previous
generations have been tending to make
it. The stream of evil gathers and bears
along an ever-increasing mass of cor
ruption ; so that upon the last generation
comes the accumulated load of all that
went before (Matt, xxiii. 35). But (3)
Scripture nowhere teaches that a man
is guilty in the siiiht of God for any sins
but his own; Sinning himself, he allows
the deeds of his fathers ; he is a partaker
in their iniquities ; he helps to swell the
fearful catalogue of guilt which at last
brings down God's judgment; but his
condemnation, if he be condemned, is
for his own transgression, not for those
of his fathers.
Come to meet. E.V. " prevent."
God's mercy must anticipate, come to
meet, man's necessity.
9. Twice the appeal is made " for thy
name's sake " ; that revelation of God
which he had made of himself to Moses,
when he passed by and proclaimed the
name of Jehovah (Ex. xxxiv. 6, 7). Cf.
Ps. XX. 1 ; xxiii. 3 ; xxix. 2.
Cover, or, " make atonement for,"
and so " forgive," as the word is com
monly rendered. See xxxii. 1. The sins
have provoked God's wrath, and from
that wrath he only can hide them.
10. The first clause of the verse is
borrowed nearly word for word from

PBALM LXXIX. 81
11 Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee,
According to the greatness of thy power spare thou those
that are appointed unto death,
12 And render unto our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom
Their reproach wherewith they have reproached thee,
0 Lord.
13 So we thy people and the sheep of thy pasture will give
thanks unto thee forever.
To all generations we will tell forth thy praise.
Joel ii. 17, and this Hengst. thinks rests during the exile. By " the prisoner"
on Ex. xxxii. 12 ; Num. xiv. 15, 16; must be meant, if this Psalm refers to
Deut. ix. 28. It is repeated in cxv. 2. the same time, the whole nation, whose
In OUK sight; lit. "before our eyes.'' captivity in Babylon, as well as their
There can hardly be an allusion to Deut. bondage in Egypt, is regarded as an im-
vi. 22, as has been supposed. The ex- prisonment. If, on the other hand, the
pression suggests a feeling of joy and Psalm is Maccabean, the allusion will
satisfaction in beholding the righteous be to those who were carried captive by
judgment of God. Comp. Iii. 6, and Antiochus Epiphanes.
note there. Thy power. Heb. " Thine arm."
The revenging of the blood, etc. ; Comp. Num. xiv. 17 ; Deut. iii. 24.
comp. Deut. xxxii. 43. 12. Unto our neighbors. Because
11. The sighing of the prisoner their scorn was more intolerable, and also
and those that are appointed unto more inexcusable, than the oppression of
death (Heb. " the sons of death "), are distant enemies. Comp. ver. 4. Seven-
expressions found again in cii. -20 [21], fold, as in Gen. iv. 15,24. Into their
a Psalm written, there can be no doubt, bosom. Comp. Isa. Ixv. 7; Jer. xxxii. 1 8.
" in*;!! . On this form see 1. note °, cxiii. note % cxiv. note *-
* "13 'ip. In Jer. xvi. 16 the same expression occurs, but there the
verb is in the Piel, and is followed by h . Gesen. (Thesaur. in v.) says
that the Kal is used of the burial of one (except Ezek. xxxix. 12), and
the Piel of many. But here the Kal is used of many.
" bSN . It seems unnecessary to suppose, with Ewald, Hupfeld, and
others, that the sing, is here written by mistake for the plur., although
sixteen of Kennicott's mss., and nine of De Rossi's, have the latter,
and it is also found in the parallel passage, Jer. x. 25. The use of the
sing, has been explained by supposing (1) that the Psalmist had some
particular enemy before his eyes ; but the objection to this is, that he
immediately returns to the plur. Or (2), as Delitzsch, that the great
world-monarchy is here regarded as one mass, subject to one despotic
wOl. But it may be merely the impersonal use of the verb, lit. " one
hath devoured," with which the plur. might readily alternate. See the
same interchange of sing, and plur., Isa. xvii. 13 ; xxii. 7, 8.
VOL. II U

82 PSALM LXXX.
* QijaN-i. This might be an adj. qualifying Hsis, "former sins,"
the masc. mstead of the fem., as in Isa. lix. 2, D'^^'^l^a l^'^is , and it is
so taken by the ancient versions. But it is better to regard 's as in
construction with S , just as we have in Lev. xxvi. 45, '"i n^ia ,
•' covenant with the fathers." So here, " sins of the fathers," lit. " of
those who were at the first, or, were before us." We have the full
expression in Jer. xi. 10, '"iri nn'inK 's , " the iniquities of their fathers
who were at the first." Comp. Ex. xx. 5 ; Lev. xxvi. 39.
' 3>'iJ7 . Masc. verb with fem. noun following, as often. (See Gesen.
§ 144.) From overlooking this came the wrong rendering of the A. V.
The Prayer-book version is correct.

PSALM LXXX.

As in the case of most of the historical Psalms, so in the case of
this, it is impossible to say with certainty at what period it was written.
The allusions are never sufficiently definite to lead to any positive
conclusion. It is not a little remarkable that even the mention of the
tribes in verse 2, so far from being a help, has rather been a hinderance,
to interpretation. The prayer which recurs so often (ver. 3, 7, 14, 19)
would seem to imply that the people were in exile ; but it may be a
prayer not for restoration to their land, but only for a restoration to
prosperity ; the verb '' turn us again " being capable of either explana
tion. All that is certain is, that the time was a time of great disaster,
that the nation was trampled down under the foot of foreign invaders.
The poet turns to God with the earnest and repeated prayer for
deliverance, and bases his appeal on the past. God had brought a vine
out of Egypt, and planted it in Canaan. How could he give up that
vine to be devastated by the wild beasts ? Will he not appear at the
head of the armies of Israel, as once he went before her sons in the
desert with a pillar of fire ? Will he not, as of old, lift up the light of
his countenance upon them ?
The mention of the three tribes, " Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manas
seh," may perhaps denote that this is a Psalm for the northern kingdom.
Some have supposed it to have been a prayer of the ten tribes m their
captivity in Assyria, and it has been conjectured that the inscription
of the LXX, vvep TOV 'Ao-crupiou, is to be taken in this sense. Calvin,
on the other hand, thinks that it is a prayer /or the ten tribes by a poet
of the southern kingdom. He reminds us that even after the disruption

PSALM LXXX. 83
prophets were sent from Judah to Israel, and that Amos (vi. 6) rebukes
those in Judah who do not " grieve for the wound of Joseph." That
Benjamin cannot be mentioned as the representative of the southern
kingdom, and Ephraim and Manasseh of the northern, is perfectly
clear. Had the object been to describe the nation by its two principal
divisions, Judah would have been mentioned, and not Benjamin. It is
quite true that Benjamin remained steadfast in its allegiance to the
house of Solomon when Jeroboam revolted (see 1 Kings xii. 2*1), and
also that Jerusalem, the capital of the southern kingdom, stood partly
in the borders of Benjamin ; but neither the one circumstance nor the
other would account for the mention of Benjamin, instead of Judah ;
stUl less can the insertion of Benjamin between Ephraim and Manasseh
be explained on this hypothesis. Hengstenberg attempts to argue that
Benjamin really belonged to the ten tribes, because Ahijah only
promises to Rehoboam one tribe (1 Kings xi. 18, 32, 36) ; but as the
prophet at the same time divides his mantle into twelve parts, and gives
Jeroboam ten, he thus leaves two for Rehoboam ; one of these Reho
boam is supposed to have already, and hence Ahijah only offers to give
him one more. Still, in the course of time a portion of Benjamin may
have become incorporated into the northern kingdom. The children
of Rachel, Joseph (=: Ephraim and Manasseh) and Benjamin, would
naturally be drawn together. Benjamin, the tribe of Saul and Ish-
bosheth, and at one time the leading tribe, would not readily submit to
the supremacy of Judah ; a jealousy existed which was not extinguished
in David's reign (2 Sam. xix., xx., xxi.), and which may have been
revived later. It is, moreover, in favor of this view that in the previous
verse Joseph is mentioned, and not Judah ; and hence the whole Psalm
refers, apparently, only to the kingdom of Israel
Hupfeld, however, argues that the designations here made use of
are intended to describe the whole nation, and not a particular portion
of it. He observes (a) that the use of the first person plural in verses
2, 3 [3, 4] shows that the whole nation is meant (an argument which
is of no force, if the Psalm was written by a native of the northern
kingdom) ; (h) that as regards the mention of Joseph, this is only what
we flnd in Ixxxi. 4, 5 [5, 6], where Israel and Joseph denote the whole
nation, and in Ixxvii. 15 [16], where Jacob and Joseph are employed
in the same way, and in both passages with reference to the Mosaic
times. So, again, in Obad. 18, "the house of Joseph" is mentioned
with " the house of Jacob," in opposition to " the house of Esau,"
Jacob's brother. This remarkable usage of later writers has received
different explanations. Rashi accounts for it by Joseph's position in

84 PSALM LXXX.
Egypt as a second father and protector of the nation ; Kimchi, by the
blessing pronounced on Ephraim and Manasseh (Gen. xlviii. 16), and
by the statement in 1 Chron. v. 1 that " the birthright was given unto the
sons of Joseph the son of Israel." Others, again, suppose that Joseph is
mentioned, because, as being pre-eminent above all his brethren, he might
be regarded as a fourth patriarch, and Benjamin, because he was a son
of the same mother. Hupfeld admits that the phenomenon may be
partially explained on these grounds, but sees' in this prominence given
to the northern tribes by a poet of Judah (for such he holds the writer
of the Psalm to be) a hope implied of a re-union and restoration of all
the tribes. After the dispersion of the ten tribes, and when calamities
fell heavy upon the two, the old animosities were forgotten, and the
one desire of prophets and Psalmists was to see the breach healed and
the ancient unity restored. Hence the use of the catholic names
" Israel " and " Jacob," and hence, also, the mention of " Joseph," the
best-beloved son of Jacob, even when Judah only was left.'
But it is strange that Hupfeld entirely passes over, without remark,
that particular association of the three tribes which most favors his view.
In the journey through the wilderness these three tribes were ranged
side by side, and in the order of march followed immediately behind
the ark (Num. ii. 17-24). This explains their mention in the Psalm.
The prayer of the Psalmist is, that God would again lead his people,
again go forth at the head of their armies, as he did of old. All the
allusions in the Psalm favor this interpretation. God is addressed as
the Shepherd of Israel, who led Joseph " like a flock," with manifest
reference to the journeys through the wilderness (see Ixxvii. 20). The
petition is, that he who " is throned above the cherubim would shine
forth." Here the allusion is to the ark, and the manifestation of the
divine glory. Then, naturally, comes the mention of those tribes whose
position was directly behind the ark. Hence the whole prayer may be
regarded as a prayer for national restoration, and for the same divine
succor which had been so signally vouchsafed to their fathers in the
wilderness. Still, whilst on this ground I am disposed to believe that the whole
nation is the object of the Psalmist's hopes and prayer, I am also
inclined to think that the prominence given to, Joseph and Benjamin
may best be accounted for by supposing that the Psalmist was either
1 Hupfeld appeals, in support of his view, to such passages as Hos. ii. 1, 2 ; iii. 5;
Amos ix. 8-11; Isa. xi. 11-13; Jer. xxx., xxxi. (where there is a transition from
" Jacob,'' chap. xxx. to "Israel and Ephraim," chap, xxxii.); Ezek. xxxvii. 15-28 ;
Zech. X. 6 ; comp. Ps. Ix. 7 [8] ; Ixviii. 26, 27 [27, 28].

PSALM LXXX. 85
a native of the northern kingdom, or that he had some strong sympathy
with his brethren in Israel. In the seventy-seventh, seventy-eighth,
and eighty-first Psalms, we meet with a similar peculiarity in the form
of the national designation, and in all it may indicate some special
relation on the part of the writer to the kingdom of Israel.
The strophical division of the Psalm is marked by the refrain (ver.
3, 7, 19), with a variation of it in verse 14. The strophes are thus of
very unequal length. The first has three verses ; the second, four ;
the third, twelve ; though this last, again, is partially broken by the
imperfect refrain in verse 14. The first two of these strophes are, in
fact, introductory, containing the cry for help and the lamentation over
disaster. The third constitutes the principal part of the Psalm, where,
under the figure of a vine, the history of Israel is portrayed. In the
refrain, we have even more emphatically repeated the burden of the
Psalmist's prayer ; the emphasis being each time deepened by the name
given to God : first, " God " ; then, " God of hosts " ; lastly, " Jehovah,
God of hosts."
[lor the Precentor. According to " The Lilies — A Testimony.",
A Psalm of Asaph.]
1 0 THOU Shepherd of Israel, give ear.
Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock ;
Thou that sittest (throned above) the cherubim, shine
forth.
2 Before Ephraim, and Benjamin, and Manasseh,
Stir up thy might and come to save us.
1. Shepherd of Israel. On the Shine forth, appear in all thy glory
figureascommon tothisgroupofPsalras, and majesty for our help. See 1. 2,
bearing the name of Asaph, see on where the same word is used of God's
Ixxviii. 52. There is an allusion to Gen. coming forth from his sanctuary in Zion
xlviii. 15, "the God who was my Shep- to execute judgment.
herd" [E.V. "who fed me"], and xlix. 2. To save its. Heb. "for our sal-
24. In both passages Jacob blesses vation."
Joseph and his sons. So here it follows : Before Ephraim, etc. The three
" Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock." tribes are mentioned together with ref-
(Throned above) the CHF.RnEiM : erence to the position which they oc
as in xcix. 1. Cf. xxii. 3 [4], " throned cupied in the march through the wilder-
above the praises of Israel," where see ness, where they followed in the order
note. The expression denotes the dwell- of procession immediately behind the
ing of God in his temple, and the man- ark. See Num. ii. 17-24. [The prep.
Ifestation of his presence there, as is "before" is used thus of the order in
evident from the verb following. processions. See 2 Sam. iii. 31 ; Job

86

PSALM LXXX.

3 0 God, turn us again.
And show the light of thy countenance, that we may be
saved.
4 0 Jehovah, God (of) hosts,
How long wilt thou be angry with thy people that prayeth ?
5 Thou hast fed them with tears (as) bread,"
And hast made them to drink of tears in large measure."

xxi. 33.] This falls in with the lan
guage of the previous verse, " Thou that
sittest throned above the cherubim, shine
forth. So Lyra : " Hoc dicitur quia
istae tres tribus figcbant tentoria ad
occidentalem plagam tabernaculi. In
parte vero occidentali tabernaculi erat
sanctum sanctorum, ubi erat propitiato-
rium, in quo dabantur divina responsa."
It is strange how completely this fact,
which is the obvious explanation of the
mention of these three tribes together,
has been overlooked by nearly all the
recent German interpreters. Bear this
in mind, and it becomes evident that,
whatever the national disaster here de
plored, the prayer is, that these tribes
may be restored to their ancient position,
united as of old, and as of old led by
God himself, with the visible symbols
of his presence.
3. Turn us again, or " restore us,"
either from the exile (as the Chald.),
supposing the Psalm to have been written
after the captivity of the ten tribes ; or
in the more general sense of recovery
from disaster, as in Ix. 1 [3].
Show the light of thy cohnte-
NANCE. Again an allusion to the history
of the people in the wilderness (Num.
vi. 25). See on Ixvii. 1 ; iv. 6 [7).
4, God (of) hosts ; see on lix. 5 [6].
On this repetition of the divine names
Hengst. remarks: "In prayer all de
pends 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 lamenta
tions and prayer. ' Jehovah,' corres
ponding to the ' Shepherd of Israel,'
(ver. 1), points to the fulness of the love

of God toward his people ; and ' God,
(God of) hosts,' corresponding to
' throned above the cherubim,' to his
infinite power to help them."
How long wilt thou be angkt,
etc. ; lit. " How long hast thou smoked."
The preterite after the interrogative in
this sense is unusual. But the full form
of expression would be, " how long hast
thou been . . . and wilt continue to be
. . . angry." Comp. Ex. x. 3 ; xvi. 28.
This use of the verb " to smoke," said
of a person is also without par.allel.
The usual phrase would be, " will thine
anger smoke." Comp. Ixxiv. 1 ; xviii.
8 [9] (where see note) ; Deut. xxix. 20
[Heb. 19]. But the figure is bolder
here than in the other passages, as it is
applied immediately to God himself.
Such figures, remarks Delitzsch, would
be impossible, were not the power of the
divine wrath to be regarded as belonging
essentially to the very nature of the
Divine Being. God, who is light and
love^ is also " a consuming fire."
With thy people that prayeth ;
lit. "in (i.e. during) the prayer of thy
people " ; (Jerome, ad orationem), not as
the E.V., Hengst. and others, "against
the prayer of thy people " ; for that is
not the object of God's displeasure.
That which seems so mysterious, that
which calls for the expostulation and
the entreaty is, that even whilst they
pray, in spite o/that prayer, God's wrath
is hot against them. Some have seen
here an implied opposition between the
smoking of God's wrath, and the prayer
which ascends like the smoke of incense
(see cxli. 2; Rev. v. 8; viii. 3). But
this seems fanciful.

PSALM LXXX.

87

6 Thou makest us a strife unto our neighbors.
And our enemies mock (us) at their pleasure.
7 0 God (of) hosts, turn us again.
And show the light of thy countenance, that we may be
saved.
8 Thou broughtest * a vine out of Egypt,
Thou didst drive out the nations and plant it ;
9 Thou madest room before it,
And when it had taken root, it filled the land :
10 (The) mountains were covered with the shadow of it,
And the boughs thereof were (like) the cedars of God.
11 She sent out her branches unto the sea.
And her young shoots unto the river.

6. A strife, i.e. not an object of
contention amongst themselves, but
rather an object which they vied with
one another in assailing.
Unto our neighbors, not the great
powers, such as the Assyrians, Chaldean s,
and Egyptians, but the petty states which
bordered on Judea, who were always
ready to exult over every misfortune
that befel the Israelites. Comp. Ixxix. 12.
At their pleasure ; lit. "for them
selves," i.e. for their own satisfaction,
the pronoun being used to mark the
reflex nature of the action, as for in
stance in Isa. xxxi. 9. It cannot mean
"among themselves," as E.V., nor is
this the indirect use of the pronoun for
the direct, as in Ixiv. 5 [6].
8. Thou broughtest out, or,
" transplantedst." The word is used of
rooting up a tree out of its soil (Job
xix. 10). And so here. (In Ixxviii. 52
it is applied to the people in the literal
sense of " making to depart.") Delitzsch
quotes from Shemoth Rabba, c. 44.
When cultivators wish to improve a
vine, what do they do 1 They root it
up out of its place, and transplant it to
another." See also Vayikra Rabba, c. 36.
A VINE. The same comparison is
found in other passages : Isa. v. 1-7 ;
xxvii. 2-6 ; Jer. ii. 21 ; xii. 10 ; Ezek.
xvii. 5-10. In some of these passages
the figure of a vineyard is mixed with

that of the vine, and such is partly the
case here (see ver. 12). That there is a
reference to the blessing of Joseph (see
above on ver. 1 ) can hardly be doubted.
Observe especially the word "son," ver.
15, (E.V. "bough"), compared with
Gen. xlix. 22, " Joseph is a fruitful son "
(E.V. "a fruitful bough"). Cassiodorus,
remarking on the aptness of the figure,
says : " Vinea ecclesiae aptissime com-
paratur. Quoniam sicut ilia inter folia
caduca necessaries infert fructus, sic et
ista inter umbras turbatiles peccantium
ornatur fruge sanctorum ; qui seculi
hujus afilictione tanquam torcularibus
pressi saporem norunt emanare dulcis-
simum." Thou didst drive out, etc. Comp.
xliv. 2.
9. Madest room, by destroying the
Canaanites, as the soil is prepared for
planting, by "gathering out the stones,"
etc. Comp. Isa. f. 2.
10. Cedars of God. See on xxxvi. 7.
Hengst. and others, who find the compar
ison exaggerated, supply the verb from
the first clause, and render : " And the
cedars of God (were covered) with the
boughs thereof." Butthus the expression
" cedars of God " is meaningless ; and
after all, the hyperbole in the figure is at
leastnot greater than in Ezek. xxxi. 3, etc.
Comp. Joel iii. 18[iv. 18] ; Amos ix. 13.
1 1. Sea . . . KiVEE, i.e. from Gaza on

88

PSALM LXXX.

1? Why hast thou broken down her hedges,
So that all they which pass by the way do pluck her ?
13 The boar out of the wood " doth root it up.
And the wild beasts of the field devour it.
14 0 God (of) hosts, turn again, we beseech thee.
Look down from heaven, and see,
And visit this vine ;
15 And protect that which thy right hand hath planted.
And the son wliom thou madest strong for thyself.
16 It is burnt with fire, it is cut down ;
They perish at the rebuke of thy countenance.

the Mediterranean to Euphrates. Comp.
Ixxii. 8. The allusion is to the time of
Solomon, of whom it is said, that " he
had dominion over all the region on this
side the river, from Tiphsah (i.e. Thap-
sacus, on the western bank of the Eu
phrates) even to Azzah (or Gaza),"
(1 Kings iv. 24). Comp. Deut. xi. 24,
" Every place which the soles of your
feet shall tread upon shall be yours ;
from the wilderness and Lebanon, from
the river, the river Euphrates, even unto
the west sea shall be your boundaries."
See also Gen. xxviii. 14 ; Josh. i. 4.
12. Portions of this verse are repeated
in Ixxxix. 41, 42. Comp. also Isa. v. 5.
The verb pluck occurs again only in
Song of Sol. V. 1.
13. The boar out of the wood,
as in Jer. v. 6, " the lion out of the
wood." It has been supposed that some
particular enemy is meant, such as the
Assyrian monarch or Nebuchadnezzar,
but this is negatived by the indefinite
expression in the parallel clause, " the
wild beasts of the field," or more literally,
" that which moveth in the field," as in
1. 11, the only other place where the
phrase occurs. Lyra finds a particular
reason why Nebuchadnezzar should be
meant, " who is so called because he had
for a long time his dwelling among the
wild beasts " !
14. This verse is a reminiscence, so
to speak, of the refrain with which the
two first strophes close in ver. 3 and 7.
It stands, moreover, whore it might nat

urally have formed the conclusion of a
third strophe, which, as consisting of
seven verses, would have been of the
same length as the other two together.
But the verse is too closely connected
with what follows to be regarded prop
erly as the end of a strophe.
15. Protect. The A.V. takes the
word, which occurs only here, as a noun,
" the vineyard " ; and so the Prayer-
book version " the place of the vineyard."
Others, "stock" or "stem." But it
may be a verb, as the LXX have ren
dered it. See more in the Critical Note.
The son. Ewald and others render,
" the branch," or " shoot," referring to
Gen. xlix. 22, where the word no doubt
occurs in this sense (see above on ver. 8),
a sense which would be very suitable
here with reference to the figure of the
vine. But the expressions in ver. 17,
" son of man," " son of thy right hand,"
seem rather to indicate that here, too,
the figure is dropped. The ambiguous
word may, however, have been chosen
designedly, the more readily to connect
the figure with what follows. The son
evidently means the nation of Israel, as
in Ex. xiv. 21 ; Hos. xi. 1.
Thou madest strong, i.e. whom
thou didst carefully rear till he reached
maturity. Comp. Isa. Ixiv. 14, where
the same word is used of a tree. See
also Ixxxix. 21 [22], and similar ex
pressions in Isa. i. 2 ; xiii. 4.
16. It is cut down. The word
occurs again only in Isa. xxxiii. 12, of

PSALM LXXX.

89

17 Let thy hand be over the man of thy right hand.
Over the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself :
18 So will we not go back ^ from thee : —
Do thou quicken us, and we will call upon thy name.
19 0 Jehovah, God (of) hosts, turn us again,
Show the light of thy countenance, that we may be saved.

thornscutdownthat they miiy be burned.
In this verse the lamentation over the
present condition of the nation is re
sumed. In the first clause the figure of
the vine reappears ; in the second there
is an abrupt transition to the nation of
whom the vine is the figure. Hence
Schroder conjectured that this verse
ought to follow ver. 13, and this is ap
proved by Hupfeld, for then, he says :
(1) the second member, which now re
fers awkwardly to the Israelites, might
refer to the " boar " and " the wild
beasts," and be rendered as the expres
sion of a wish. " Let them perish," etc. ;
and (2) the latter portion of the Psalm,
from ver. 8, would thus consist of three
equal strophes of four verses each. He
takes ver. 14 as a variation of the refrain
in ver. 3, 7, and as the conclusion of a
strophe. 17. Man OP thy right hand. This
has been explained (1) " one whom thy
right hand protects," one who is the
object of thy special care and love ; or
(2) "one whom thou hast won for thy
self by thy right hand " (in allusion to
God's putting forth his power on behalf
of Israel) ; or (3) with reference to ver.
15, one whom God's right hand planted.
This last is perhaps best, as thus the
two clauses of ver. 1 7 answer to the two
of ver. 15. Israel has been hoth planted
and made strong by God, and on both

grounds asks God's protecting care.
Some see in this title, together with that
of "son of man" in the next clan^3, a
designation of the Messiah, who in the
same sense is said, in ex. 1, 5, to sit on
the riuht hand of God. [Hupfeld, in
mentioning this view, quotes xvi. 8 ;
cxxi. 5, as parallels, but in those pLices
God is said to be on the right hand of
David and of Israel, i.e. to protect them,
whereas the Messiah is said to be on the
right hand of God, as himself invested
with kingly dignity.] But the obvious
relation of this verse to ver. 17 rather
leads to the conclusion that the nation
of Israel, the vine spoken of before, is
meant. And so Calvin understands it.
18. Grammatically, the first clause of
this verse ought perhaps to be connected
with the previous verse, and be rendered,
"and who (i.e. the son of man) hath
not gone back from thee." See Critical
Note. So WILL WE NOT, etc. Cassiodorus
says ; " Quae enim semel mente eon-
cepimus cordis oculis ju^ater intuemur.
Quae autem sit utilitas ab ipso non dis-
cedere consequenter exponitur ; cum
dicitur, vivificabis nos." And on these
last words Augustine, "ut tecum non
terrena amemus in quibus prius mortui
eramus." Quicken us, i.e. restore us to a new
life. Comp. Ixxi. 20; Ixxxv. 6 [7].

* See notes on the inscriptions of xlv., Ix., Ixix.
'' On the construction of this clause, see note on Ix., note '', Vol. i.,
p. 437. In the next clause, the construction is apparently changed.
Properly speaking, the verb ifp'sn takes a double accus. (of the person
and the thing), whereas here, we have the prep. 3 instead of the second
accus., " Thou makest them to drink of (3 , lit. with) tears." As there
is no other instance of such a construction, Hengst. takes ir"<br as the
VOL. II. 12

90 PSALM LXXX.
second accus., and renders, "Thou makest them to drink a measure
consistitig of tears " ; the measure, he says, is the thing given them to
drink ; " of tears," denotes the contents of the measure. But the former
construction is the most simple and obvious, in spite of the absence of
an exact parallel, and so apparently the LXX, Trortets ijpa.'s iv SdKpvmv
iv pirpta ; Symm., eTrorto'as r]pa.% p€Ta. SaKpvmv pirpm.
° lljibia. The word (which only occurs again Isa. xl. 12) means,
evidently, a vessel of a particular size for measuring liquids ; lit., " a
third," i.e. of course of some larger measure, as we say, a quart. Comp.
the Latin triental. Jerome renders tripliciter, " in threefold degree,"
a definite for an indefinite number. Similarly the Chald. But Hupfeld
argues that the word denotes not a measure of large size, but one of
the usual size, such as would commonly be used for the purpose of
drinking. He explains it thus : " Thou hast made them drink of tears
as in (or from) a cup (the accus. describing the manner of an action),
as wine is commonly drunk from a cup." Hence the phrase would
signify that tears were their daily portion (see xiii. 4). Bunsen, accept
ing this, says, the idea of abundance can only be derived from the
contrast between the tears falling drop by drop, and the cup full of tears.
'' i'"'Bn . It seems impossible to render this except as a past, though
Ewald and Olsh. adopt the present. Hupfeld merely remarks, that in
the passage beginning here, "the earlier acts of God are described
partly in perfects, partly in imperfects, with or without Vau conv., as
in Ixxviii." But he overlooks the peculiarity here, which is, that the
tense is used as an imperf. without any perfect tense having preceded.
In Ixxviii. 9, on the other hand, where the Psalmist begins his narrative
of the past, he uses first the preterite, then the fut. with Vau consec,
and then the simple fut. as the aor. or imperf., describing past action.
And this is undoubtedly the rule. See xviii. 4 (pret.), 6 (fut.), and
then a frequent interchange throughout the Psalm. In fact, so regular
is this usage, that Delitzsch makes the use of N'i3"' , in Hab. iii. 3, a
reason for concluding that the prophet cannot be speaking of the past ;
otherwise, be argues, a pret. must have preceded. The fact that the
vision opens with the fut. tense compels us to regard the theophany as
relating, not to the past (though its images are borrowed from the
past), but to the future, or rather the vision itself is present to the
prophet's eye — " God cometh," etc. — whilst it portrays the future. The
occurrence, however, of the fut. (imperf.) in this Psalm at the beginning
of a past narrative seems to show that such an argument as that of
Delitzsch is not of itself convincing ; though he is, I believe, right in
thinking that Habakkuk's vision regards the future, not the past.

PSALM LXXXI. 91
' "S^ . The suspended S has had all kinds of fanciful meanings
attached to it by the rabbinical writers — the seventy years of the
Babylonish captivity, the hanging of the Messiah on a tree; or, ac
cording to the Talmud, the middle letter of the Psalms, as similarly a
large letter denotes the middle letter of the Pentateuch, etc.
''riiB. This has been taken (1) as a noun in the sense of " plant"
(Chald., Syr., Aben-Ezra, Kimchi, Jerome, radicem) or "vineyard"
(E.V.), in which the whole of ver. 16 depends on the verb ips , which
is thus construed first with the accus., and then with the prep, hv . But
it is better perhaps to take the word as a verb in the imperat. So the
LXX, KardpTLaai, as if it were = fi3:i3 , from 'ji2. There can be little
doubt, however, that J. D. Michaelis is right in deriving it from a root
y.i , allied to pa , to hedge about, to protect, and the Arab. _^ con
strued with hv , as verbs of " covering " commonly are. There is still
a difficulty about the vocalization. The proper form of the imperat.
Kal with n paragogic would be ri53. But we have orah for orrah,
Num. xxii. 6, and we find a instead of o in verbs v' 's , as bs , cxix. 22.
nS3 , therefore, is of the same form as ifca , with n paragogic.
8 I'.DS . This is usually taken as fut. Kal 1st plur. with the vowel o
instead of u. Hupfeld objects to this (though so slight a variation of
the vowel need not trouble us), and alleges, further, that the verb never
occurs in the Kal, except in the part., liii. 4 ; Prov. xiv. 14. He con
tends, therefore, that it is perf. Niph. 3d sing., and that the first clause
of this verse must be joined closely with what precedes, as a kind of
further relative clause, " the son of man (whom) thou madest so strong
for thyself, and (who) hath not gone back from thee."

PSALM LXXXI.

This Psalm was apparently intended to be sung at one or more of
the great national festivals. There has, however, been much difEerence
of opinion as to the particular festival or festivals for which it was
originally composed.
1. The Jewish interpretation is, for the most part, in favor of the
Feast of Trumpets. According to the Targum, the Talmud (see
especially Rosh ha-Shana), the Midrash, and the Book Zohar, this is a
New Year's Psalm. It was to be sung, as it still is, in the synagogue,
on the first day of the month Tisri, the new moon which, beyond all
others, was celebrated by the blowing of cornets. But this view can

92 PSALM LXXXI.
only be maintained by giving to the word keseh, in verse 3 [ t], the
meaning not of " the full moon," but either of " the new moon," or,
more generally, of " an appointed time.''
2. Others are of opinion that there is no allusion to the new moon,
and that the festival intended must be one celebrated at the full moon,
and therefore either the Feast of Tabernacles or the Passover.
3. According to DeWette, Hengstenberg, and others, this Psalm
was intended to be sung at the Passover. Hengstenberg's main argu
ment rests upon the language of verse 5, where the feast is described
as one which was instituted at the time of the exodus, and, as appears
in verses 6-10, instituted with special reference to that event. He
contends, accordingly, that the word chodesh must be rendered not
" new moon," but " month " — " Blow the cornet in the month" that
month which is emphatically the first and chief in 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 oi months, it shall be the first month of the year to you."
" In the full moon," of the second clause, defines exactly the time in
the sacred month in which the festival fell. Just as it is said in Lev.
xxiii. 5, " In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, is
the passover to the Lord," so here the note of time is the same : " in
the month ... on the full moon.'' " Month," says Hengstenberg, and
not "new moon," is the meaning of the word throughout the Pentateuch.
4. A fourth view, and that which is now maintained by some of the
most eminent critics (Ewald, Delitzsch, and Hupfeld), combines the
first and second interpretations ; for it supposes that the exhortation
of the Psalm refers both to the Feast of Trumpets on the first of the
month, and to the Feast of Tabernacles, which lasted from the fifteenth
to the twenty-first or twenty-second. This would explain the mention
both of '• the new moon " and of " the 'full moon " ; both marking
important festivals, and festivals occurring in the same month. Both
would be kept with loud expressions of joy. The blowing of cornets,
and the apparatus of musical instruments by which the first is to be
announced were certainly not usual at the Passover, whereas they
would be perfectly in keeping with so joyous an occasion as the Feast
of Tabernacles. The music in Hezekiah's celebration of the Passover
(2 Chron. xxx. 21, etc.), to which Ilengstenberg refers, was probably
exceptional. The peculiar circumstances under which the feast was
then kept, and the great joy which it called forth, would sufficiently
account for this mode of celebration ; but there is no hint given that
musical instruments were ever employed as the Passover was originally

PSALM LXXXI. 95
observed ; and the general character of the feast is against such a
supposition.* It is a further evidence that the Feast of Tabernacles is
meant, that it is styled so emphatically " our feast." See note on verse 4.
On the relation of the two festivals which, on this supposition, are
combined, more will be found in the note on that verse.
Ewald observes that there is so much resemblance between this
Psalm and Psalms Ixxvii. and xcv. that, but for certain peculiarities
by which this is marked, all might be assigned to the same author.
And Delitzsch thinks that Psalm Ixxxi. " unites the lyric element of
Psalm Ixxvii. with the didactic element of Psalm Ixxviii." All these
three Psalms," he observes, " have the same character ; all end in the
same abrupt manner. The author rises to the height of his subject,
and then suddenly drops it. Again, in Ixxvii., the nation is spoken of
as 'the sons of Jacob and Joseph' ; in Ixxviii., as 'the sons of Ephraim,'
and here simply as ' Joseph.' Like Ixxix., this Psalm rests upon the
history of the Pentateuch — upon Exodus and Deuteronomy."
Properly speaking, there are no strophical divisions. The Psalm
consists of two parts :
I. In the first, the Psalmist summons his nation to the festival,
bidding them keep it with loud music and song and every utterance of
joy, because it was ordained of God, and instituted under circumstances
worthy of everlasting remembrance (ver. 1—5).
II. In the next he abruptly drops his own words. "What those cir
cumstances were, what the meaning of God's revelation then given, the
people had forgotten ; and it is for him, in his character of prophet,
as well as poet, to declare. It is for him to show how that voice from
the past had its lesson also for the present ; how every festival was
God's witness to himself ; how it repeated afresh, as it were, in clear
and audible accents, the great facts of that history, the moral of which
was ever old, and yet ever new. But the Psalmist conveys this in
struction with the more imposing solemnity, when, suddenly breaking
off his exhortation, he leaves God himself to speak.
It is no more the ambassador ; it is the Sovereign, who appears in
the midst of his people, to remind them of past benefits, to claim their
obedience on the ground of those benefits, and to promise the utmost
bounties of grace, on the condition of obedience, for the future (ver.
6-16). There could be no grander conception of the true significance of the
religious feasts of the nation than this. They are so many memorials
1 Hence Tholuck conjectures that this Psalm was composed for Hezekiah's
celebration.

94

PSALM LXXXI.

of God's love and power — so many monuments set up to testify at
once of his goodness, and of Israel's ingratitude and perverseness, so
many solemn occasions on which he comes as King and Father to visit
them, to rekindle anew their loyalty and their affection, and to scatter
amongst them the treasures of his bounty. To give this interpretation
to the festivals, to put in its true light the national joy at their cele
bration, appears to have been the object of the Psalmist. If so, it is
a matter of sepondary importance what particular festival or festivals
were chiefly before his eye.
[Por the Precentor. Upon the Gittith." (A Psalm) of Asaph.]
I Sing joyfully unto God our strength.
Shout aloud unto the God of Jacob.
2 Raise a song, and bring hither '' the timbrel.
The pleasant harp with the lute.
3 Blow the cornet in the new moon.
At the full moon," on our (solemn) feast.*

1-5. The festivals are to be kept with
the loudest expressions of joy and thanks
giving, as Israel's special privilege, as
instituted by God himself, and as a great
memorial of his redemption.
1. Shout ALOUD. There maybe (as
Delitzsch suggests) an allusion in this
verb to the expression in Num. xxix. 1,
where the noun employed is from the
same roof (rendered in the E.V. "it is
a day of blowing the trumpets.") On the
first day of the seventh month (Tisri)
two silver trumpets (at a later period
120, see 2 Chron. v. 12) were to be blown.
2. Raise a song, etc., or, " take
music" (the noun is used both of the
human voice and of instrumental music)
" and strike the timbrel." See Critical
Note. 3. The coenet. " The shophar is
especially remarkable as being the only
Hebrew instrument which has been pre
served to the present day in the religious
services of the Jews. It is still blown,
as in time of old, at the Jewish new
year's festival, according to the command
of Moses (Num. xxix. 1)." (Engel,
Hist, of Music, p. 292.) These instru

ments are commonly made of cows' or
rams' horns ; they differ somewhat in
shape, some being much more curved
than others, and the tube of some not
being round but flattened. Engel men
tions one in the great synagogue in
London, which has this verse of the
Psalm inscribed on it. He also quotes
D.avid Levi {Rites and Ceremonies of the
Jews), as saying that the trumpet is
made of a ram's horn, in remembrance
of Abraham's sacrifice (Gen. x.xii. 12,13),
which, according to the Jewish tradition,
was on the new year's day, " and there
fore we make use of a ram's horn, be
seeching the Almighty to be propitious
to us, in remembrance and through the
merits of that great event."
In the new moon. Strictly speak
ing, this might be any new moon ; for
in the beginnings of their months they
were to blow with trumpets over their
burnt offerings, etc. (Num. x. 10); but
perhaps the new moon of the seventh
month, the new year's day, is especially
meant ; see Num. xxix. 1. And so the
Chald. paraphrases, "in the month of
Tisri."

PSALM LXXXI.

95

4 For it is a statute for Israel,
An ordinance of the God of Jacob ;
5 He appointed it as a testimony in Joseph,
When he went forth against the land of Egypt,
Where I heard a language * that I knew not :

At the FULL moon. Such is ap
parently the meaning of the word here,
and of the similar Aramaic form in
Prov. vii. 20 (though the E.V. has in
both passages " the appointed time").
If, then, the new moon is that of the
seventh month, "the full moon" must
denote the Feast of Tabernacles, which
began on the fifteenth of the same month.
Accordingly there follows :
On our (solemn) feast, i.e. the
Feast of Tabernacles, which was also
called pre-eminently " the feast," (1 Kings
viii. 2,65) (where theE.V.has "a feast,"
wrongly), xii. 32; Ezek. xlv. 25; Neh.
viii. 14 ; 2 Chron. v. 3 ; vii. 8. Josephus
calls it T] eopT^ 71 ayiwraTri KaX fisyl(rT7j
(Antt. viii. 4), and Plutarch, loprr) /iE7i'-
ittt; Kal TeA.€ioTOT?7 rciiv 'louSaidjv { Sympos.
iv. 6, 2). But are we to understand
that both festivals — that at the new
moon and that at the full — were to be
ushered in with the blowing of cornets ?
Such seems to be the meaning. Ewald,
Rosenm., Hitzig, and Delitzsch, all
think that the music was a part of the
celebration of both the feasts. Delitzsch
thus explains, I think rightly, the ref
erence to the two. Between the Feast
of Trumpets on the first of Tisri, and
the Feast of Tabernacles, which lasted
from the fifteenth to the twenty-first or
twenty-second, lay the Great Day of
Atonement, on the tenth of the month.
This circumstance gave a peculiar sig
nificance to the Feast of Tabernacles —
made it, in fact, the chief of all the feasts,
inasmuch as it was the expression of
the joy of forgiveness and reconciliation
declared by the high-priest to the nation
on that solemn day. Hence it was kept
with more than ordinary rejoicing.
And hence the Psalmist would have the
gladness of the new moon repeated " at
the full moon, on the day of our solemn
feast." The first was but » prelude to

the last ; the one looked forwaril to the
other ; and therefore the loud music of
the one was to usher in the other also.
Hupfeld suggests that the very change
of preposition in the last clause, "for
(rather than on) our feast-day," may
hiive been designed to mark that that
feast, the Feast of Tabernacles, was
chiefly in the Psalmist's mind, so that
the blowing of the cornets at the new
moon was merely preliminary to, and
intended as a preparation for, this feast.
Then the words " at the full moon,"
denote, not the time of the blowing of
the cornets, etc., but the time when the
feast was held, so that the two clauses
of the last member of the verse might
be transposed, " for our feast-day at the
full moon." But this is unnecessary
when we remember what a feast of glad
ness the Feast of Tabernacles was, and
long continued to be. Plutarch, in his
time, terms it a bacchanalian festival.
And the later Rabbis were wont to say,
that one who had not witnessed the cele
bration of this feast did not know what
joy was.
4. Foe. The festivals are thus joy
fully to be kept because they are of
divine appointment, and a special and
distinguishing privilege of the nation.
The same preposition before " Israel "
marks them as the recipients, before
" God " denotes that he is the author
and giver of the law. Hengst. 's ex
planation is unnecessarily artificial here.
It is. The pronoun is used generally,
in a neuter tense, referring either to the
mode of celebration described in ver. 1-3,
or to the feast itself; but the latter was
more particularly enjoined in the law.
Ordinance, or "custom" (the word
usually elsewhere translated "judg
ment " ) ; for the word in this sense, see
xviii. 22 [23] ; Gen. xl. 13, etc. ; and
5. Testimony, used of a single law,

96

PSALM LXXXI.

6 " I removed his shoulder from the burden,
His hands were quit of the basket.
not, as usually, of the whole body of against the land of Egypt," as in the

laws. See note on xix. 7. It was a
great witness and memorial set up of God's
power and love.
Joseph (or as it is here written, "Jeho-
seph," as elsewhere we find Jehonadab
for Jonadab, Jehochanan for Jochanan,
etc.). Hupfeld remarks that it is used
after " Israel " and "Jacob " in the pre
ceding verse, merely as another designa
tion of the whole nation, as in Ixxx.l [2].
Hengst. says, "Joseph occupies the place
of I^racl here, because during the whole
period of their residence in the land of
Egypt the nation owed everything to
Joseph, ' the crowned one among his
brethren ' (Gen. xlix. 26). Their op
pression began with the king who knew
not Joseph, and this name could only
belong to them with reference to that
time." And similarly Calvin. But it
is far more natural, surely, to see in the
use of this name here, as in P.^alm Ixxx.,
an indication that the writer belonged
to the northern kingdom.
Against the land op Egypt, wrong
ly rendered by the ancient versions "from
the land of Egypt," (a meaning which
it need scarcely be said the prep, cannot
bear), because they supposed that "the
going forth " could only be that of Israel
out of Egypt. Hengst., retaining the
same subject, renders : " When he (Jo
seph) went forth before the land of
Egypt." He refers for this use of the
preposition to Job xxix. 7, "when I went
out to the gate before (along) the city."
Thus is denoted, he thinks, Israel's
triumphant march before the very eyes of
the E<;yptians, who were unable to pre
vent their departure. Sec Num. xxxiii.
3, where they are said to have gone out
" with a high hand in the sight of all the
Egyptians." Similarly Calvin : " Pop-
ulum, praeeunte Deo, libere pervagatum
fuisse per terram Egypti, quia fractis ac
pavcfactis incolis datus est transitus."
But it is simpler to retain the usual
meaning of the preposition, and to refer
the pronominal suffix, not to Israel, but
to God: "When he (God) went forth

slaying of the first-born (Ex. xi. 4, "I
will^o/ort/i through the midst of Efrj'pt"),
and in all that he did for the deliverance
of his people. As this verse connects
the institution of the feast with a par
ticular event, namely, the departure
from Egypt, it does unquestionably fur
nish a strong argument to those who,
like Hengst., believe that the allusion
is to the Passover. For no other feast
was then instituted. This difficulty is
usually got rid of by saying that the
note of time is not to be pressed, and
that the Feast of Tabernacles did belong
to the earlier legislation (Ex. xxiii. 16;
xxxiv. 22). But I confess this is, to my
mind, not quite satisfactory. On the
other hand, both the Jewish tradition
and the manner of celebration as here
described are against the Passover. I
incline, therefore, to think that the " new
moon " and " full moon " are put for
any feasts that were held at those times
respectively, all of which, beginning with
the Passover, might thus be spoken of as
dating from the exodus.
I heard. The verb is properly an
imperfect. The LXX .and Vulgate have
the 3d person, " he heard," etc., whence
it has passed into our Prayer-book
version, not incorrectly as regards the
sense. But the first person is used be
cause the Psalmist speaks in the name
of his people, identifying himself with
them. A LANGUAGE THAT I KNEW NOT.
What was this unknown tongue f Two
interpretations have been given. It has
been explained (1)0/ the language of the
Egyptians, which was a foreign tongue
to the Hebrews, who were " strangers in
the land of Egypt." Comp. cxiv. 1,
" the people of strange language," with
Deut. xxviii. 49; Isa. xxxiii. 19; Jer.
V. 15. Accordingly, this fact is men
tioned as one of the aggravations of
their condition in Egypt, like the toiling
with " the burden " and " the b.isket."
Calvin, who takes this view, remarks
that the redemption of Israel from a

PSALM LXXXI.

9T

7 Thou calledst in distress, and I delivered thee,
I answered thee in the secret place of the thunder,
I proved thee by the waters of Meribah : [Sclah.J

people of foreign language was a special
mark of God's favor, inasmuch as the
want of that common language, which
is the bond of society, made foreigner
and enemy synonymous terms : " Quia
enim lingua est veluti character mentis
ac speculum, non secus ac sylvestres
ferae, invicem alieni sunt qui carent
linguae usu." It is no objection to this
view that the words of God follow
abruptly; see Ixxv. 2. (2) Of the voice
of God, a voice which the people had
heard as uttered in his judgments upon
the Egyptians, and in his covenant
made with themselves, but had not un
derstood (comp. Acts vii. 25). This
language is then given in substance in
a poetical form by the Psalmist, who
seems suddenly to beer it, and to become
the interpreter to his people of the divine
voice. He here places in a fresh light,
gives a new application to, the earlier
revelation, the meaning and purpose of
which were not then understood. Hup
feld supposes it to be called an " un
known " language, merely because it is
divine, unlike the every-day known lan
guage of men. Aben-Ezra sees a ref
erence to the words of God uttered on
Sinai. So also Delitzsch, who would
explain the expression by reference to
Ex. vi. 2, etc. " It was the languajre
of a known, and yet unknown, God,
which Israel heard from Sinai. God,
in fact, now revealed himself to Israel
in a new character, not only as the
Redeemer and Saviour of his people
from their Egyptian bondage, but also
as their King, giving them a law which
bound them together as a people, and
was the basis of their national existence."
The latter interpretation, which rej^ards
the language here spoken of as the voice
of God, and as-virtually given in the
following verses, is now that most com
monly adopted. It is that of Mendels
sohn, Ewald, Delitzsch, and Hupfeld.
6. The words of God follow without
any indication of a change of speakers.
VOL. II. 13

The prophet identifies himself with, and
becomes the organ of, the divine voice.
He reminds Israel of th.at fact in con
nection with which the festival was
instituted. It is as though, amidst all
the gladness of the feast, and all the
music and the pomp of its celebration,
other thoughts arose, not to check, but
to guide the current of a holy exultation.
The sound of trumpet and timbrel and
sacred song must be hushed, while Je
hovah speaks to tell his forgetful people
the lesson of their past history associated
with that festival, the warning and the
expostulation suggested by their own
perverseness. If they would praise him
aright, it must be with hearts mindful
of his goodness, and sensible of their
own unworthiness and ingratitude. For
the spirit in which all festivals should
be kept, see on the ofli^ring of the first-
fruits (Deut. xxvi. 1-1 1).
Burden, in allusion to Ex. i. 11 ; v.
3, 4 ; vi. 6 ; where the same word occurs
in the plural.
The BASKET. This word is not found
in Exodus, and its meaning is doubt
ful. It may either mean (1) a basket,
in which heavy burdens were carried,
such as are now seen portrayed on the
monuments at Thebes ; so it is inter
preted by the LXX, and Jerome has
cophino; or (2), an earthen ]>ot, with ref
erence to the work in clay which the
Israelites were compelled to perform.
Hence the E.V. renders, "his hands
were delivered from making the pots."
Were QUIT OF, or, "left toiling with."
(E.V. "were delivered"); lit. "passed."
The LXX, with a very slight change in
a single letter, "served" {eBov\euaai'),
but this involved also a change of the
preposition: "in" or "with" instead
of " from."
7. The secret-place of the thun
der, is the dark mass of the thunder
cloud in which God shrouds his majesty.
(Comp.xviii.il [12]; Hab. iii. 4.) Here
is probably a special reference to the

98

PSALM LXXXL

8 ' Hear, 0 my people, and let me testify unto thee ;
0 Israel, if thou wouldest hearken unto me,
9 That there should be in thee no strange god,
And that thou shouldest not bow down unto the god of
the stranger ! —
10 I am Jehovah thy God,
Who brought thee up out of the land of Egypt,
Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.'
11 But my people hearkened not unto my voice.
And Israel was not willing to obey me.
12 So I gave them up unto the stubbornness of their heart.
That they should walk after their own counsels.
13 Oh that my people would hearken unto me.
That Israel would walk in my way !
14 I would soon put down their enemies,
And turn my hand against their adversaries.
15 The haters of Jehovah should crouch before him.
And their time should be forever.

cloud from which Jehovah looked forth
in the pnssa^^c through the Red Sea
(Ex. xiv. 19 ; comp. the note on Ixxvii.
16), as there follows the mention of the
second great miracle, the giving the
water from the rock.
I PROVED TiiEE. Deut. xxxiii. 8,
The mention of Israel's sin here, which
did not of itself belong to an account of
the institution of the feasts, prepares
the w.ay, as Hengst. points out, for the
exhortation which follows.
8-10. This is a discourse within a dis
course. It is the language whichGod held
with bis people when he proved them.
8. Comp. Deut. vi. 4, and see the
note, Ps. I. 7.
If THOU WOULDEST, Or " oh that
thou wouldest." The particle is used
in the exijression of a wish, the apodosis
being omitted.
9. Strange . . . stranger. The two
words are diffi^rent in Hebrew. For the
former, comp. xliv. 21 ; Isa. xliii. 12;
for the latter, Deut. xxxii. 12, where
the appeal is the same.
10. Comp. Deut. \. 1, 6, etc.

1 1 . Luther rem.arks : " It is something
dreadful and terrible that he says, my
people. If it had been a stranger, to
whom I had shown no particular kind
ness," etc.
12. So I gave THEM UP. The word
is used of the letting go of captives,
slaves, etc. ; of giving over to sin (Job
viii. 4). This is the greatest and most
fearful of all God's punishments. Comp.
Ixxviii. 29.
Stubbornness. The word occurs
once in the Pentateuch (Deut. xxix. 18),
and several times in Jeremiah. The E.V.
renders it here " lusts," and in all the
other passages " imagination," but
wronj;l_v. 13. A transition is here made from
the Israel of the past to the Israel of the
present, because the history of the former
is repeated in the history of the latter.
14. And turn my hand. There is
no need to supply any ellipse or explain
the phrase as meaning " again turn."
It is used as in Isa. i. 25 ; Amos. i. 8.
15. Crouch before, or, "feign sub
mission " ; SL'c on xviii. 44; Ixvi. 3

PSALM LXXXI. 99
16 He would feed thee ^ also with the fat of wheat,
And with honey out of the rock should I satisfy thee."
Him, i.e. Israel (for "the haters of Je- person instead of the 1st, which recurs
hovah " are the enemies of Israel) ; and again in the next clause. These abrupt
hence with the usual change from the col- interchanges of persons are by no means
lective sing, to tho plural, " their time " uncommon in Heb. poetry. Comp. xxii.
in the next clause is " the time of Israel." 26 [27]. The 3d person follows, as
Time, in the general sense of duration Hupfeld observes, from the mention of
merely, and not implying prosperity. Jehovah just before, instead of the pro-
Indeed the word may be used of times nominal suffix of the 1st person.
of adversity as well as prosperity (see Fat of wheat, as cxlvii. 14 ; Deut.
xxxi. 16). Hence Aben-Ezra and Rashi xxxii. 14; comp. Gen. xli.x. 20. So
suppose the time of the enemy to be meant " fat of the land," Gen. xlv. 18; of fruits,
(and so Theodorct), but the predicate Num. xv. 12, 29, as denoting the best
"forever" is against this. of the kind.
16. The form of the promise is bor- Honey out of the rock ; another
rowed from Deut. xxxii. 13, etc. Comp. image of the abundance and fertility
Ezek. xvi. 19. which would have been the reward of
He would feed thee. The 3d obedience.
° See the note on the inscription of Psalm viii.
^ rjiT'in . Gesen. explains this, give forth a sound by striking the
timbrel, i.e. " strike the timbrel," after the analogy of bip 'jra , " to give
forth, utter a sound, the voice,'' etc. But the analogy is anything but
perfect, and there is no instance of a really parallel usage. I have
therefore followed Mendelssohn and Zunz in preferring the other
rendering. " iiD3 . The Jewish tradition as to the meaning of this word, Delitzsch
observes, is uncertain. According to the Talmud (Rosh ha-Shana,
8^, Beza, 1 6") it is the day on which the new moon hides itself, i.e. is
scarcely visible in the morning in the far west, and in the evening in
the far east. Rashi, Kimchi, and others again derive it from noa = DSD ,
computare, in the sense of " a computed," and so " fixed time." And
similarly the LXX, iv eva-^poi rjpepa, and the Vulg., in insigni die.
Hence the E.V. "in the appointed time." But it is perhaps more
probably explained by the Syr. A'eso, which means " the full moon "
(lit., " the covering (Heb., nc:) or filling up of the orb of the moon"),
or more generally, " the middle of the month," or rather the whole
period from the full moon to the end of the month ; for in the IVsIiito
version of 1 Kings xii. 32 it is used of the fifteenth day of the month,
and in 2 Chron. vii. 10 of the twenty-third, but not, as Delitzsch asserts,
in both instances of the Feast of Tabernacles ; for in Kings the refer
ence is to Jeroboam's spurious festival on the fifteenth of the eighth
month ; and in Chronicles the people are sent away on the twenty-thkd,

100 PSALM LXXXII.
the Feast of Dedication which lasted for seven days, having followed
the Feast of Tabernacles. The Syr. here renders : " sound with horns
at the new moons (beginning of the month), and at the full moons
(wrongly rendered in Walton's Polyglot noviluniis) on the feast days."
An analogous Aramaic form occurs Prov. vii. 20, where Aquila has
fip.ipa -irava-eXrjvov. Jerome renders there in die plenae lunae, and
here in medio mense.
* iJSjn . There can be little doubt that this is the better reading.
It has the support of the LXX, and is found in the best texts, but the
Syr, Chald., and several of Kennicott's and De Rossi's mss. have the
plural IJisn .
" riEb. The stat. constr. with the verb following, as in vii. 16 (comp.
xvi. 3, where the noun stands in construction with a sentence), the verb
being here, what the second noun usually is, equivalent to an adjective.
There is no need to explain the phrase elliptically, " the language of
one whom I knew not," though grammatically this would be allowable,
as Ixv. 5 ; Job xviii. 21 ; xxix. 16.
Hengstenberg thinks that MSiU could not be used to denote the voice
or speech of God, but can only be employed of a language ; but why
may not '"'K'b 'v mean " unintelligible words," as ncN 'a , Prov. xii. 19,
means " true words " ?
^ lrt''2X«n . The change to the 3d pers. presents no difiiculty, but
the use of the 1 consec. does. It is out of the question to take this as
the LXX and Syr. do, as an historic tense. A condition is clearly
implied. What is meant is, that if the Israel of to-day would be obe
dient, then the miracles of God's love manifested of old should be
repeated. Strictly speaking, if the 1 consec. is retained, we ought to
render " He would have fed," as if to intimate that not now only, but
even from the first, God would have done this, had his people been
obedient.

PSALM LXXXII.

This Psalm is a solemn rebuke, addressed in prophetic strain, to
those who, pledged by their oflflce to uphold the law, had trampled
upon it for their own selfish ends. It is a " Vision of Judgment," in
which no common offenders are arraigned, as it is no earthly tribunal
before which they are summoned.
God himself appears, so it seems to the prophet, taking his stand in
the midst of that nation whom he had ordained to be the witness of

PSALM LXXXn. 101
his righteousness, amongst the rulers and judges of the nation who
were destined to reflect, and as it were to embody in visible form, the
majesty of that righteousness. He appears now not, as in the fiftieth
Psalm, to judge his people, but to judge the judges of that people ;
MOt to reprove the congregation at large for their formality and hypoc
risy, but to reprove the rulers and magistrates for their open and
shameful perversion of justice.
As in the presence of God, the Psalmist takes up his parable against
these unjust judges : " How long will ye judge a judgment which is
iniquity (such is the exact force of the original), and accept the persons
of the ungodly ? " These men have scandalously desecrated their
office. They had been placed in the loftiest position to which any
man could aspire. They were sons of the Highest, called by his name,
bearing his image, exercising his authority, charged to execute his will,
and they ought to have been, in their measure, his living representatives,
the very pattern and likeness of his righteousness and wisdom. But
instead of righteousness they had loved unrighteousness. They had
shown favor to the wicked who were powerful and wealthy. They
had crushed the poor, the defenceless, the fatherless, whose only pro
jection lay in the unsullied uprightness and incorruptibility of the
judge, and whom God himself had made their charge.
A witness of these wrongs, the Psalmist appeals to them to discharge
their duty faithfully and uprightly: " Do justice to the miserable and
fatherless," etc. (ver. 3, 4). But the appeal is in vain. They have
neither feeling nor conscience. Morally and intellectually, intellectually
because morally, they are corrupt. The light that is in them is dark
ness. And thus, venal, unscrupulous, base, hard-hearted, the judges
and magistrates have loosened the bonds of law, and the consequence
is that the foundations of social order are shaken, and the whole fabric
threatened with dissolution. Such is the terrible picture of a disorgan
ized society, the very fountains of justice defiled and poisoned, sug
gested to us by the words in which the Psalmist here addresses the
judges of Israel. He himself had thought, he tells us, that their high
dignity and the representative character of their office, placed them so
far above other men that they were like beings of a different race ;
but he warns them that the tyrannous exercise of their power will not
last forever, that, as in the case of other rulers ofr the world, it may
only accelerate their fall. And then, finally, he turns to God, and
appeals to him who is the Judge, not of Israel only, but of the world,
to arise and execute judgment m the earth, which they who bore his
name had perverted.

102 PSALM LXXXn.
Ewald, De Wette, Hitzig, and others, suppose the expostulations ot
the Psalms to be addressed, not to Israelitish but to heathen rulers-
satraps, etc., by a poet who lived towards the end of the exile, in
Babylon, and who, witnessing the corruption which was fast undermin
ing the Babylonish empire, lifted up his voice against it. This view
rests mainly upon the appeal to God (in ver. 7) as the Ruler and
Judge of all nations, not of Israel exclusively. But the Psalmists so
frequently take a wider range than their own nation, so constantly, in
a true prophetic spirit, recognize the special rule and revelation of God
m Israel, as only a part of his universal dominion (compare, for in
stance, vii. 6-8 [7-9]), that there is no need to depart from the more
common view that Israelitish judges are meant ; especially as this is
confirmed by the general tenor of the Psalm. Besides, as Stier and
Hupfeld have pointed out, the names " gods,'' and " sons of the Highest,"
are never given to heathen monarchs in Scripture. The former says :
" We look in vain for a passage where a heathen king, or even an
Israelitish, except David and Solomon, as types of the Messiah, is
thought worthy of this name (Son of God).''
Hupfeld and Bleek (who have been followed by Bunsen) maintain
(and I believe that they are the only modern expositors who do so)
that the " gods " of the Psalm are not human judges, but angels, that
the Psalmist sees a vision of judgment going on in heaven (which is
conceivable, inasmuch as the angels are not pure in God's sight), and
that he poetically applies the circumstances of this judgment to its
parallel upon earth. Hence the rebuke addressed to the angels is in
tended for human judges, and this explains how it is that the angels
are charged with human delinquencies, with accepting persons, and
crushing the poor. So also when angels are threatened with death
(a threat which Hupfeld argues has no meaning when uttered to human
beings), this is a mode merely of threatening them with degradation;
the language being figurative, and borrowed from the sentence of
degradation pronounced on the first man (Gen. ii. 17; iii. 19, 20).
Bleek carries this notion so far as to sujjpose that the angels are the
guardian angels to whom is entrusted the government of the several
nations of the world (see Dan. x. 13, 20, 21 ; xii. 1 ; and Deut. xxxii.
8, in LXXK a trust which they have betrayed.
Of such an interpretation it is enough to say with Calvin, Ad angelos
trahere frigidum est commentum ; not to mention that it seems difficult
to reconcile such a view with our Lord's use of the Psalm in John x.
84, which Hupfeld passes over without any notice whatever. His
objections to the common view that men are not called " gods " and

PSALM LXXXII. -^QQ
" sons of the Highest," in Scripture, and that there is no meaning in
saying to human judges, " Ye shall die like men," etc., will be found
substantially answered in the notes.
The language of the Psalm is so general that it might belong to any
period of the history ; and the history itself and the utterance of the
prophets show us that the evil here denounced was not the evil of any
one age, but of all. It was the accusation brought against the sons of
Samuel, the last who bore the venerable title of judges before the
establishment of the monarchy, that they " turned aside after lucre
and took bribes, and perverted judgment" (1 Sam. viii. 3). And a
long line of prophets repeats the same complaint See Amos v. 12,
15 ; Micah vii. 3 ; Isa. i. 17 ; iii. 13-15 ; Jer. xxi. 12 ; Zech. vii. 9, 10.
The passages which approach most nearly to the Psalm in their general
character are (1) one of those already quoted from Isaiah (iii. 13-15) :
"Jehovah standeth up to plead, and standeth to judge the people.
Jehovah will enter into judgment with the ancients of his people and
the provinces thereof : for ye have eaten up the vineyard, the spoil of
the poor is in your houses. ' What mean ye that ye beat my people
to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor ? ' saith the Lord, Jehovah
of hosts " ; and (2) Jehoshaphat's charge to his judges which '' he set in
the land, throughout all the fenced cities of Judah, city by city "
(2 Chron. xix. 5-7) : " Take heed what ye do ; for ye judge not for
men but for Jehovah who is with you in the judgment. Wherefore
now let the fear of Jehovah be upon you ; take heed and do it ; for
there is no iniquity with Jehovah our God, nor respect of persons, nor
taking of gifts."
The Psalm has no regular strophical division, but the arrangement
is natural, and presents no difficulty. It has been already suffciently
indicated. The general strain is like that of Psalm Iviii.
For certain peculiarities, which mark it in common with other
Psalms, ascribed to Asaph, see General Introduction, Vol. i. pp.
77-78, where, however, the view is taken that God is himself the
speaker in this Psalm. [A Psalm of Asaph.']
1 God standeth in the congregation of God :
In the midst of (the) gods doth he judge.
1. Earthly rulers and judges are not, hoshaphat reminds the judges of Israel,
as they are too ready to think, supreme, God is with them in the judgment.
independent, irresponsible. There is Calvin quotes, to the like effect, the
one higher than the highest. As Je- words of Horace :

104

PSALM LXXXIL

2 How long will ye give wrong judgment,
And accept the persons of the wicked ? [Selah.]

"Regum timendorum in proprios greges,
Reges in ipsos imperium est Jovis," etc.
Men cannot see God with their bodily
eyes, but be is present with the king on
his throne (hence Solomon's throne is
called the throne of Jehovah, 1 Chron.
xxix. 23), with the judge on the judg
ment-seat, with all who hold an authority
delegated to them by him.
Standeth, more literally, " taketh
his stand." The word nitsdlih denotes
a deliberate and formal act, connected
with a definite purpose (1 Sam. xix. 20).
The Midrash explains it by IVoi^os as
distinct from the more usual word 'omed,
which is merely standing as opposed to
sitting. But see the use of both words
in reference to the act of judgment (Isa.
iii. 13.
In the congregation of God, i.e.
in the midst of Israel itself (called in
Num. xxvii. 17 ; xxxi. 16; Josh. xxii.
16, 17, "the congregation of Jehovah"),
and not only in the midst of the people
who are the witnesses of his righteous
ness, but amidst the judges of the people
who are the representatives of his right
eousness. They are called.
Gods, not merely as having their au
thority from God (or as Calvin, quibus
specialem gloriae notam inscalpsitDeus),
but as his vicegerents, as embodying in
themselves the majesty of the law, as
those in whom men look to find the most
perfect earthly pattern of divine attri
butes, of truth and justice, and mercy
and impartiality. This name " gods "
is applied to the judges of Israel in the
Pentateuch; see Ex. xxi. 6 ; xxii. 8,28,
|27|. There, I agree with Delitzsch in
thinking, Elobim does not mean God,
in whose name judgment is pronounced
(as Knobel and Hupfeld understand),
but the judges themselves acting in his
name and by his authority. If in Ex.
xxii. 28 [27], we must render, "thou
shalt not revile (lotl, nor curse the ruler
of thy people," rather than " thou shalt
not revile the judges," etc. ; still it is im
plied that the ruler bears the image of

God, and that every insult offered tc
such a representative of God in his
kingdom is an insult against God (as
Hengst. remarks). The use of the name
"gods" may have been intended to
remind the world how near man, created
in God's image, is to God himself So
in the eighth Psalm it is said, " Thou
hast made him a little lower than God "
(see note there on ver. 5). This would
hold especially of those high in office.
Thus God says to Moses in reference to
Aaron, " Thou shalt be to him instead
of God" (Ex. iv. 16). And again, " See
I have made thee a god to Pharaoh"
(vii. 1). In 1 Sam. xxviii. 13, the witch
of Endor says of Samuel, " I saw a god
ascending out of the earth " (in allusion
either to his majestic appearance or, pos
sibly, to his office as judge). In Ps. xlv.
6 the king is called God (see note there).
But it was in connection with the ofEco
of judge that the stamp of divinity was
most conspicuous. " The judgment is
God's" (Deut. i. 17); whoever comes
before it comes before God. So, again,
Moses uses the phrase, " When ye come
to me, to inquire of God " (Ex. xviii. 15).
The same idea is found in heathen
writers. Seneca {de Clernintia, i. 1)
makes Nero say : " Electus sum qui in
terris Deorum vice fungerer : ego vitae
, necisque gentibus arbiter, qualem quis-
que sortem statumque habeat in manu
mea positum est."
2. It is usual to consider what follows,
to the end of ver. 6, as the words of God
as he appears, in vision, pleading with
the judges of his people. To me it seems
preferable to regard the passage as a
rebuke addressed, in the true prophetic
strain, by the poet himself, to those
whose iniquity called for the protest
(somewhat in the same strain as in Iviii.
1,2); ver. 6, in particular, is thus more
forcible, and the address to God in ver.
7 less abrupt.
How long, like Cicero's " Quousque
tandem " ; the abuse having become
intolerable, because ot iti long st.andino-.

PSALM LXXXn.

105

3 Judge the miserable and fatherless.
Do justice to the afflicted and needy.
4 Rescue the miserable and poor,
Deliver them from the hand of (the) wicked.
5 They know not, and they understand not.
In darkness they walk to and fro :
All tlie foundations of the earth are out of course.
6 I myself have said, Ye are gods,
And ye are all sons of the Most High.
Yet surely like (other) men shall ye die.
And fall like one " of the princes.

Give WEONG judgment ; lit. "judge
iniquity"; "give a judgment which is
iniquity itself"; (the opposite being
"judging uprightness," Iviii. 1). Comp.
Lev. xix. 15.
Accept the persons. Such there
can be no doubt is the meaning of the
phrase here, and so it is understood by
the LXX. Comp. Prov. xviii. 5; Lev.
xix. 15. Sometimes a different verb is
employed, as in Lev. xix. 15; Deut. i.
17 ; xvi. 19 ; Prov. xxiv. 23 ; xxviii. 21 ;
where such partiality is straitly forbidden.
Jehoshaphat in his address to the judges
(2 Chron. xix. 7) reminds them that
" with the Lord our God is no respect of
persons, imr taking of gifts."
3. Miserable. tSce note on xli. 1.
Nekdy, or " destitute"; the word {rdsh),
Delitzsch observes, docs not occur in
Hebrew literature earlier than the time
of David. It is persons such as these
who most of all need the protection of
the judge. Their very existence de
pends on his integrity. The orphan
who has lost his natural protectors, the
humble who have no powerful friends,
the poor who can purchase no counte
nance, to whom shall they look but to
God's vicegerent 1 And if he violates
his trust, God who is the " God of the
widow and the fatherless" (Ixviii. 6), and
who in the law declares, " Cursed be he
who perverteth the cause of the stranger,
the fatherless, and the widow" (Deut.
xxvii. ID), will not leave him unpunished.
VOL. II.

Do justice to ; ht. "justify," i.e.
give them their due.
5. Those expositors who consider ver.
2-6 to contain the words of God, sup
pose that here, either the Psalmist in
troduces his own reflections, or that a
pause takes place after \er. 4, during
which God waits to see whether those
whom he rebukes will listen to his re
buke. But the transition from the 2d
person to the 3d is so common, as to
render either exposition unnecessary.
It is one strain continued, only that now
the infatuation, as before the moral per
version, of the judges is described. The
expostulation falls dead without an echo.
The men are infatuated by their position,
and blinded by their own pride.
Thet know not, absolutely, as in
liii. 5 [6]; Ixxiii. 21 [22]. Comp. Isa.
i. 3. Moral blindness is the cause of
all sin.
In darkness, Prov. ii. 13.
Thet walk to and fro, such is the
force of the Hithp., denoting generally
the conversation, manner of life, etc. ;
here, according to Delitzsch, their carnal
security and self-seeking.
All the foundations, etc. See
note on xi. 3, and comp. Ixxv. 3 [4].
The dissolution of society is the inevi
table result of corruption in high pLaces.
6. I have said. The pronoun is
emphatic. If these are the words of
God, as most interpreters supjm^e, then
in pronouncing judgment upon the

14

106

PSALM LXXXIL

7 Arise, 0 God, judge thou the earth,
Por thou hast all the nations for thine hlheritance."

judges, he declares that it was he him
self who called them to their office, and
gave them the name, together with the
dignity which they enjoy. (This in
terpretation falls in readily with our
Lord's words in John x. 34.) If, on the
other hand, the Psalmist speaks, he ex
presses his own feelings and convictions.
" There was a time when I myself
thought that your office and dignity
clothed you with something of a super
human character, but you have degraded
it, and degraded yourselves ; you are but
mortal men, your tenure of office is but
for a little while." He does not add
what naturally suggests itself to us, and
what Calvin inserts here, that they must
shortly give an account before the bar
of God. If this is implied in ver. 7, it
is not after death. Our Lord appeals
to this verse in his argument with the
Jews when they charged him with blas
phemy, " because he being a man, made
himself God" (John x. 34-38). His
words are : " Is it not written in your
law, ' I said yc are gods "> If it called
them gods to whom the word of God
came — and the Scripture cannot be
broken — say ye of him whom the Father
sanctified, and sent into tho world, thou
blasphemest, because I said, I am the
Son of God ¦? " The argument is one
a niinori ad majus. How could they
charge him with blasphemy in claiming
to be the Son of God when their own
judges bad been styled gods. They
moreover were unrighteous judges (the

worthy ancestors it is implied of the un
righteous Pharisees and members of the
Sanhedrim, who were our Lord's bit
terest opponents), whereas he was one
whom the Father had sanctifled, and
sent into the world, and whose life and
works were a witness to his righteous
ness. By nature they had no right to
the name of Elobim, "gods," nor had
they proved themselves worthy of it by
their character. He was in character
as in nature divine. To them the word
of God had come {irphs ois S \6yos toS
0eov iyeyeTo), by which they had been
appointed to their office. He was him
self the Word of the Father. Their office
was but for a time, they were mortal
men, yet wearing, by divine permission,
a divine name. He had been with the
Father before he came into the world,
was by himsealcd and set apart {iiyiaaii'),
and sent to be not a judge, but the
Christ ; not one of many sons, but em
phatically the Son of God, the King of
an everlasting kingdom. Both in his
office and in his person he has far more
right to the title " Son of God," than
they have to that of " gods." There is
moreover further implied in this argu
ment that the Old Testament does con
tain hints, more or less obscure, preludes
and forcshadowings, which might have
arrested the thoughtful reader, as mys
teriously prefiguring that close and real
union between God and man which was
afterwards fully exhibited in the incar
nation.

' See General Introduction, pp. 77, 78.
* ins3: for this Ewald reads iriNB, and translates: " And fall, 0
ye princes, together" (lit. like one man), referring to Isa' Ixv. 25;
Ezra iii. 9; vii. 20, in support of his emendation. He makes this
change on the ground that the opposition here is not between princes
and gods, but between mortal men and gods. At the same time he
admits that the other expression " as one of the princes," i.e. like a
common prince, is a genuine Hebrew phrase. Comp. 2 Sam. ix. 11 ;
Judges xvi. 7, 1 1 ; 1 Kings xix. 2.

PSALM LXXXIII. 107
" The verb imj is construed herfe with 3 instead of the accus., after
the analogy of verbs of ruling, etc., like -'rs , ii'3 , the word itself
being employed to denote that, whilst Israel is God's peculiar inheri
tance, ^i^ri:, he has the same right, makes the same claim, to all the
nations.

PSALM LXXXIII.

We know of no period in the history of Israel when all the various
tribes here enumerated were united together for the extermination of
their enemy. The annals have preserved no record of a confederacy
so extensive. Hence it has been assumed that the enumeration in the
Psalm is merely designed to subserve the purposes of poetry, to heighten
the coloring, to represent the danger as even greater and more for
midable than it really was. It may h.ave been so. Divine inspiration
does not change the laws of the imagination, though it may control
them for certain ends. Or it may have been that the confederacy as
originally formed, and as threatening Israel, was larger than that which
actually advanced to the struggle. The wider the alliance, and the
more heterogeneous its elements, the more probable it is that some
would drop off, through dissensions, or jealousies, or the working of
timid counsels. But as this Psalm helps us to complete the narrative
in .fudges of the defeat of the Midianites (see note or ver. 11), so it
may itself supplement the narrative of the particular event which called
it forth. It may describe some event which we read in the history,
but which there assumes less formidable proportions, and in so doing it
may help us to complete the picture. If so, there can be very little
doubt with what portion of the history it best synchronizes. The con
federacy must be that which threatened Judah in the reign of Jehosha
phat, the account of which is given in 2 Chron. xx. There, as in the
Phalm, Moab and Ammon, " the children of Lot," are the leading
powers ; and though there is some doubt about the reading " other
beside the Ammonites" in verse 1, the Edomites are mentioned as
forming a part of the invading army. These might naturally include
bordering Arabian tribes, mentioned more in detail in the Psalm. The
great hiatus in the narrative (supposing this to be the occasion to
which the Psalm refers) is that it omits all mention of the western
nations as joining the confederacy. But on the hypothesis of any
other historical reference at all, some hiatus will be found to exist. It

108 PSALM LXXXIII,
is so if, with Hitzig, Olshausen, Grimm, and others, we ri f er the Psalm
to the events mentioned in 1 Mace. v. 1-8, where only Edomites,
Ammonites, and Bajanites (a name as yet unexplained) are mentioned;
nor is the difficulty got over even if, with Hitzig, we add to this the
subsequent campaign of Judas Jlaccabeus, recorded in the same chapter,
verses 3-54. Those who, like Ewald, place the Psalm in Persian times,
and suppose it to be aimed at the attempts of Sanballat, Tobias, and
others, to prevent the rebuilding of Jerusalem, are not more successful.
The former of these views compels us to take Assyria (Asshur) as a
name of Syria ; the latter as a synonym for Persia. In neither case
do " the children of Lot " occupy the prominent place ; nor can we
account for the mention of Amalekites, either in the time of Nehemiah,
or in the time of the Maccabees. (See 1 Chron. iv. 43.) The more
common opinion which connects the Psalm with Jehoshaphat's struggle
is certainly preferable to either of the views just mentioned.
One expression in Jehoshaphat's prayer bears a close resemblance
to the language of the Psalm in verse 11, when he prays, " Behold, I
say, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession which
thou hast given us to inherit" (2 Chron. xx. 11). The remark with
which the narrative ends : " And the fear of God was on all the king
doms of those countries when they had heard that the Lord fought
against the enemies of Israel," is almost like a recorded answer to the
prayer with which the Psalm closes.
It has been conjectured, as the Psalm is said to be a " Psalm of
Asaph," that it may have been composed by Jahaziel, the " Levite of
the sons of Asaph," who encouraged Jehoshaphat's army before it went
out to battle ; and that the Psalm itself may have been chanted by the
band of singers whom the kuig appointed to precede the army on its
march (2 Chron. xx. 21). But no argument can be built upon the title.
See General Introduction, Vol. i. pp. 77, 78. One thing, however, is
clear, the confederacy of which the Psalm speaks was formed before
Assyria became a leading power. Moab and Ammon hold the fore
most place, while Asshur joins them only as an ally : " they are an
arm to the children of Lot." The poet is fully alive to the dauber
which threatens his nation. Look where he may the horizon is black
with gathering clouds. Judah is alone, and his enemies are compassing
him about. The hosts of invaders are settling like swarms of locusts
on the skirts of the land. East, south, and west, they are mustering
to the battle. The kindred, but ever hostile, tribe of Edom on the
border, issuing from their mountain fastnesses ; the Arab tribes of the
desert ; the old hereditary foes of Israel, Moab and Ammon ; the

PSALM LXXXin. 109
Philistines, long since humbled and driven back to their narrow strip
of territory by the sea, yet still apparently formidable, even Tyre for
getting her ancient friendship, — all are on the march, all, like hunters,
are hemming in the lion who holds them at bay.
It is against this formidable confederacy that the Psalmist prays.
He prays that it may be with them as with the other enemies of
Israel, with Jabin and Sisera, in days of old. But he prays for more
than deliverance or victory. He prays that the name of Jehovah may
be magnified, and that all may seek that name. Two expressions, in
fact, give the key to the Psalm — show us the attitude of the poet in
presence of the danger : ver. 5, " They are confederate against thee ; "
ver. 18, " Let them know that thou art most high over all the earth."
The Psalm consists of two principal divisions :
I. The first describes the magnitude of the danger, and enumerates
the foes who are gathering on all sides, hemming in Judah, and intend
ing by mere force of numbers utterly to crush and destroy it (ver. 1—8).
H. The next contains the prayer for their complete overthrow, with
an appeal to God's former mighty acts on behalf of his people when
threatened by their enemies (ver. 9-18).
[A Song. A Psalm of Asaph,."]
1 0 God, keep not silence.
Hold not thy peace, and be not still, 0 God.
2 For lo, thine enemies make a tumult,
And they that hate thee have lifted up (their) head.
3 Against thy people they plot craftily,''
And take counsel together against thy hidden ones.
4 They say," Come, let us cut them off that they be no more
a nation,
And that the name of Israel be no more in remembrance."
1. Keep not silence; lit. "Let Have lifted up (their) head. Cf
(there) not (be) silence to thee," as in iii. 3 [4]; xxvii. 6 ; and Judges viii. 28.
isa. Ixii. 7. In both places the LXX 3. Plot craftilt; lit. "make crafty
have made the same blunder, rendering (their) plot, or secret consultation."
here tIs dnoiaei]a€Tai aoi, and there oHk Thy hidden ones, those whom God
i<TTiv Spioios. On the general sense of holds in the hollow of his hand ; those
this verse see note on xxviii. 1. to whom he is a wall of fire round about
2. Thine enemies, in itself a ground them, that none may do them hurt;
of appeal and of consolation. those of whom he says, he that touchcth
Make a tumult ; lit. " roar like the you touchcth the apple of mine eye
waves of the sea." See the same word Comp. xvii. 8 ; xxvii. 5 ; xxxi. 20 [-21 ]
in xlvi. 3 [4]. 4. That thet be no moke a nation.

110

PSALM LXXXin.

5 Por they have taken counsel with (one) heart together,
Against thee they are confederate : —
6 The tents of Edom, and the Ishmaelites,
Moab and the Hagarenes ;
7 Gebal and Ammon, and Amalek,
Philistia, with them that dwell at Tyre.
8 Asshur also is joined with them.
They have been an arm to the children of Lot.

Comp. Jer. xlviii. 2 ; Isa. vii. 8 ; and
similar phrases in xvii. 1 ; xxv. 2. They
would in their fury blot out Israel from
the map of the world, or, as Calvin says :
" It is as if they had formed the design
of subverting the counsel of God on
which the continued existence of the
church had been founded."
.5. With one heart together. The
adverb seems to be used almost as an
adjective (LXX 4v bp.ovo[^ iTrtToavrd), so
that the phrase would an.swcr to that in
1 Chron. xii. 38. But perhaps it would
be simpler and more certain, with Hup
feld and Hengst., to render: " They have
taken counsel in {iiLcir) heart together,"
(Jerome, corde pariter,) the heart being
the source of their machinations. Comp.
V. 9 [10] ; l.xiv. 6 [7].
Against thee, as in ver. 3 "against
thy people." God and his people are
one. So onr Lord says to Saul, "Why
persecutest thou me ? "
6-8. The enumeration of the confed
erate tribes. First, those on the south
and east. Then, those on the west,
Philistia and Tyre. Lastly, the Assy
rians in tho north, not yet regarded as
a formidable power, but merely as allies
of Moab anil Ammon.
6. The texts, as properly descriptive
of the nomad Arabian tribes.
Edom. So in 2 Chron. xx. 2, "Edom"
should be read instead of "Aram"
(Syria), the confusion of the two words
being discernible elsewhere.
The Ishmaelites, according to Gen.
xxv. 18, were spread over the whole
tract of country south of Palestine,
lying between Eirypt and the Persian
Gulf. Part of this territory is occupied
by Amalekites in 1 Sam. xv. 7.

The Hagarenes dwelt to the east of
Palestine in the land of Gilead. They
were driven out by the tribe of Reuben
in the time of Saul (1 Chron. v. 10,
18-20). 7. Gebal, usually supposed to denote
the mountainous country south of the
Dead Sea, in the neighborhood of Petra
(Arab. Dgebel). Mr. Ffoulkes, indeed,
in Smith's Diet, of the Bible, identifies it
with the Gebal of Ezekiel (xxvii. 9), a
maritime town of Phenicia. He says,
" Jehoshaphat had in the beginning of
his reign humbled the Philistines and
Arabians (2 Chron. xvii. 9, 10), and still
more recently had assisted Ahab against
the Syrians (ibid. ch. xviii.). Now, ac
cording to the poetic language of the
Psalmist, there were symptoms of a
general rising against him. On the
south the Edomites, Ishmaelites, and
Hagarenes; on the south-east Moab;
and north-east Ammon. Along the
whole line of the western coast (and,
with Jehoshaphat's maritime projects
this would naturally disturb him most),
(see 2 Chron. xx. 36), the Amalekites,
Philistines, or Phcnicians and inhabi
tants of Tyre, ,to their frontier town
Gebal ; with Assur, i.e. the Syrians or
Assyrians, from the more distant north.
It may be observed that the Ashurites
are mentioned in connection with Gebal
no less (ver. 6) in the prophecy than in
the Psalm." But the objection to this
identification is the position which Gebal
here occupies in the enumeration of the
tribes. 8. Asshur. If the Psalm was written
in Jehoshaphat's reign, this is the first
mention of the Assyrians since the daj-s
of Nimrod, and here evidently they hold

PSALM LXXXin.

Ill

9 Do thou to them as unto Midian,
As unto Sisera, as unto Jabin at the torrent of Kishon,
10 "Who were destroyed at En-dor,
Who became dung for the land.
11 Make them, their nobles, like 'Oreb and like Zeeb ;
Yea, all their princes, like Zebah and like Zalmunna,
12 Who said : '' Let us take to ourselves
The pastures of God in possession."

a subordinate place. We do not hear
of the Assyrian kingdom as a great
power formidable to Israel till the time
of Menaham, who " was reduced to the
necessity of buying off an invasion of
the Assyrians (the first incursion of that
people), under Pul" (2 Kings xv. 19).
Thet have been an arm. Comp.
xliv. 4 ; Isa. xxxiii. 2. This agrees with
the statement in Chronicles that Moab
and Ammon were the leaders of the
confederacy. 9. JIiDi AN, mentioned by anticipation,
with reference, not to the example which
immediately follows, but to that in ver.
U. The victory of Gideon over the
Midianites was one of the most glorious
in the national history, one the memory
of which was fondly cherished. When
Isaiah would describe the victories which
are to precede the peaceful reign of
Messiah, he can compare the overthrow
of the enemy to nothing so well as to
that on "the day of Midian." The
allusion to it here may also have been
suggested by the fact, that many of the
enemies now arrayed against Israel were
the same as on that occasion ; for with
the Midianites were the "Amalekites
and all the children of the east " (Judges
vi. 36). See Isa. ix. 4 [3] ; x. 26 ; Hab.
iii. 7.
Sisera . . . Jabin. See the history
in Judges iv., v.
The torrent of Kishon, which
swept away the corpses of the enemy
(Judges V. 21). Others, " the valley or
Wady of Kishon " : the Hebrew word
means both.
1 0. En-dor is not mentioned in Judges,
but the Psalm shows us that tradition
associated with that spot the death of

the two chiefs. It is a considerable, but
now deserted village, four miles south ol
Tabor. The name occurs besides, Josh.
xvii. 11 ; 1 Sam. xxviii. 7.
11. 'Oreb and Zeeb, the two
" princes," or probably " generals of the
army," whilst Zebah and Zalmunna have
the title of " kings " (Judges vii. 25 ;
viii. 5, 6). The allusions here and in
Isa. X. 26 help us to complete the nar
rative in Judges. Isaiah implies that
the slaughter must have been awful be
yond anything that history records, for
" he places it in the same rank with the
two most tremendous disasters recorded
in the whole of the history of Israel —
the destruction of the Egyptians in the
Red Sea, and of the army of Sennache
rib." Here the discomfiture and flif,'ht
of the Midianites is prominent. " In
imagery both obvious and vivid to every
native of the gusty hills and plains of
Palestine, though to us comparatively
unintelligible, the Psalmist describes
them as driven over the uplands of
Gilead like the clouds of chatF blown
from the threshing-floors ; chased away
like the spherical masses of dry weeds
which course over the plains of I'.sdraelon
and Philistia — flying with the dreadful
hurry and confusion of the flames, that
rush and leap from tree to tree and hill
to hill when the wooded mountains of a
tropical country are by chance i};nited."
See the article " Oreb," by Mr. Grove,
in Smith's Did. of the liiblp.
12. Pastures. Others, "habitations,"
which Gesen. gives as the first meaning.
But there is no reason to depart from
the usual signification. See on Ixxix. 7.
Comp. xxiii. 2. Israel is God's flock
lying down in his pastures. The figure

112

PSALM LXXXin.

13 0 my God, make them as a rolling thing.
As stubble before the wind.
14 As a fire that burneth a forest,
And as a flame that setteth the mountains in a blaze,
15 So pursue them with thy tempest.
And with thy hurricane make them afraid.
16 Pill their faces with confusion,
That they may seek thy name, 0 Jehovah.
17 Let them lie ashamed, and afraid for evermore.
Yea, let them be confounded and perish,
18 And let them know that thou, (even)thy name Jehovah alone,
Art most high over all the earth.

accoras with the usage of Psalms as
cribed to Asaph. See General Intro
duction, Vol. i. pp. 77, 78.
13. As a rolling thing. So the
same word is rendered by the E.V. in
the parallel passage, Isa. xvii. 13.
And (they) shall be chased as the chaff
of the mountains before the wind.
And like a rolling thing before the
whirlwind.
Here both the A.V. and Prayer-book
versions have " as a wheel," and so all
the ancient versions, and this Hupfeld,
maintains is the only correct rendering.
But the parallel rather suggests " spher
ical masses of weeds" (as Mr. Grove
renders), chaff, dust, anything driven in
rolling masses by the wind. And so
Gesen., Ewald, Delitzsch, etc.
14. The imago in this verse is also
found in Isaiah. See ix. 18 [17]; x.
17, 18; and comp. Zech. xii. 6 Hup
feld connects this with the preceding
verse, and so supposes a confusion in
the figure (such as he finds also in xxi.
9), the sense being, " 0 my God, make
them as a forest which is burned with
fire." But is is far better to take ver.
14 and ver. 15 as the two members of
the comparison, and then there is no
need to resort to such metonymy.
15. With this verse and what follows
comp. xxxv. 4-6.
16. The object with which the Ps.ilmist
prays for the divine judgment upon the
foes who are gathering to swallow up his
people is remarkable. It is " that they

may seek the name of Jehovah, that they
may know (ver. 18) that he is most high
over all the earth." This is the nobler
aspiration which mingles with the prayer
for vengenance. The man in danger,
feeling his own and his country's peril,
desires to see his enemies destroyed with
a slaughter as terrible, a discomfiture as
complete, as that on "the d.iy of Midian."
The man who loves and fears Jehovah
desires to see others, even his enemies,
love and fear him too. A pious English
man in Lucknow, or Delhi, or Cawn-
pore, during the Indian mutiny, might
have understood how possible it was to
reconcile the two parts of the prayer.
The prayer in ver. 18 might, indeed, only
mean that by their overthrow they should
be forced to acknowledge the power and
greatness of Jehovah, an external sub
jection as in xxxi. 17 [18], but the prayer
that they should seek his name must mean
more than this. TheendofallGod'sjudg-
ments, as of all history, is the same, that
all should confess that Jehovah is One,
and bis name One (Zech. xiv. 9).
18. Thou, tht name, i.e. thou who
dost reveal thyself as Jehovah. Calvin
observes that the pronoun is emphatic,
because there is implied a comparison
between the true God, the God of Israel,
and all false gods, "as though the
prophet had said, Lord make them feel
that their idols which they have made
for themselves are nothing." The con
struction is that of a double nominative.
See note on xliv 2.

PSALM LXXXIV. 113
° See General Introduction, Vol. i. p. 77.
'' liD , here used in a bad sense, as in Ixiv. 3, is the object of the
verb, the constr. being the same as in Iv. 14 [15], "to make counsel
sweet" ; so here " to make counsel crafty." In other places, it is true
the Hiph. of this verb occurs intransitively, and so Hengst. would take
it here, '' they act craftily in reference to their counsel " ; but this is
unnecessary. See on xiv. 1. In the next clause the Hithp. >i3S^ri'i ,
which occurs only here, expresses the mutual deliberation.

PSALM LXXXIV.

In its general character this Psalm very nearly resembles Psalm
xlii.-xliii. Like that, it is the ardent outpouring of a man of no
common depth and tenderness of feeling, the expression of a devoted
love for the house and worship of Jehovah. Like that, it is written
under circumstances of suffering and depression, at a time when the
Psalmist was in exile, or at a distance from the sanctuary. Like that,
it touches, and even more fully, on the celebration of the national
feast, and pictures the crowd of pilgrims on their way to the holy city.
In both Psalms there is the same deep pathos, the same " exquisite
delicacy and tenderness of thought," in both the same strain of remem
brance and of anticipation, half sad, half joyful. Certain turns of
expression are the same in both. Compare verse 2 here with xiii. 1, 2 ;
verse 4 [5] here, " they will still (or yet) praise thee," with xiii. 5, " for
I shall yet praise him " ; the name of God as the " living God," verse 2
here, and xiii. 2 (occurring nowhere else in the Psalter) ; the phrase,
" appear before God," verse 7 here, and xiii. 2 ; " thy dwellings " or
'• tabernacles," verse 1 here, and xliii. 3. But with all these resem
blances, there is this difference, that here nothing is said to define
exactly the locality in which the Psalm was written ; nor is there any
allusion to the taunts of enemies, to " men of deceit and wrong,'' such
as meet us in xlii.-xliii.
From the general likeness in structure and sentiment and coloring
of language, and yet perfect distinctness and originality, of the two
poems, Ewald is doubtless right in concluding that both are by the same
author. Whether he is right in inferring from verse 9 [10] of this
Psalm that the author was a king, has been questioned. The form of
expression points that way, and scarcely admits of a different explana
tion (see note on the verse). Ewald supposes the king to have been
VOL. II. 15

114 PSALM LXXXIV.
Jehoiachin (or Jeconiah), "who, according to Jer. xxii. 28, etc., was
no contemptible person, and who, after having been long in exile (and
in confinement), was at last restored to a place of honor, 2 Kings xxv
27-30." But see more in the introduction to Psalm xiii.
The former part of this Psalm may also be compared with Psalm
ixiii., and there are expressions which connect it with Psalms xxvii.
and Ixv.
Hengstenberg, who is a zealous upholder of the inscriptions, maintains
that the Psalm was composed by some member of the Levitical family
of the Korahites who accompanied David when he fled from Absalom
to the east side of the Jordan. But his explanation of the fact is
not very intelligible. He says : " The ninth verse renders it evident
that the speaker is the anointed of the Lord. This fact can be recon
ciled with the title, which ascribes the Psalm to the sons of Korah,
only by the supposition that it was sung from the soul of the anointed."
Mr. Plumptre, who gives reasons for concluding that all the Korahite
Psalms were written during the reign of Hezekiah by members of that
Levitical family, considers the Psalm to have been written on the same
occasion as Psalm xiii., and supposes that " a devout Levite or company
of Levites was hindered by the presence of Sennacherib's army from
going up at the appointed seasons to take their turn in the ministrations
of the temple." He draws attention to " the touch which indicates the
possible familiarity with the temple precincts. The Levite minstrel
remembers ' the sparrow and the swallow ' that fluttered about the
courts of the sanctuary there, and built their nests upon its eaves, as
they now love to haunt the enclosure of the Mosque of Omar." He
observes what new force his words acquire, " I had rather be a door
keeper in the house of my God," etc., if we regard them not as the
vague indeterminate wish of any devout worshipper, but remember that
they fell from the lips of one of those sons of Korah " whose special
function it was to be ' keepers of the gate of the tabernacle ' in the time
of David (1 Chron. ix. 19), and sure to be appointed, therefore, to an
analogous service in the temple.'' And he concludes that " this Psalm,
like Psalm xiii., was written by some Levite detained against his will
' in the land of Jordan ' and ' on the slopes of Hermon,' somewhere, i.e.
in the upland Gilead country, and that then the recollection of past
journeys to Jerusalem would bring back the scenes of travel throuo-h the
valley of the Jordan, which, with its deep depression and tropical climate,
had from the earliest date been famous for its balsam-weeping trees.
Some parched rock-ravine on the way would be that which the Psalmist
would think of as having been watered by the tears of pilgrims."
(Biblical Studies, pp. 163-106.)

PSALM LXXXIV. 115
The Psalm consists of two principal divisions; the first of which
dwells on the blessedness of God's service in his house, the supreme
happiness of those who are permitted to take their part iu it (ver. 1-7) ;
the second consists of a prayer that the Psalmist himself, though shut
out from access to the sanctuary, may nevertheless find God to be his
sun and shield (ver. 8-12). Or we may divide the whole into three
parts, thus : ver. 1-3 (or 4) ; ver. 4 (or 5) to 7 ; ver. 8-12. If we
make the first strophe end with ver. 3, then the first strophe and the
last resemble one another in structure so far, that both begin and end
with the same address to God, " O Jehovah of hosts " (slightly varied
in ver. 8). On the other hand, ver. 4 completes the subject of the first
strophe (see note on the verse).
Hupfeld, Delitzsch, De Wette, and others, follow the division sug
gested by the Selah, and arrange the strophes accordingly : ver. 1-4 ;
ver. 5-8; ver. 9-12. But it is quite impossible to regard ver. 8 as
the natural conclusion of the second strophe.
[Por the Precentor. Upon the Gittith." A Psalm of the Sons of Korah,'']
1 How lovely are thy dwellings, 0 Jehovah (of) hosts !
2 My soul longeth, yea even fainteth, for the courts of Jehovah ;
My heart and my flesh cry aloud to the living God.
1. Tht DWELLINGS. The plural may Soul ... heart ... flesh. Even
either be used to denote the several parts more strongly than there (where "heart"
of the sanctuary (see on Ixviii. 35), or is omitted) marking the whole man,
perhaps rather poetically, instead of the with every faculty and affection. The
singular. Comp. xliii. 3 ; xlvi. 4 [5] ; verbs are also very expressive. The
cxxxii. .5, 8. And the same may be said first, longeth, means literally, " hath
of the plural " courts," in the next verse grown pale," as with the intensity of
(which Mendelssohn renders by the the feeling ; the second, fainteth, is
singular, Vorhof). But see General In- more exactly, " faileth," or "is con-
troduction. Vol. i. p. 79. sumcd" (Job xix. 27).
2. By the courts, that part of the Crt aloud. The verb in this con-
building is meant which was for the jugation is used elsewhere of a joyful
people at large. (So in Isa. i. 12, "Who utterance, and some would retain this
hath required this at your hand to tread meaning here, as if, even amidst the
my courts." Comp. Ixv. 4 [5] ; cxvi. 19.) sadness of exile, there mingled with his
No inference can be drawn from the longing a joy as he remembers, and
plural, that the reference is to the court anticipates, in spite of all that is adverse,
of the people and the court of the priests communion with God in Zion. Jlen-
in the temple (as the Rabbis explain), delssohn, keeping to this meaning of
and that consequently the temple was the verb, renders: "My soul ... fainteth
already built. On this intense expres- for the court of the Eternal, (where)
sionof personal affection to God and his heart and flesh shout aloud {jauehzen)
worship, see note on Ixiii. 1. to the God of life." But this ignores

116

PSALM LXXXIV.

3 Yea the sparrow hath found a house.
And the swallow a nest for herself where " she hath laid
her young,
(Even) * thine altars, 0 Jehovah (of) hosts.
My King and my God !

the pronominal suffixes. However, the
cry of prayer may be all that is meant.
So the noun from the same root is fre
quently used, and so the verb (in the
Kal conjug.) of the cry of distress (Lam.
ii. 19).
Living God. See note on xiii. 2,
the only other place in the Psalms where
God is so named. This particular form
of expression, 'El Chav occurs but twice
besides in the Bible (Josh. iii. 10 ; Hos.
i. 10). The similar name, '.E/o/ii'mCAa^tm,
is found, Deut. v. 26 (the first use of the
epithet) ; 1 Sam. xvii. 26, 36 ; Jer. x. 10;
xxiii. 36; and the corresponding Chaldee,
Dan. vi. 26. A third combination of
the noun and adjective, Elohim Chay,
occurs in 2 Kings xix. 4, 16, and the
corresponding passage in Isa. xxxvii. 4,
17. In the New Testament the name
" Living God " is found in St. Matthew's
and St. John's Gospels, in the speech of
Paul and Barnabas in the Acts (xiv. 1.5),
in several of St. Paul's Epistles, four
times in the Epistle to the Hebrews, and
once in the Revelation.
3. Mt Kino and mt God. Thus
joined also in v. 2. It will be seen from
my rendering of this verse, which coin
cides with that of the E.V., that I do
not find in it that " insuperable difficulty "
which has presented itself to some of the
modern commentators. The Psalmist,
at a distance from Zion, envies the birds
who are free to build their nests in the
immediate precincts of the temple.
They have a happiness which be cannot
enjoy. They are nearer to God, so it
seems to him in his despondency, than
he is. This is all that is meant. Nor
can I see anything " trivial " in such a
thought. " Thine altars " is a poetical
way of saying " thy house." It is mani
festly a special term instead of a general.
Tet it has been seriously argued, that

no birds could or would ever be suffered
to build their nests on the altar. Surely
this sort of expression, which is hardly
a figure, is common enough. A parte
potiorifit denominatio. We say, " There
goes a sail." What should we think of
a man who should argue that u, sail
cannot go f The altars mean the temple.
There was " No jutty frieze,
Buttress, nor coigne of vantage, but
these birds
Had made their pendent bed,"
not to mention that trees grew within
the sacred enclosure, where birds might
have built their nests. The comparison
between the lot of the birds, happy in
their nearness to the house of God, and
the Psalmist far removed and in exile,
is suggested rather than developed ; but
it is sufficiently obvious ; hence there is
no need to adopt any of the different
interpretations of the last clause of the
verse which have been proposed, in order
to escape a purely imaginary difficulty.
Such as (1) "Oh for thine altars, 0 Je
hovah," etc., as if the meaning were :
" The birds have their nests, their homes,
their shelter; oh that I could find my
place of refuge and shelter in thy temple ! "
Or (2) supposing an ellipsis or omission
of certain words, " The sparrow hath
found an house, etc., . . . but I would flnd
thine altars," etc., or, " When shall I come
(as in xiii. 6) to thine altars ? " Or (3)
by a transposition (which Hupfeld pro
poses), so that the last two clauses of
ver. 3 [4] would stand after the first
clause of ver. 4 [5] :
"Blessed are they that dwell in thy house,
(Even) thinealtars (or, bythine altars),
O Jehovah of hosts.
My King and my God ;
They will be alway praising thee."
(4) The most improbable view of all is

PSALM LXXXIV.

117

4 Blessed are they that dwell in thy house !
They will be still praising thee. [Selah.j
5 Blessed are the men whose strength is in thee,
In whose heart are (the) ways,"

that of Hengst. and Delitzsch, who sup
pose that the Psalmist speaks of himself
under the figure of a bird. If that be so,
what is the meaning of the allusion to
the young ones f They are a pointless
addition to the figure. Again, what is
the force of the particle "yea" (CS)
with which ver. 3 opens, unless it be to
institute a comparison and a conclusion
a minori? Lastly, how can the Psalmist
express this longing for God's house in ~
ver. 2, and in ver. 3 say that he has found
(observe the perfect tense) a home and
a rest there f This has been well argued
by Hupfeld, who, however, himself misses
the simple and obvious explanation of
the verse.
4. It is doubtful whether this verse
should be regarded as closing the first
strophe, or commencing the second.
The Selah has been urged in favor of
the former view, but no stress can be
laid upon this, as in the very next Psalm
it is inserted in the middle of a strophe,
and in some instances, as has been
noticed elsewhere, even in the middle of
a verse. The chief argument in favor
of that division is, that thus the thought
of ver. 3 is completed. Even the birds
are happy, who find shelter beneath that
sacred roof ; far more happy — truly
blessed — are they who dwell there, ren
dering the reasonable service of a thankful
heart. Tfie blessedness of God's house
is that there men praise him. This it
was that made that house so precious to
the Psalmist. And what Christian man
can climb higher than this, — to find in
the praise of God the greatest joy of his
life? Thet will be STiLLPRAisiNG thee,
i.e. "always, continually." Others, who
suppose that a contrast is implied be
tween the gloomy present and the more
hopeful future, render, " They will yet
praise thee," taking the particle in the
same sense as in xiii. 5 [6], 10 [11].

5-7. But not only blessed are they
who dwell in the holy place in God's
city, and near to his house ; blessed are
they who can visit it, with the caravan
of pilgrims, at the great national festivals.
They cherish the remembrance of such
seasons. Every spot of the familiar
road, every station at which they have
rested, lives in their heart. The path
may be dry and dusty, through a lonely
and sorrowful valley, but nevertheless
they love it. The pilgrim band, rich in
hope,, forget the trials and difficulties of
the way ; hope changes the rugged and
stony waste into living fountains. The
vale blossoms as if the sweet rain of
heaven had covered it with blessings.
Hope sustains them at every step ; from
station to station they renew their
strength as they draw nearer to the end
of their journey, till at last they appear
before God, present themselves as his
worshippers, in his sanctuary in Zion.
Such appears to be the general scope of
the ]>assage, though the meaning of the
second clause, " In whose heart are the
ways," has been much questioned. (1)
The Chaldee renders the verse : " Blessed
is the man whose strength is in thy word,
who has confidence in his heart." This
preserves the parallelism, " strength "...
" confidence." It probably rested on a
figurative interpretation of the word
" highways," roads carefully constructed
being firm, strong, safe, and hence an
image of confidence. (2) Others again,
as Kimchi, understand by "the ways,"
the " commandments of God " (in which
men are said to walk), and these are in
their heart, because they love and medi
tate thereon. (3) Hengst. explains the
ways or roads constructed in the heart
as the second condition of salvation
(the first being that a man has his
strength in God), and thinks that the
expression designates zealous moral
effort, righteousness, etc. ; the heart of

118

PSALM LXXXIV.

6 Who passing through the vale of weeping, make it a place
of springs ;
Yea, the early rain*' covereth (it) with blessings.
7 They go from strength to strength,
(Every one of them) appeareth before God in Zion.
8 0 Jehovah, God (of) hosts, hear my prayer.
Give ear, 0 God of Jacob. [Selah.j

man being naturally like a pathless and
rocky wilderness, in which roads are
levelled by repentance. He quotes Ps.
1. 23 ; Prov. xvi. 17 ; Isa. xl. 3, 4. But
these interpretations do not fall in with
the general strain and tenor of ver. 5-7.
The WATS (lit. "highways") are those
traversed by the caravans of pilgrims —
the ways to the sanctuary. No wonder
that in all ages men have rejoiced to find
in this beautiful picture an image of the
Christian life. To what can that so
aptly be compared as to a pilgrimage in
a vale of tears 1 Is it not by the hope
of appearing before God in the heavenly
Jerusalem that the Christian is sustained 1
Does he not find fountains of refreshment
in the wilderness of the world ? Does
not God's grace visit him like the sweet
refreshing shower from heaven ? Does
he not advance from strength to strength,
from grace to grace, from glory to glory,
till he reaches his journey's end ?
6. The vale of weeping. The
meaning of the word "Baca" is doubt
ful, but all the ancient versions render
it by " weeping," and according to the
Masora it is the same as " Bacah,"
weeping, the word being written here
only with N. Comp. xxiii. 4, "valley
of the shadow of death." Burckhardt
tells us tliat he found a valley in the
neighborhood of Sinai, which bore* the
name of " the valley of weeping."
Others, as Delitzsch and Ewald, take
Baca to be the name of a tree, as it is
in 2 Sam. v. 24 ; 1 Chron. xiv. 4 ; and
either (as the E.V. there renders) "a
mulberry-tree," or more probably some
species of balsam-tree, dropping its tears
of balm, and so taking its name from
the Hebrew root which signifies " weep
ing." In this case some sandy valley

is meant, where these trees grew, and
which took its name from them. With
the love for detecting allusive and, as it
were, ominous meanings in proper names,
which was characteristic of Hebrew
thought at all times, . . . the Psalmist
plays upon its etymological significance.
Plumptre, Biblical Studies, p. 165. The
meaning of the verse is, that the faith
and hope and joy of the pilgrims make
the sandy waste a place of fountains,
and then (this is the divine side of the
picture) God from heaven sends down
the rain of his grace. The word denotes
the soft, gentle autumnal rain (Joel ii.
23) which fell after the crops were sown.
Thus the vale of weeping becomes a
vale of joy. " Compare for the use of
the same figure in a simpler form, Isa.
xxxv. 7; Hos. ii. 15 [17 Heb.]. Tho
entrance into Palestine is, as a matter of
fact, waste and arid." — Ewald.
A PLACE of springs. This is the
strict meaning of the word, rather than
" a spring " or " fountains." Comp.
cvii. 35.
7. From strength to strength,
ever renewing it, in spite of the toils of
the way, and in view of the journey's
end, as Isa. xl. 31. Comp. John i. 16,
and 2 Cor. iii. 18, and similarly Rom.
1. 17, fK iriffTeus els iriffTiv, "from first
to last of faith, and nothing but faith."
Appeareth. See note on xiii. 2. Cf.
especially Ex. xxiii. 17 ; xxxiv. 23.
8. The Psalmist has .pictured to him
self the blessedness of those who dwell
in the holy city, in immediate proximity
to God's house, the blessedness of those
who can join the pilgrim-caravans.
Now he pours out a prayer for himself
that he, though distant, may share the
same blessing.

PSALM LXXXIV.

119

9 See, 0 God our shield.
And look upon the face of thine anointed ;
10 For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand (elsewhei e) ;
I had rather be a door-keeper in the house of my God,
than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11 For Jehovah God is a sun and a shield,
Jehovah giveth grace and glory.
No good thing doth he withhold from them that walk
uprightly.
12 0 Jehovah (of) hosts,
Blessed is the man that trusteth in thee !

9. See (absol. as in Ixxx. 14 [15]).
Our shield, and again ver. 11 ; so
God is called iu iii. 3, where see note,
xxviii. 7, etc.
Look upon the face op thine
anointed. This following immediately
upon the words in ver. 8, "hear my
prayer," favors the supposition that the
Psalm was written by the king. So
also does the use of the pronoun of the
first person in ver. 10, introduced by the
conjunction " for." Another might,
however, offer the prayer on his behalf.
See XX., xxi,, Ixi. 6 [7].
10. Be a door-keeper; lit. "lie on
the threshold" (LXX Tra.pa.ppnm7aSai),
or " busy oneself on the threshold " ; the
lowest place, the meanest office in God's
house is a happiness and an honor be
yond all that the world has to offer.
Delitzsch sees in the comparison with
" tents " rather than " palaces," an in
timation that the ark of God was still
in a tent, and the temple not yet built.
11. Jehovah God (Elohim). This
form of the divine name is characteristic,
as is well known, of the section (Gen. ii.
14-iii. 24, where it first occurs. We
find it again in Ex. ix. 30, and in David's
prayer, 2 Sam. vii. 22. This is the only
passage in the Psalter where it is em
ployed. In Ixviii. 1 8 [ 1 6] it is the shorter

form "Jah Elohim." In Ixxxv. 8 the
order of the two names is different,
" The Elohim Jehovah." In Ixxi. 5,
and in a large number of passages in
the prophets where the E.V. has " the
Lord God," this represents the Hebrew
"Adonai Jehovah."
A SUN. This is the only place where
God is directly so called. In other pas
sages we have the more general name of
"Light," as in xxvii. 1. Comp., how
ever, Isa. Ix. 19, 20; Rev. xxi. 23; and
the expression, " Sun of Righteousness,"
as applied to the Messiah, Mai. iii. 20
[iv. 2 in E.V.]. Instead of "Jehovah
God is a sun and a shield," the LXX
and Theod. have, " The Lord God loveth
mercy and truth."
Uprightlt ; lit. " in perfectness " ;
see XV. 2. To such persons God will
show his salvation, all that is comprised
in those two great words, " grace " and
"glory," whether they can enter his
earthly house or not. And the Psalmist
rises at last to the joyful conviction,
not only that they are blessed who
dwell in God's house (ver. 4), or they
who swell the festal throng on their way
to that house (ver. 5), but they who,
whether they worship in it or not, are
one with him by faith : " Blessed is the
man that trusteth in thee."

' See on the title of Psalm viii., and General Introduction, Vol. i.
p. 71.
" See on title of xiii., and General Introduction, Vol. i. p. 79.

120 PSALM LXXXIV.
" ^cs , where, as in xcv. 9 ; Num. xx. 13. The two names of birds
here mentioned are found together also in Prov. xxvi. 2. The Chald.
render " dove " and " turtle," but the rendering as above is preferable.
See the words in Gesen. Thesaur.
^ 'a-PK . The nN may be, as I have taken it, the sign of the accus.
(in appos.), or it may be a preposition, by, near. In this last sense it
is taken by the Syr., and so Ewald.
" nifcC's . As the word stands, it can only mean highways, roads,
and here, the roads leading to the sanctuary. So the LXX, seeing a
reference to the caravans going up to the yearly feast, render, dva/Sda-eK
iv TTJ KapSia. avTov. The Syro-hex. supplies the pronoun : " Thy path
is in their heart." The Chald., we have seen, gives the word a figura
tive meaning, confidence. This meaning Hupfeld thinks is required
by the parallelism, and he proposes to read nibcs , the plur. of the
noun nips , which occurs in this sense, Job iv. 6. The plur. of abstract
nouns is frequently used for the sing., and this plur. is found in a
proper name. Josh. xix. 22.
* fTiia . The same word occurs in Joel ii. 23, of the autumnal rain
(elsewhere !T;;ii) ; here, perhaps, any rain as softening and fertilizing.
The older versions generally took the word in the sense of teacher,
lawgiver. LXX, 6 vopoOeriLv ; Symm., 6 vTroSeiKT-rjs ; E'. 6 cfxuri^oiv ; S.
o SiSacTKov ; Jerome, doctor ; but Aquila has tt/dwi/aos. Herder under
stands by it the leader of the caravan.
ns";^ . Hiph. with double accus. (the nearer object being here
omitted) as in Ixv. 13. Hengst. makes it Kal (as in Lev. xiii. 45 ; Jer.
xliii. 12), and insists that tTiia means teacher, as in 2 Kings xvii. 28,
Isa. xxx. 20; Prov. v. 13, and so renders: "the teacher (i.e. David
himself) shall even be covered with blessings." In this he follows
Jerome : Benedictionibus amicietur doctor ; but the whole beauty of
the image is thus destroyed.
nis'^a . Some with the change of a single vowel read nis'na , pools.
Hence the E. V. : " The rain also filleth the pools." But the LXX
follow our present pointing ; koa. yap euXoyias Suo-tt o vopoOerCiv, and SO
does Symm. The accusative is placed first in the sentence as emphatic,
whilst the part, ca , yea, also, shows that the rain produces its effect also
in blessing, as well as the springs in the valley : " Yea with blessings
doth the rain cover it."
The Chaldee paraphrase of this verse is singular enough to be worth
quoting : " The sinners who pass through the depths of Gehenna,
greatly weeping, make it a fountain ; but [God] shall cover with
blessings those that return to the doctrine of his law."

PSALM LXXXV. 121

PSALM LXXXV.
There seems every reason to conclude that this Psalm was written
after the return of the exiles from the Babylonish captivity. It opens
with an acknowledgment of God's goodness and mercy in the national
restoration, in terms which could hardly apply to any other event.
But it passes immediately to earnest entreaty for deliverance from the
pressure of existing evils, in language which almost contradicts the
previous acknowledgment. First we hear the grateful confession,
" Thou hast turned the captivity of Jacob " ; and then we have the
prayer, " Turn us, O God of our salvation." If the third verse contains
the joyful announcement, " Thou hast withdrawn all thy wrath," etc.,
the fifth pleads as if no such assurance had been given : " Wilt thou
forever be angry with us ? T\'ilt thou draw out thine anger to all gen
erations ? "
The most probable way of explaining this conflict of opposing
feelings is by referring the Psalm to the circumstances mentioned by
Nehemiah (i. 3). The exiles on their return, he learnt, were " in
great affliction and reproach." And when be obtained leave to go to
Jerusalem himself, it was only in the midst of jierpetual opposition and
discouragement (chap, iv.) that he was able to carry on his work of
restoration. The bright prospect which was opening before them had
been quickly dashed. They had returned, indeed, but it was to a desolate
land and a forsaken city, whose walls were cast down, and her gates
burned with fire ; whilst jealous and hostile tribes were ever on the
watch to assail and vex them. Hence it is that the entreaty for mercy
follows so hard upon the acknowledgment that mercy has been vouch
safed. The hundred and twenty-sixth Psalm is conceived in a some
what similar strain. In the latter portion of this Psalm (from ver. 8)
the present misery is forgotten in the dawning of a glorious future.
The prayer has been uttered ; the storm of the soul is hushed ; in quiet
ness and resignation the Psalmist sets himself to hear what God will
say, and the divine answer is given, not in form, but in substance,
in verses 9-12. It is a glowing prophecy of Messianic times, most
naturally connecting itself with the hopes which the return from Baby
lon had kindled afresh, and well fitted to enable those who heard it to
triumph over the gloom and despondency of the present. Delitzsch
traces in the Psalm the influence of the later portion of Isaiah's
prophecy (xl.-xlvi.). It is one of the many Psalms which were
inspired, he says, by the unsealing of that great book, and which in
VOL. II. 16

122 PSALM LXXXV.
their flowing, graceful, transparent style, their figurative allegorizing
language, and their great prophetic thoughts of consolation, reminds
us of the common source whence they draw.
Mr. Plumptre, who holds that all the Korahite Psalms belong to the
time of Hezekiah, thinks that this Psalm refers to the Assyrian invasion.
He reminds us that the language of Isaiah in reference to that invasion
is, that " the cities shall be wasted without inhabitant," that " the Lord
shall remove men far away " (Isa. vi. 11, 12) ; that he sjseaks not only of
" the remnant of Israel," " the remnant of Jacob" as returning (x. 29),
but in terms hardly less strong, at the very crisis of Sennacherib's in
vasion, of " the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah "
(xxxvii. 32). After the overthrow of Sennacherib, and when the
alliance of Hezekiah was courted by Babylon, there would be ample
opportunities for many of those who had been carried into exile to
return to the land of their fathers. " The vision of mercy and truth,
righteousness and peace, is the same with the Psalmist as with the
prophet." It may be added, he remarks, that the prayer, " Turn us,
0 God of our salvation" (ver. 4), is identical with the ever-recurring
burden of Psalm Ixxx., which clearly refers to the captivity of " Ephraim
and Benjamin and Manesseh," i.e. of " Jacob " rather than of " Judah."
(Biblical Studies, pp. 166, 167.)
It is not surprising, considering the bright picture which the latter
verses contain, that this Psalm should have been appointed by the
church for the services of Christmas-day.
According to Hupfeld, the Psalm falls into two nearly equal portions :
(1) The prayer of the people or for the people (ver. 1-7) ; (2) the
divine promise (ver. 8-13). Ewald and Olshausen suppose that the
first was intended to be sung by the congregation, the second by the
priest, who after prayer seeks and receives the divine answer.
[Per the Precentor. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah,"]
1 Thou hast become favorable, 0 Jehovah, unto thy land,
Thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob.
2 Thou hast taken away the iniquity of thy people,
Thou hast covered all their sin. [Selah.]
1-3. The acknowledgment of God's toration is a past event, we need not
goodness to his people in their restora- regard it as long past.
tion from the Babylonish captivity. It 1. Thou hast brought back etc.
is not necessary to translate the tenses See on xiv. 7, and on Ixviii. 18. Others
as aorists, "^hon didst become" (as " Thou hast returned to."
Ewald, and others) ; for though the res- 2. Taken awat . . . covered. Both

PSALM LXXX-y.

123

3 Thou hast withdrawn all thy .wrath,
Thou hast turned " from the fierceness of thine anger.
4 Turn us, 0 God of our salvation,
And cause thine indignation towards us to cease.
5 Wilt thou forever be angry with us ?
Wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations ?
6 Wilt not THOU quicken us again,
That thy people may rejoice in thee ?
7 Show us thy loving-kindness, 0 Jehovah,
And grant us thy salvation.
8 I will hear what God Jehovah will speak.
For he will speak peace to his people and his beloved,
Only let them not turn again to folly.
9 Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him.
That glory may dwell in our land.

words are used in xxxii. 1, where see
notes. 5. Forever. The emphatic word
placed first, because there seemed to be
no end to their calamities. Even the
return to their own land had brought
them apparently no rest, no consolation,
no hope for the future.
6. Thou. The pronoun is emphatic ;
for God alone can thus revive the sad
hearts and broken hopes of his people.
Quicken, etc. Cf Ixxi. 20 ; Ixxx. 19.
In thee. Not in any earthly bless
ings, even when they are vouchsafed ;
not in corn, or wine, or oil ; not in the
fatness of the earth or the dew of heaven ;
but in him who giveth all these things ;
who giveth more than all these — himself.
8. I WILL HEAR, or, " Ict me hear."
Having uttered his sorrows and his
prayer for better days, he would now
place himself in the attitude of calm and
quiet expectation. Like Habakkuk, he
will betake him to his watch-tower, and
wait to hear what the Lord will speak.
" He might have said," Calvin observes,
" what the Lord will do; but since God's
benefits to his church flow from his
promises, the Psalmist mentions his
mouth rather than his hand (os potius

quam manum posuit), and at the same
time teaches us that patience depends
on the calm, listening ear of faith."
God Jehovah ; lit. " the God Jeho
vah," the two nouns being in apposition.
Peace ; that is God's great word,
which in fact sums up and comprises all
else, peace with him declared to all who
are his beloved, the objects of his
loving-kindness (see on xvi. 10) having
the privileges of their covenant relation
to him.
His beloved, or, "his godly ones."
See on iv. 3 [4] note •>, and Ixxxvi. 2.
Only let them not turn, or, " that
they turn not."
Folly ; so the infatuation of sin is
spoken of. Comp. xiv. 1 ; xlix. 13 [14j.
Or, perhaps, idolatry may be meant,
and especially if the reference is to the
Babylonish captivity.
9. Glory, i.e. the manifested presence
of God tabernacling visibly amongst
them, as of old. This hope was des
tined to have its fulfilment, but in a
better and a higher sense, when he who
was the brightness of the Father's glory
tabernacled in human flesh, and men
" beheld his glory, the glory as of the
only-begotten of the Father."

124 PSALM LXXXV.
10 Loving-kindness and truth have met together ;
Righteousness and peace have kissed (each other).
11 Truth springeth out of the earth.
And righteousness hath looked down out of heaven.
12 Jehovah will give that which is good,
And our land will give her increase.
13 Righteousness shall go before him,
And shall follow his footsteps in the way."
10. The four virtues here mentioned glorious end. For this mutual blessing
are, as Calvin remarks, the four cardinal from the heaven above and the earth
virtues of Christ's kingdom. Where beneath, comp. Isa. xlv. 8; Hos. ii. 23-25.
these reign amongst men, there must be 12. The Psalmist passes from spiritual
true and perfect felicity. He adds, how- to temporal blessings. "If any one
ever, " If any one prefers to understand, objects to this mixing of the two, the
by the loving-kindness and truth here answer is easy ; there is nothing to shock
mentioned, attributes of God, I have no us, if God, whilst he blesses the faithful
objection to such a view." But the with spiiitual blessin^;s, should vouch-
truth is, the last are the basis and source safe to them also some taste of his fatherly
of the first. love in the good things of this world;
11. The earth brings forth truth, as for St. Paul assures us that godliness
she brings forth the natural fruits, and hath the promise of this life, as well as of
righteousness looks down from heaven that which is to come." — Calvin. He
like some approving angel on the renewed adds an important remark: "This verse,
and purified earth. Or, as Calvin more moreover, shows us that the power of
generally explains: 4. Tantumdem valet fruitfulness was not once for all be-
ac si dixisset utramque fore sursum et stowed on the earth (as men of no re-
deorsum ubique diffusam, ut coeluni et ligion choose to imagine, that God at
terram impleant. Nccjue enim seorsum the creation jrave to the several parts of
illis aliquid diversum tribuere voluit." his universe their several office, and then
The figures are designed in both verses left them alone to pursue their own
to show that these virtues are not re- course), but that every year it is fer-
garded merely in their separate aspect, tilized by the secret virtue of God, ac-
but as meeting, answering one another, cording as he sees 'fit to testify to us his
conspiring in perfect harmony to one goodness.
" See above on the title of Psalm xiii., and General Introduction,
Vol. i. pp. 77. 78.
^ 2icri . The Hiph., which elsewhere is used with the accus.
(Ixxviii. 38 ; cvi. 23 ; Job ix. 13, etc.). is here used like the intrans. Kal,
with '(a , see Ex. xxxii. 1 2 ; Jonah iii. 9. There is apparently here
a confusion of the two constructions, the phrase being borrowed from
the passage in Exodus, with substitution of Hiph. for Kal. See a similar
case in Ezek. xviii. 30, 32.
° The constr. is literally " and maketh his footstep" for a way," i.e.
in which to follow him. So apparently the LXX, Kal O^a-ei eh 68ov to
Sia/SripaTa avTov, and Symm., n. 6. eh 6S. tous TroSas avrov. Others, as
Delitzsch, explain : " and (righteousness) setteth (her feet) in the way of

PSALM LXXX VI. 125
his steps," a possible rendering, perhaps, but against the t,ccents
Strictly speaking, Dia^ is the optat. form, and therefore the whole verse
ought rather to be rendered, " Let righteousness go before him," etc.

PSALM LXXXVL

This Psalm, which is inserted amongst a series of Korahite Psalms,
is the only one in the third book ascribed to David. That it was
written by him we can hardly suppose. Many of the expressions
are, no doubt, such as we meet with in his Psalms, but there are also
many which are borrowed from other passages of Scripture. Indeed,
the numerous adaptations of phrases employed by other writers may
reasonably be taken as evidence of a much later date. Further, the
style is, as Delitzsch remarks, liturgical rather than poetical, and is
wholly wanting in that force, animation, and originality for which
David's poems are remarkable. The Psalm is stamped by the use of
the divine name, Adonai, which occurs in it seven times.
There is no regular strophical division, nor is it always easy to trace
clearly the connection between the several parts of the Psalm. Hup
feld denies that there is any. Tholuck has traced it far more carefully
than any commentator I am acquainted with, and in the notes I have
given the substance of his remarks.
The introductory portion (ver. 1-5) consists of a number of earnest
petitions, based on several distinct pleas — the suffering (ver. 1), the
faith (ver. 2), the continued and earnest supplication (ver. 3, 4) of the
Psalmist, and the mercy and goodness of God (ver. 5).
In the next part (ver. 6-13) he resumes his petition ; expresses his
confidence that God will hear him, comforting himself with the majesty
and greatness of God, who is able to do all that he asks (ver. 8-10) ;
prays for guidance and a united heart, mixing with his prayer resolves
as to his conduct, and thanksgiving for deliverance (ver. 11-13).
Finally (ver. 14-17), he speaks of the peril by which he has been
threatened, turns to God with affectionate confidence as to a gracious
God, and casts himself fearlessly upon his mercy.
[A Psalm of David.]
1 Bow down thine ear, 0 Jehovah, answer me !
For I am afflicted and poor.
1. Bow DOWN, etc. Comp. Iv. 1, 2. the same way as a reason, xl. 17 [18}.
Afflicted and pook; alleged in This is not the highest ground which

126

PSALM LXXXVL

2 Keep my soul, for I am one whom thou lovest ;
0 THOU my God, save thy servant,
Who putteth his trust in thee.
3 Be gracious unto me, 0 Lord,
Por upon thee do I call all the day long.
4 Rejoice the soul of thy servant,
Por unto thee, 0 Lord, do I lift up my soul.
5 Por thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive.
And plenteous in loving-kindness to all them that call
upon thee.
6 Give ear, 0 Jehovah, unto my prayer.
And hearken unto the voice of my supplications.
7 In the day of my distress, I will call upon thee,
Por thou wilt answer me.

can be taken in pressing for an answer
to our prayer, but it is a ground which
God suffers us to take, both because he
declares himself to be the helper of the
needy (comp. xii. 5 [6] ) , and because it is
the sense of their need and misery which
drives men to God. Comp. for the same
epithets xxxv. 10 ; xxxvii. 14 ; l.xxiv. 21.
2. One whom thou lovest. The
first plea was his need ; now he pleads
his own covenant relation to God ; for
this is implied in the adjective here used,
chdsid. Comp. iv. 3 [4] note'', and the
note on xvi. 10. It is unfortunate that
the E.V. renders : " for I am holy." { The
margin gives the true rendering.) The
appeal is not to anything in himself, but
to God's goodness. This is clear from
ver. 5. At the same time he does not
hesitate to say what the attitude of his
heart is towards God, and to urge his
simple, aljsolute confidence in God, as
well as his unceasing, earnest prayer, as
reasons why he should be beard. This
is the language of honest, straightforward
simplicity, not of self-righteousness.
4. I LIFT UP MT SOUL, as in xxv. 1.
Comp. cxxx. 6.
5. Ready to foegive. The adjec
tive occurs nowhere else. The general
sentiment of the verse (repeated in 15)
is borrowed from such passages as Ex.
XX. 6; xxxiv. 6, 9; Num. xiv. 18, 19.

It is on the broad ground of God's mercy,
and of that mercy as freely bestowed on
all who seek it, that he rests. He ap
plies the general truth (ver. 5) to his
own case (ver. 6). In ver. 7 he pleads
again the need, under the pressure oi
which he cries to God ; it is no unmanly,
petulant, peevish complaint thatheutters.
The calamity is real, and there is but
one who has power to deliver him.
6. Comp. V. 2 ; xxviii. 2 ; cxxx. 2.
Tho peculiar form of the word suppli
cations occurs only here.
7. Comp. XX. 1 ; 1. 16 ; Ixxvii. 2 [3] ;
xvii. 6.
8-10. There are two kinds of doubt
which are wont in the hour of tempta
tion to assail the soul ; the doubt as to
God's willingness, and the doubt as to
God's power to succor. The first of
these the Psalmist has alreadv put from
him ; he now shows that he has overcome
the second. God is able as well as
willing to help, and every being on the
face of the earth who receives help, re
ceives it from the hand of him who is
the only God, and who shall one day be
recognized (so speaks the strong pro
phetic hope within him, ver. 9) as the
only God. This hope rests on the fact
that God has created all men (" all
nations whom thou hast made "), and
nothing can be imagined more self.

PSALM LXXXVI.

127

8 There is none like unto thee among the gods, 0 Lord,
Neither (are there any works) like unto thy works.
9 All nations whom thou hast made
Shall come and bow themselves down before thee, 0 Lord,
And shall give glory to thy name.
10 Por thou art great, and dost wondrous things,
Thou art God alone.
11 Teach me, 0 Jehovah, thy way,
I will walk in thy truth :
Unite my lieart to fear thy name ;
12 I will give thanks unto thee, 0 Lord my God, with my
whole heart,
And I will glorify thy name forever.

contradictory than that the spirit which
has come from God sh(?uld remain for
ever unmindful of its source. In ver. 8
it might seem as if God were merely
compared with the gods of the nations.
In ver. 10 they are plainly said to be
" no gods," though they " be called
gods." There is but one God : " Thou
art God alone."
8. The first half of the verse is bor
rowed from Ex. xv. 1 1 . Comp. Ixxxix.
8 [9] ; Ixxi. 19, etc. AVith the second
half comp. Deut. iii. 24.
9. Nearly as in xxii. 27 [28]. Comp.
Ixvi. 4; Isa. Ixvi. 18, 23 ; Zeeb. xiv. 9, 16.
10. Comp. Ixxvii. 13, 14 [14, 15] with
Ex. XV. 11. See also Ixxxiii. 18 [19];
2 Kings xix. 15, 19 ; Neh. ix. 6.
11. The first clause is word for word
as in xxvii. 11. Comp. xxv. 4.
Walk in thy truth, xxvi. 3. Al
though in a great strait, and in fear of
his enemies, the Psalmist, like all who
pray aright, offers flrst the petition,
" Hallowed be thy name," before he asks,
" Give us this day our daily bread," and
"deliver us from evil." He confesses
that his spiritual eye is not yet perfectly
enlightened, his heart not yet perfect
with God. And while he rejects every
other way, every other rule of life, but
the eternal rule of God's truth, he prays
first that he may more clearly discern
that way, and then that all the various

desires, interests, passions, that agitate
the human heart, may have no hold
upon him, compared with the one thing
needful — " to fear God's name."
Unite my heakt — suffer it no longer
to scatter itself upon a multiplicity of
objects, to be drawn hither and thither
by a thousand different aims, but turn
all its powers, all its affections in one
direction, collect them in one focus,
make them all one in thee. The prayer
derives a special force from the resolve
immediately preceding : " I will walk
in thy truth." The same integrity of
heart which made the resolve could alone
utter the prayer. The nearest Old Tes
tament parallels are : the " one heart "
(Jer. xxxii. 39) ; "And I will give them
one heart and one way, that they may
fear me forever " ; and the " whole
heart" of love to God (Deut. vi. 5 ; x.
12). Our Lord teaches us how needful
the prayer of this verse is. Comp. what
he says of " the single eye," the impos
sibility of serving two masters, the folly
and the wearisomeness of those anxious
cares by which men suffer themselves to
be hampered and distracted, and, in con
trast with all this, the exhortation, " Seek
ye first the kingdom of God," etc. (Matt.
vi. 19-34.) See also the history of
Martha and Mary, Luke x. 38-42.
12. Why does he offer this prayer for
a " united heart " ? That he may then

128

PSALM LXXXVII.

13 Por thy loving-kindness is great toward me,
And thou hast delivered my soul from the unseen world
beneath,
14 0 God, (the) proud are risen up against me.
And an assembly of violent men have sought after my soul.
And have not set thee before them.
15 But thou, 0 Lord, art a God full of compassion and gracious,
Long-suffering and plenteous in loving-kindness and truth.
16 0 turn unto me, and be gracious to me.
Give thy strength unto thy servant,
And save the son of thy handmaid.
17 Show me a sign for good,
That they who hate me may see and be ashamed.
Because thou, Jehovah, hast holpen me, and com
forted me.

with his " whole heart " give thanks to
God for all his infinite loving-kindness.
God's mercies are a motive to greater
thankfulness, and to a more whole
hearted, undivided service. Briefly, the
connection in ver. 11 , 1 2, is this : " Teach
me thy way, (and then) I will walk, etc.
Unite my heart, (and then) I will give
thanks." 13. Comp. Ivii. 8; Ivi. 13; cxvi. 8.
The unseen world beneath, i.e.
under the earth. Comp. Ex. xx. 4 with
Phil. ii. 10. For similar phrases see
Ezek. xxxi. 14, 16, 18; Ps. Ixiii. 9 [10];
cxxxix. 15; Ezek. xxvi. 20; xxxii. 18,
24; Isa. xliv. 23, and Ps. Ixxxviii. 6 [7] ;
Lam. iii. 55.
14. Now, at last, he comes to the peril,
and now (ver. 15) his appeal lies, even
more fully than in ver. 5, to God's
glorious name by which he made him
self known to Moses (Ex. xxxiv. 6).

This verse explains what the peril was,
and what he means by the deliverance
from Hades. The words are borrowed,
with a slight variation ("proud men"
instead of " strangers "), fromliv. 3 [5].
Violent, or rather " overbearing."
Aq. KaTitTxupevop.4t/o:i/.
16. Son of thy handmaid, as in
cxvi. 16.
17. A sign, i.e. not a miraculous sign,
but an evident proof of thy good-will
towards me, such as shall force even my
haters to acknowledge that thou art on
my side. " Is it not the fact," says
Tholuck, " that the more we recognize
in every daily occurrence God's secret
inspiration guiding and controlling us,
the more will all which to others wears
a common every-day aspect, to us prove
a sign and a wondrous work ? "
For good. Comp. Neh. v. 19; xiii.
31, and often in Jeremiah.

PSALIM LXXXVII.
This Psalm present us with one of those startling contrasts to the
general tone of Jewish sentiment and belief which meet us in various
passages of the prophetical writings. The Jewish nation was, even

PSALM LXXXVn. 129
by its original constitution, and still more by the provisions of the law
of Moses, an isolated nation. Shut in by the mountains, the sea, the
desert, it was to a great extent cut off from the world. And the
narrowness of its spirit corresponded to the narrowness of its geo
graphical position. It was pervaded by a jealous exclusiveness which
was remarkable even among the nations of antiquity, and which derived
its force and sanction from the precepts of its religion. The Jews were
constantly reminded that they were a separate people, distinct, and in
tended to be distinct, from all others. Their land was given them as a
special gift from Heaven. Both they and their country belonged to
God, in a sense in which no other people and country belonged to him.
It was a holy ark which no profane hands might dare to touch ; or if
they did, they must perish in the attempt. As a natural consequence
of this belief, the Jewish people, for the most part, regarded their
neighbors as enemies. Judaism held out no hope of a brotherhood of
nations. The Jewish church was not a missionary church. So far as
the Jews looked upon the world around them, it was with feelings of
antipathy, and with the hope, which was never quenched in the midst
of the most terrible reverses, that finally they, as the chosen race,
should subdue their enemies far and wide, and that, by the grace of
Heaven, one sitting on David's throne should be king of the world
Psalmists and prophets shared the feeling. They exulted in the
thought that the king who ruled Zion would dash the nations in pieces
like a potter's vessel, fill the places with dead bodies, and lead rival
kings in the long array of his triumph.
But mingling with these anticipations, and correcting them, there
were others of a nobler kind. The prophets speak not only of victories,
but of voluntary submission. The vision which arises before them is
not only of a forced unity of nations, such as that which was achieved
by the iron hand of Roman dominion, but of a unity of faith and love.
They see the mountain of the Lord's house exalted above the hills,
and all nations flowing to it with one impulse, not led thither in the
conqueror's train, but attracted by its glory, longing to taste its peace
(Isa. ii. 2-4). They see Gentiles coming to the light of Jerusalem,
and kings to the brightness of her rising. They foretell a time when
all wars and all national antipathies shall cease, when " the root of
Jesse " shall be as a standard round which aU nations shall flock, and
the temple of Jehovah the centre of a common faith and worship.
It is this last hope which expresses itself in this Psalm, but which
expresses itself in a form that has no exact parallel in other passages.
Foreign nations are here described, not as captives or tributaries, not
VOL. II. 17

130 PSALM LXXXVn.
even as doing voluntary homage to the greatness and glory of Zion,
but as actually incorporated and enrolled, by a new birth, among her
sons. Even the worst enemies of their race, the tyrants and oppressors
of the Jews, Egypt and Babylon, are threatened with no curse, no
shout of joy is raised in the prospect of their overthrow, but the privi
leges of citizenship are extended to them, and they are welcomed as
brothers. Hay more, God himself receives each one as a child newly-
born into his family, acknowledges each as his son, and enrols him with
his own hand in the sacred register of his children.
It is this mode of anticipating a future union and brotherhood of all
the nations of the earth, not by conquest, but by incorporation into one
state, and by a birthright so acquired, which is so remarkable. In
some of the prophets, more especially in Isaiah, we observe the same
liberal, conciliatory, comprehensive language toward foreign states, as
Tyre and Ethiopia, and still more strikingly toward Egypt and Assyria
(chap. xix. 22-25). But the Psalm stands alone amongst the writings
of the Old Testament, in representmg this union of nations as a new
birth into the city of God.
This idea gives it a singular interest, and clearly stamps it as Messianic.
It is the Old Testament expression of the truth which St. Paul declares,
when he tells us that in Jesus Christ " there is neither Greek nor Jew,
barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free " ; or when he writes to the Gentile
church at Ephesus, "Now, therefore, ye are no more strangers and
foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of
God." It is the first announcement of that great amity of nations, or rather
of that universal common citizenship of which heathen philosophers
dreamed, which was " in the mind of Socrates when he called himself a
citizen of the world," which had " become a commonplace of the Stoic
philosophy," which Judaism tried finally to realize by the admission of
proselytes, through baptism, into the Jewish community ; which Rome
accomplished, so far as the external semblance went, first by subduing
the nations, and then by admitting them to the rights of Roman citi
zenship. But the true fulfilment of this hope is to be found only in
that kingdom which Christ has set up. He has gathered into his com
monwealth all the kingdoms of the earth. He has made men one,
members of the same family, by teaching them to feel that they are
all children of the same Father. He has made it evident that the hope
of the Jewish singer is no false hope ; that there is a Father in heaven
who cares for all, whatever name they bear. Thus the Psalm has
received a better and higher fulfilment than that which lies on the

PSALM LXXXVII. i^i
i surface of its words. It was fulfilled in Christ. When he came, " the
city of God, of which the Stoics doubtfully and feebly spoke, was set
up before the eyes of men. It was no insubstantial city, such as we
. fancy in the clouds ; no invisible pattern, such as Plato thought might
be laid up in heaven ; but a visible corporation, whose members met
together to eat bread and drink wine, and into which they were initiated
by bodily immersion in water. Here the Gentile met the Jew, whom
he had been accustomed to regard as an enemy of the human race ;
the Roman met the lying Greek sophist, the Syrian slave the gladiator
born beside the Danube. In brotherhood they met, the natural birth
and kindred of each forgotten, the baptism alone remembered in which
they had been born again to God and to each other." '
There are two principal epochs to which the Psalm may be
referred :
I. Its tone, as has already been observed, falls in with that of some
of the prophecies of Isaiah. Hence it has been referred, not without
reason, to the reign of Hezekiah. Some have supposed that it was a
song of triumph, written, like Psalms xlvi.-xlviii., after the defeat of
Sennacherib : others, more probably, that it was a hymn composed for
some solemn reception of proselytes into the church, "the Psalmist
and his brother Levites exulting in this admission of converts as they
would do in a national victory." Mr. Plumptre gives several reasons
in favor of this view. He refers (1) to the similarity between the-
opening verse and the language of Psalm xlviii. 2 (written, as we have
seen, in Hezekiah's reign), compared with Isa. xxv. 6, 7 and ii. 3.
(2) He thinks the use of the name " Rahab " as designating Egypt is
almost sufficient to fix the date of the Psalm. For the use of the
word in this sense is characteristic of Isaiah, as in Ii. 9 : " Art thou not
in it that hast cut Rahab (i.e. smitten Egypt) and wounded the
dragon ? " And again, Isa. xxx. 7, " The Egyptian shall help in
vain. . . . They are Rahab (proud, mighty, ferocious as the monstrous
forms of their own river), and yet they sit still." (3) The hope thus
expressed, that Egypt and Babylon shall be enrolled among the wor
shippers of Jehovah is a hope identical with that in Isaiah xix. : " In
that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a
blessing in the midst of the land," etc. And Babylon is substituted for
Assyria in the Psalm, because of the greater intercourse with the
former kingdom, and the seeming overthrow of the latter towards the
close of Hezekiah's reign. Babylonish ambassadors came to Hezekiah,
and Isaiah's prophecies in chaps, xiii., xiv., xxxix., are evidence that
1 Ecce Homo, p. 136.

132 PSALM LXXXVIL
Babylon was prominent at this time. (4) The mention of Philistia,
Tyre, and Ethiopia also synchronizes with Hezekiah's reign. As
Isaiah had foretold (xiv. 29), he subdued the Philistines (2 Kings
xviii. 3). This was a token that the Lord " had founded Zion." His
reign witnessed a renewal of the intercourse with Tyre, and this was
accompanied by a partial conversion, and by gifts and tribute in token
of it. Ethiopia, too, had come at the same time into fresh prominence
in connection with Judah (see Isaiah xxxvii. 9, and compare Zeph. iii.
10). (5) Hezekiah was conspicuous for his catholic spirit. He not
only seeks to effect the reunion of Israel and Judah (2 Chron. xxx.),
but also brings with them into fellowship " the strangers that came out
of the land of Israel," as distinct from "the congregation" (ver. 26).
In 2 Chron. xxxii. 23, other nations are said to have brought gifts for
the temple. (6) Traces of this admission of proselytes meet us in the
later history of the kingdom of Judah. Isaiah pronounced a solemn
blessing on " the sons of the strangers ihatjoin themselves to the Lord"
who are to be made joyful in the " holy mountain " (Isa. Ivi. 7).
Comp. also Isa. Iv. 1 and Jer. xxxviii. 7. — Biblical Studies, pp. 167—71.
II. Calvin and others refer the Psalm to a time subsequent to the
return from the captivity. It was designed, as Calvin thinks, to
console the exiles, whose hearts must have died down within them as
they thought of the present enfeebled, impoverished, defenceless state
•of the city ; who sighed as they looked at their temple, so far inferior
in beauty and stateliness, as well as in the imposing splendor of its
worship, to the house which their fathers remembered ; and who, dis
pirited and girt by enemies, needed every encouragement for the future.
A study of the earlier chapters of Zechariah, and the later chapters
of Isaiah, in connection with this Psalm, may favor this view. But
our conclusion must depend chiefly on the date which we are disposed
to assign to the later chapters of Isaiah (xl.-lxvi.).
The outline of the Psalm is as follows :
It opens with an outburst of intensely national feeling, celebrating
the glory of Zion as the city of God (ver. 1-3).
But the patriotic sentiment is too large and too grand to suffer any
narrow jealousy to interfere with it, and therefore all nations are said
to be gathered to her as children to one mother. It lends more force
and dignity to this idea, that God himself appears as the speaker,
declaring of one and another, foreign and hostile nations, that their
true birth-place is there, in Zion. Finally, one brief, obscure verse
tells of the joy and happiness of the holy city, welcoming new children
on all sides, and making them partakers in her joy (ver. 7).

PSALM LXXXVn.

133

[Of the Sons of Korah." A Psalm. A Song.J
1 His foundation ^ upon the holy mountains doth Jehovah love,
2 (He loveth) the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings
of Jacob.
3 Glorious things ' are spoken of thee,
0 city of God ! [Selah.]
4 " I will mention Rahab and Babylon among them * that
know me ;
Lo Philistia and Tyre, with Ethiopia :
' This one is born there.' "

1-3. The same deep affection and
admiration for the holy city are expressed
here which are expressed in Ps. xlviii.
But there is nothing in the language
employed to lead us to suppose that the
city had just escaped from the horrors
of war. The " gates " are mentioned,
not as a part of the fortifications, but as
one of the most prominent features of
the city — the place of concourse, of
jud;;mcnt, etc. Every word is emphatic.
Hi s ro UND ATION, the ci ty an d the tcmjile
which he, Jehovah himself, hath built;
CPON THE iiOLT MOUNT Aixs, consecriited
by his immediate and manifested pres
ence ; which Jehovah loveth with a,
special and distinguishing affection, as
compared not only with other nations,
but even with other parts of the holy
land itself.
Upon the holt mountains. The
plural is used with reference to the
mountainous character of the whole
country. "Jerusalem was on the ridge,
the broadest and most strongly marked
ridge, of the backbone of the complicated
hills which extend through the whole
country from the Desert to the plain of
Esdraelon." — Stanley, Sinai and Pal
estine, chap. iii. p. 176. He compares its
position in this respect to that of Rome,
that " each was situated on its own
cluster of steep hills" (p. 175).
3. Glorious things ; not earthly
splendor or victories, but such a gather
ing of nations into her bosom as follows
in the next verse.

4. I will mention. The words are
the words of God. Wc have the same
abrupt introduction of the divine speaker
in other Psalms. Comp. xiv. 4 ; perhaps
xxxii. 8 ; l.xxv. 2 [3] ; Ixxxi. 6 [7] ; and
(according to some expositors) Ixxxii. 2.
Rahab. Originally the word denotes
pride, ferocity. So in Job ix. 13, " the
helpers of pride {Rahab) do stoop under
him." Possibly even there, and certainly
in Job xxvi. 12, it is the name of some
fierce monster of the deep, probably the
crocodile: "Hedividcth the sea by his
power, and by his understanding he
smiteth the proud monster {Rahab),"
where the LXX have ktitos. In Ps.
Ixxxix. 10, there can be no doubt of the
reference to Et;ypt : " Thou hast broken
Rahab in pieces," the crocodile of the
Nile being there taken as the symbol of
that kingdom. So too in Isa. Ii. 9, "Art
thou not it that hast cut liahab (i.e.
smitten Egypt) and wounded the dragon ? "
and xxx. 9, " The Egyptians shall help
in vain, etc. . . . they are Rahab (proud,
mighty, ferocious as the forms of their
own river), and yet they sit still" (i.e.
they do nothing). The name, then, is
applied to Egypt as a vast and formidable
power, of which the crocodile might
naturally be regarded as the symbol.
Ewald supposes it to be connected with
the Egj'ptian name Rif, and rulers to
Burckhardt's Nubia, p. 457.
Among them that know me ; lit.
"as belonging to (the number of) them
that know me." See Critical Kote. The

134

PSALM LXXXVn.

And to Zion it is said :
" One after another" is born in her.
And the Most High himself shall stablish her."
Jehovah shall reckon when he writetli the peoples,
" This one is born there." [Selah.]

verb to know is here used in that deeper
and wider sense in which it frequently
occurs in Scripture, both of God and of
man. Comp. i. 6 (where see note), and
xxxvi. 10 [11] ; John x. 14, 15. It is
the knowledge of friendship, the knowl
edge which springs of intimate acquaint
ance, the knowledge of parent and child.
Philistia, Tyre, Ethiopia. Of
all these nations it shall be said, that
one and another of them (" this one," as
if pointing to them) has become a wor
shipper of Jehovah, and an adopted
citizen of Zion, " born there." With
regard to these nations, see the prophe
cies of Isaiah quoted in the introduction,
and comp. Ixviii. 31. There, so Zion
is desiu'nated even before she is named.
Others refer there to the countries
mentioned before, and explain : " Only
a few are to be found there ; great num
bers, many a one (see next ver. J in Zion."
5. And to Zion, or "of Zion," it is
said, ONE after another ; lit. " man
and man," i.e. vast multitudes are born
in her, as the nations one after another
become incorfiorated as her children.
The LXX here render, not " it shall be
said to Zion," but "Mother Zion shall
say" (MVip 2iii^ fp"), and Zion is
spoken of as a mother (Isa. Ixvi. 7; liv.
1-3; l.\. 4, 5; but the sen.so here is
ditferent (other copies of the LXX read
/x); rfi ^iJit> ; and so the Syro-hex. and
the Psalt. Gall. Ninnrjnid Sion). It is
remarkable that the figure of a new
birth is used to express the admission of
the different nations to the rights of
citizenship in Zion. So Cicero speaks
of his restoration to his ]]rivileges and
honors on his return from banishment
as "a regeneration" : "Amicorum litcrae
nos ad triumphuni vocant, rem a nobis,
ut ego arbitror, propter banc Tra\i77€!'€-
aiav nostram, non ncglisendam" {Ep.
ad. Att. vi. 6, i 4). " Clearly Zion stands

in opposition to the countries mentioned
before, the one city to the whole of the
different countries, the one city of God
to all the kingdoms of the world." —
Delitzsch.' These kingdoms one after
another lose their population, cease to
be kingdoms, whilst their inhabitants
all contribute to swell the population of
that city which God's own right hand
establishes and makes glorious.
6. When he writeth, i.e. takes a
census of the nations (E' iv Imoypatp^
\aS>v, comp. the figure of Ezek. xiii. 9 ;
Isa. iv. 3, and see note on Ps. Ixix. 28),
the most glorious thing that he can say
of each of them, the crown of all their
history, shall be this, not the record of
their separate national existence or polity
or dominion, but the fact that they have
become members by adoption of the city
of God. Zion shall be the metropolis
of the world.
This one is bokn there. The
words are repeated, as by God himself,
as he enters one after another in the
register of his city.
7. Great shall be the joy, great the
pomp of festival and music when Zion
welcomes her new inhabitants. This is
doubtless the sense ; but the compressed
brevity of this vei>e makes it extremely
obscure. It has been rendered : (1)
"Both they that sing and they that dance
(or, as others, play the flute) sav : 'All
my fountains (of s.alvation,or of delight)
arc in thee (0 city of (;(.(1).'" (2)
"Both they that sing and they that
dance. All my fountains of (delight) are
in thee " ; meaning that every source of
pleasure, music, singing, etc., was to be
found in Zion. (3) By a change in the
reading " They both sing and d'ance, all
who dwell in thee (or, all my dwellers
in thee)." Of these, (2) is clearly pref
erable. The verse might be arranged
thus :

PSALM LXXXVn. 135
7 Both they that sing and they that dance,'
All my fountains, are in thee.*
(In thee) are they that sing and they "Both they who sing and they who
that dance. dance
In thee are all my living springs. With sacred songs are there ;
This is abrupt, but still a natural touch In thee fresh brooks and soft streams
' of genuine poetic feeling. Milton, iu glance,
his paraphrase, gives a similar inter- And all my fountains clear."
pretation :
' See above. General Introduction, Vol. i. p. 79, and pp. 324, 325.
* rrn^ib'; . This is not the part. pass, (as Hengst. and others main
tain), " the founded city," but a subst., as is clear from the use of the
suff. ; and although the word occurs nowhere else, it is fully supported
by the analogy of ni^iba , r.'SW'] , etc. Comp. IDW , of Zion, Isa. xxviii.
16. So the LXX, ot 6ip,iXioi avrov ; Symm., OfpeXioKn^ avrov. The
sufE. evidently refers, not to Zion, but to God. As reg.ards the constr.
it is far better, instead of taking ver. 1 as a separate clause, " His
foundation (is) upon the holy mountains," to connect it with ver. 2,
and to consider the words i"i SiiK as belonging to the first member.
The verb can then readily be repeated with the second. If we follow
the accents, ver. 1, 2 wUl be arranged as follows : 1. His foundation
is on the holy mountains. 2. Jehovah loveth the gates of Zion more
than all the dwellings of Jacob.
° ni'nasi, not an adv., as niit'iis in cxxxix. 14, nor an accus. as in
ixv. 5 (see note 'there), as Ewald, Hengst., and others explain, taking
^3173 as an impersonal : " it is said of thee = men say of thee glorious
things"; but fem. plur. = neut. (as in xlv. 5), joined irregularly with
the masc. sing, part., not however to be defended by such passages as
those quoted by Hupfeld, Gen. xxvii. 29 ; Isa. iii. 12 ; Prov. iii. 18,
where the sing. part, is used distributively ; better on the principle
which he suggests, that the part, is regarded as a kind of neuter noun :
" that which is spoken of thee, is glorious," lit. glorious things. He
quotes, as similar, Ixxiii. 28; Prov. xi. 23; Gen. xlix. 15, where the
masc. 2ia is used as predicate of a fem. noun, and Isa. xvi. 8,
VinN iTiaicJ . The last is an exact parallel. But the simplest way is
to regard all such instances as covered by the general principle that
the predicate is frequently in the masc. sing, (not only when it stands
first), whilst the subject is fem. or plural, or both, as here. (Gesen.
§ 144.) Comp. Isa. viii. 22, nflia rtsxi .
4 151 h^. The i is here used in the sense of belonging to, not as

136 PSALM LXXXVn.
marking merely apposition, as Hupfeld and others explain. The
constr. cannot be compared with that of b in such phrases as h nin, to
become, ii 3rn , to reckon as, nor with such a usage as that in Ex.
xxi. 2 or Ps. vii. 14, Dipbib, "he maketh his arrows (for, as) fiery
arrows," where the verb determines the sense in which the ^ occurs.
The LXX render pvrja-d-qa-opai 'Paa/3 /cat HajSvXuivo'; toi? yivuia-Kovcri
pe. Neither Aq. nor Symm. takes Eahab as a proper name, and they
understand the construction differently. Aq., dvapvi^cro) oppripaTo<s Kai
Ba/SuAoii/os Toiis yivioo-KOVTcis pe ; Symm., dv. viTipy]i^avLav Kal Ba/J. rots
€iSd(n pe..
« lljiN'; BIS, lit. "man and man," every man (Gesen. § 106. 4), as in
Lev. xvii. 10 ; Esth. i. 8, or perhaps more exactly, one man after
another, as it were in a series extended indefinitely. Ilofmann com
pares the phrases "linj Iii , one generation after another, and ini "'a ;
Ex. X. 8. '
' D''bVn for fi'^VVna , dancers engaged in the sacred solemnities, as
maidens who celebrated a victory, and as David himself danced before
the ark, 2 Sam. vi. 16. The prefixed 3 must be supplied also before
C'liu , " as well singers as dancers." Or better, as Hupfeld (following
Is. and Dathe), who takes the participles as finite verbs, " They shall
sing and leap for joy," viz. all they that dwell in thee (see next note).
Gesen. and others regard 'n as a denom. from b^bn, flute-players.
Aq. has Kai aSovres (is X^P"'' "'^o'l' TnjyaL pov iv croi ; Symm., koI
aivio-ovcnv ws iv avXol's iracrai ai Trrpyal iv crot. Jerome and the LXX
read t)"i"iia, and connect it with the preceding verse, koI dpx6vT(av
TOVTO)v Twv yeyewrjpivoiv iv avrrj, and then render the last clause cLs eu-
(jypaivopivtov TrdvTwv fj KaroiKia iv croL See next note, and Hupfeld's
rendering based on this.
^ TJ? ir:;B-b3 . According to the existing punctuation this can only
mean, " all my fountains are in thee " (and so Aq. and Symm. among
the ancients), which has been variously explained. Many interpreters
suppose these to be the words of the nations keeping festival with
songs and dances, and saying, in the joy of their new birth into
the city of God : " All my fountains of salvation (comp. Isa. xii. 3)
are in thee." But there is nothing in the context to favor this para
phrase of the word " fountains." Hence Ewald would connect it with
a yo root, cognate with the similar Arab, and Syr. roots, meaning to
help, to be of service, and take 'jisa in the sense of place of refuge, or
something useful, and hence an art. Accordingly he renders, '• singers
as well as flute-players, all my arts are in thee." Hupfeld, on the
Other hand, follows the guidance of the LXX, who have KaroiKt'o. He

PSALM LXXXVra. 137
would read "'J'^sa , Hiph. part, constr. of ')1S , to dwell, or rather "^iiyr ,
"My dwellers, i.e. those who dwell with me" (as spoken by God).
Hofmann also (Schriftb. ii. 2. 526) supposes the word to be spoken
by God, and renders : " all my fountains are in thee," and explains
this by reference to such passages as Ixviii. 27, " the fountain of Israel "
(comp. Prov. v. 18), or Isa. xlviii. 1, "the waters of Judah,'' and
Zech. ix. 1, " the fountain of Adam (the source of man) is Jehovah."
Hence, according to this view, Jehovah here says that all his fountains
are in Zion, that is, all his children are born there. Ilofmann connects
this with the previous words thus : singers as they join in the dance
repeat these words, as the words of a song in which Jehovah says of
Zion, '• aU my fountaLas," etc.

PSALM LXXXVIII.

This is the darkest, saddest Psalm in all the Psalter. It is one
wail of sorrow from beginning to end. It is the only Psalm in which
the expression of feeling, the pouring out of the burdened heart before
God, fails to brings relief and consolation. In every other instance,
however heavy the gloom, however oppressed and dejected the spirit
of the sufEerer, prayer and supplication are mingled with thanksgiving,
the accents of lamentation are changed into the notes of triumph, the
darkness of midnight gives way to the brightness of faith's morning-
dawn. The deeper the sorrow at the opening, the greater the joy at
the close. But here the darkness continues to the end. There is no
confidence expressed that prayer will be heard, no hope uttered, much
less any triumph. The Psalm ends with complaint, as it began. Its
last word is " darkness." One ray of light only struggles through the
gloom, one star pierces that thick midnight blackness ; it is the name
by which the Psalmist addresses God : " O God of my salvation."
That he can address God by that name is a proof that faith and hope
are not dead within him ; it is the pledge of his deliverance, though
he cannot yet taste its comfort. There is but one such Psalm, as if to
teach us that our Father's will concerning us is not to leave us in our
dejection, but, in answer to the prayer of faith, to lift us out of it ;
there is one, that we may remember that even his truest servants may be
called upon " to walk in darkness and have no light," that thus tlicy may
be the better trained, like a child holding his father's hand in the dark,
" to trust in the name of the Lord, to stay themselves upon their God."
VOL. II. 18

138 PSALM LXXXVIII.
The older expositors commonly mterpreted the Psalm of Christ and
his passion, either in Gethsemane or on the cross. And our church
has, in a measure, sanctioned this application by appointing this as one
of the Psalms for Good Friday.
As to the author, and the circumstances under which the Psalm
was written, various conjectures have been made, but they are really
worth nothing. One thing only is clear, that it is not a national
Psalm, and that it does not deplore the Babylonish captivity, or any
other national calamity. It is, throughout, personal and individual.
Uzziah when smitten with leprosy, Jeremiah in the dungeon, Hezekiah
in his sickness. Job in his sufferings — to all these in turn has the
authorship of the Psalm been assigned. But neither the thoughts nor
the expression of the thoughts favor one of these hypotheses more
than another, except that, in one or two instances, the language has some
affinity with that of the Book of Job, whereas the language of verse 15,
" I am afllicted from my youth up," is, to say the least of it, very
exaggerated language in the mouth of any of these persons, and hardly
to be justified by any pressure of sorrow.
Delitzsch goes so far as to draw hence the inference, that Heman
the Ezrahite was the author of the Book of Job ; but the ivords which
he quotes as common to this Psalm and Job are to be found in other
places of Scripture ; they cannot be called characteristic words, and
therefore the argument built upon them falls to the ground.
[A Song. A Psalm of the Sons of Eorah. Per the Precentor. "After
Machalath L'Annoth," A Maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.']
1 0 Jehovah, God of my salvation,
I have cried day '' and night before thee.
2 Let my prayer come before thee.
Incline thine ear to my cry. '
3 For my soul is full of troubles.
And my life draweth nigh to the unseen world.
4 I am counted ° with them that go down into the pit,
I am become as a man that hath no strength,
1. God oe mt salvation. "Deum of the grave, is urged as a reason why
salutis suae vocans, quasi injecto freno, God should hear him. Comp. vi. 4, 5
cohibet doloris intemperantiam, despera- [5, 6] ; xxx. 3 [4] ; Isa. xxxviii. 10,il.
tioni januamclaudit, seque adcrucis tol- Is full of teoiteles ; lit. "is
erantiam munit et comparat." — Calvin. satiated with evils." Comp. cxxiii. 4 ¦
3. The greatness of his afSiction, Lam. iii. 1.'5, 30.
which has brought him to the very edge 4. That hath no steenqth, i.e. not

PSALM LXXXVUI.

1.39

5 Among the dead, cast away,"
Like (the) slain lying in the grave.
Whom thou rememberest no more.
But they are cut off from thy hand.
6 Thou hast laid me iii the lowest pit.
In darkness, in the deeps.
7 Upon me thy fury lieth hard,
And thou hast afflicted (me) with all thy waves.^ [Selah.j
8 Thou hast removed my familiar friends far from me.
Thou hast made me an abomination unto them ;
I am shut up, so that I cannot go forth.
9 Mine eye wasteth away because of affliction ;
I have called upon thee, 0 Jehovah, every day,
I have stretched forth my hands unto thee.

merely as worn out with pain and suf
fering, which would be an anti-climax,
but, as the parallelism shows, like the
unsubstantial shadowy phantoms which
people the unseen world.
5. Cast away, or as the E.V. "free,"
i.e. left alone, with none to care for me,
in that unseen world whence even God's
presence seemed to be withdrawn. Cal
vin suggests that such a mode of ex
pression may be accounted tor, either
" ex vulgi scnsu . . . quia ad futuram
vitam, quae abscondita est, nonnisi gra-
datim consccndimus," or rather on the
principle that the prophet spoke, " ex
turbulcnto afflicti hominis scnsu." "Nee
mirum c>t," he adds, " hominem Spiritu
Dei praeditum, ubi pracvaluit mocror,
quasi attonitum fuisse, ut voccm parum
consideratara emitteret." But it is the
same strain of feeling which we have
already had in vi. 5 ; xxx. 9, where see
notes. His eye is looking down into the
darkness, he sees himself already num
bered with the dead. But what are the
dead? Beings who "know not any
thing," " clean forgotten, out of mind,"
beings «hom God himself remembers
not. " Tho living, the living, he shall
praise thee"; this was the feeling, not
I of Hezekiah only, but of all the Old
Testament saints, in seasons of gloom

and despondency. It could not be
otherwise till the bright light of Christ's
resurrection was cast upon the grave
and the world beyond.
6. In the lowest pit. See on Ixiii.
9 [10] ; Ixxxvi. 1.3. Comp. Lam. iii. 55,
and Ezek. xxvi. 20.
In daekness ; lit. " in dark places,''
as in Ixxiv. 20 ; Lam. iii. 6.
In the beeps, usually said of the
sea, as in Ixviii. 22 [23] ; E.x. xv. 5;
here of Hades.
7. With all thy waves. On this
Calvin beautifullyrcmarks: "Jam quum'
tarn horribile diluvium prophctam non
impedicrit quorainus cor suum et vota
ad Deum cxtolleret, discamus, ejus cx-
emplo, in omnibus naufrauiis nostris
ancoram fidei ct precum in coclos jacere."
8. Tiion HAST eemoved, as before,
" Thou hast laid," etc., thus directly
trading all to God's will and fatherly
hand. My familiae feiends. The word
expresses close intimate friendship, more
than the mere "acquaintance" of the
E.V. He is like one shut up in prison —
these cannot come in to him, nor he go
to them. Delitzsch thinks that, accord
ing to Lev. xiii., this sounds like the
complaint of a leper, the leprosy more
over being just that death in life (Num.

140

PSALM LXXXVm.

10 Wilt thou show wonders unto the dead ?
Shall the shades below 'arise and give thee thanks? [Selah.]
11 Shall thy loving-kindness be told in the grave,
Thy faithfulness in destruction ?
12 Shall thy wonders be known in the dark ?
And thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness ?
13 But as for me — unto thee, 0 Jehovah, have I cried.
And in the morning my prayer cometh to meet thee.
14 Why, 0 Jehovah, castest thou off my soul ?
(Why) hidest thou thy face from me ?
15 I am afflicted, and ready to die from my youth * up,
I have suffered thy terrors (till) I am distracted.''
16 Over me thy fierce wrath hath passed ;
Thy horrors have cut me off.'
17 They have compassed me like waters all the day long.
They have come round about me together.

xii. 12) which is so pathetically described
as the Psalmist's condition. Tho cry
here is repeated in ver. 18.
An ABOMINATION ; lit. " abomina
tions," the plural intensifying and en
larging the idea. Comp. note on Ixviii. 35.
10. Ewald takes this and the two fol
lowing verses as the words of the prayer
implied in saying, " I have stretched
forth my hands unto thee," and cited
from some former Psalm.
Arise, i.e. " rise up," not " rise again
from the dcid" (comp. Ixxviii. 5 [6]).
The language refers to what takes place
in the unseen world, not at the resur
rection. Comp. Is:i. xiv. 9. The ex
postulation is like that of Job : " If a
man die, shall ho live again ? " There
is no question of the general resurrection,
but only the improbability that God
should restore to life one who was
already dead. Calvin observes that this
state of feeling " cannot be excused,
inasmuch as it is not for us to prescribe
to God when he shall give us succor;
for wc wrong his power, if we are not
assured that it is as easy for him to
restore life to the dead, as to prevent
and avert the last extremity. And of a

truth the constancy of the saints has
ever shown some traces of tho weakness
of the flesh, so that God's fatherly in
dulgence has had to make allowance for
the defects which are mingled even with
their very virtues."
13. But as foe me, emphatic; though
thus at the very edge of death, though
bowed down with the heavy load of
afHiction, still I look to thee. This un
wearied " continuing instant in prayer"
is the victory of faith in the midst of
trials which, but for this, would end in
despair. It had been one life-long suf
fering from his youth up, yet still his
earnest plcadiuLr bad never ceased. Such
prayers are those " unutterable groan-
ings" of which St. Paul speaks.
Cometh to meet, or, as E.V., "pre-
venteth." Symm. irpoipOilvei <re.
16. Thy hokroes ; a frequent ex
pression in the Book of Job (vi. 4 ; ix.
34; xiii. 21, etc).
18. Daekness ; lit. " the place of
darkness," the dark kingdom of the
dead, is now all I have to look to, instead
of friends, or, as we might say. The
grave is now my only friend. Similar
expressions occur in Prov. vii. 4, and 1b

PSALM LXXXVIII. 141
18 Thou hast removed lover and friend far from me.
My familiar friends — are darkness.^
Job xvii. 14, "I have said to the grave, thought — the immediate vicinity of
Thou art my father," etc. Or perhaps death. The darkness is thickest at the
the sense is rather, " I have no friends, end, just as it is in the morning before
When I look for them, I see nothing the rising of the sun." — Hengstenberg.
but darkness." " The Psalm ends with But here, at least, the sun does not
an energetic expression of its main rise.
" fi^T;^"^? ¦ see on liii. note ".
p-rrb has been interpreted either (1) for chastisement ; or (2) for
singing (as in Ex. xxxii. 18; Isa. xxvii. 2).
Heman the Ezrahite, celebrated, together with Ethan (to whom the
next Psalm is ascribed), for his wisdom, 1 Kings iv. 31 [v. 11] includ
ing reputation as a writer and a poet. In 1 Chron. vi. 18, 29 (33,
42 in E. v.), both are mentioned as Levitical singers.
The inscription is a double one, and is evidently derived from two
different sources. This is plain, because the Psalm is ascribed to differ
ent authors ; in the one instance to the Korahites, in the other to
Heman ; and is differently described, in the first as " a song, a Psalm,"
and in the second as " a Maskil." Besides, na:p^ always stands at the
beginning of the title. Hence one title was " A song, a Psalm of the
sons of Korah " ; the other, " For the Precentor. After ' Machalath
Vannoth.' A Maskil of Heman the Ezrahite."
^ inpSS'Di^ . Grammatically, this can only be explained, " in the
day (when) I cry," and the next clause must then be rendered, " in the
night is my crying before thee, or I am before thee." But this would
be placing a peculiar emphasis on the night, and the whole sentence is
lame. (Unless, indeed, we could take 's oii as merely equivalent to
" when I cry," and carry on the construction into the next verse, " when
I cry in the night before thee, let my prayer," etc.) But it would
seem that " day " and " night " are used as marking the unceasing
character of the cry, as we find often elsewhere ; xxii. 3 ; Iv. 18 ; Ixxvii.
3, etc. Hence it is probable that we ought to read caii , in the daytime.
° DS '^nncn? ; a mixed constr. compounded of two expressions, to be
considered as, (3, as xliv. 23), and to be made equal with, as in xxviii.
1 ; cxliii. 7.
^ iiisn . This may be either (1) a noun with pron. suff. from rsn
(Ezek. xxvii. 20), my bed, my couch; or (2) an adj. free, let loose,
which occurs usually in a good sense, of freedom from chains, wounds,
burdens, and the like, or freedom, as of a slave, from a master, Ex.

142 PSALM LXXXVIII.
xxi. 3, 26, etc. ; so of one set free by death, Job iii. 19. The LXX
and Aq. both have iXevdepo';, Symm., dc^eis iXev$epo^. Here in a bad
sense : either (a) forsaken, neglected, uncared for ; or (b) separated,
cut off, i.e. from human companionship. Comp. fT'CEn rr^a , " a sepa
rate house," 2 Kings xv. 5, a hospital or asylum for lepers, etc. ; or
(c) set free, discliarged, from the cares and duties of life, from com
munion with God and intercourse with men (Chald., Eashi, Calvin,
Delitzsch, Hengst.). Others, again, would connect the word with
the Arab. [JjJt.^, to be weak, prostrate, which would accord with
QiXS-l, V. 11.
^ n^??. Against the common explanation of the constr. that the
accus. of the pers. pron. is understood, and that 'xrb'S is the accus. of
the instrument, " Thou hast afflicted (me) (with) all thy waves,'' Hup
feld objects first, that such a constr. is unheard of with fijs , and next,
that the accent forbids it. He accordingly supplies the verb from the
first clause, and inserts the relative, " and all thy waves (lie upon me)
with which thou hast afflicted me," referring to the constr. in Ii. 10,
" the bones which thou hast broken," where the accent is the same.
Others (as Ewald and Delitzsch), " Thou hast hurled down (lit. bowed
down) upon me (like a cataract) all thy waves.'' So the LXX, iravras
Tous peTiu>pi(Tpov<i (Tov iiT-qyaye<i iir ipL But Symm., rats Karaiyicn o'ov
£KaK<uo-ds pe. And Jerome, fluctibus tuis aflHixisti me ; and in answer
,to Hupfeld it may be said, that the use of the accus. instrum. is com
mon with all verbs, as well as the omission of the personal object, and
that the accent is not an infallible guide.
* d^NSi. : here "the spirits of the departed" (ctSoiXa Kapovrmv),
Comp. Isa. xxvi. 14; Prov. xxi. 16, etc., but in other places used of
" the race of giants." Many attempts have been made to connect the
two significations (see Gesen. Thesaur. in v.) ; but perhaps Hupfeld's
is the most plausible. He connects the word with the root •;f^ , to be
relaxed, and so (a) weak, feeble, as " the shades,'' and on the other
(J) extended, at a vast length, immania corpora, like " the giants."
Jerome here has gigantes. The LXX, laTpoi (as also in Isa. xxvi.),
connecting it curiously with the root xsi , to heal.
^ ^S5, abstr. from "I'J^, youth, as Prov. xxix. 21 ; Job xxxiii. 25 ;
and not from irs , excutere, expellere, which derivation has led some to
explain it propter concussionem.
^ njsiSS , only here, and both the root and the form occasion difficulty.
Usually connected with the Arab. ^j-»'j infirnia mente et consilii
inops fuit. LXX, i^Tqrrop-qQ-rjv ; Jerome, conturbatus sum. Hupfeld
Would read riMSX , in the sense of growing cold (spoken of the ces-

PSALM LXXXIX. 143
sation of physical and spiritual life). The paragog. form is to be
explained of an inner necessity, as in Iv. 2 ; see note ", there.
' ¦'iinr'BS . Such a reduplication of the termination is unexampled.
The Dagesh in the 2d rad. makes it look like a Piel (as in cxix. 139,
where the 3d fem. sing, occurs), whereas the reduplication of the last
rad. points to a Pilel form. Besides the Kibbuts instead of Sh'va
defies all grammar, and the form cannot be compared with ^ii'inp and
such forms. It would be better to suppose that there is a play upon
the form nsin^BS , Lev. xxv. 23, 30 (as Kost. and Hengst. suppose),
or that it is the mistake of a copyist for ijinas (see Hupfeld).

PSALM LXXXIX.

Theee can be little doubt that this Psalm was written in the latter
days of the Jewish monarchy, when the throne of David had fallen or
was already tottering to its faU, and when the prospect for the future
was so dark that it seemed as if God had forgotten his covenant and
his promise. Tholuck's conjecture is not improbable that the king of
whom the Psalm speaks (ver. 45 [46]) is the youthful Jehoiachin,
who, after a reign of three months, was deposed and imprisoned by
Nebuchadnezzar, and of whom it was said, that no man of his seed
should " prosper, sitting on the throne of David." The lamentation
over him, in Jer. xxii. 24—29, may be taken as evidence that he was
beloved by his subjects, and the prophet and the Psalmist indulge
in a similar strain as they behold the last hope of David's house
perish. There is no reason to conclude from verse 47 [48] that the king
himself is the author of the Psalm (see note there) ; and from verse
18 [19], indeed, the contrary perhaps may be inferred.
The Psalm opens with a reference to the promise given to David
(2 Sam. vii. 8, etc.). This promise, and the attributes of God on
which the promise rests, and which are the great pledge of its fulfil
ment, form the subject of the poet's grateful acknowledgment, before
he passes to the mournful contrast presented by the ruin of the house
of David, and the blighting of his people's hopes. He turns to the
glorious past, that by its aid he may rise oitt of the grief and discour
agement of the present. He takes the promise, and turns it into a song.
He dwells upon it and lingers over it. He dwells on that which is
the groimd and pillar of the promise — the faithfulness of God — and

144 PSALM LXXXIX.
then he first lifts his loud lament over the disasters which have befallen
his king and people, speaking out his disappointment, till his words
sound like a reproach ; and next pleads earnestly with God that he
would not suffer his enemies to triumph.
Certain words and thoughts run through the Psalm, and give it a
marked character. Such are, especially, the constant reference to the
" faithfulness of God," in confirming his covenant and promise (ver.
1, 2, 5, 8, 14, 24, 33, 49 ; comp. also the use of the participle " faithful,"
ver. 28, 37) ; the phrase " I will not lie " (ver. 33, O.J) ; " I have
sworn" (ver. 3, 35, 49) ; and the covenant" (ver. 3, 28, 34, 39).
[A Maschil of Ethan the Ezrahite."]
1 I WILL forever sing of the loving-kindnesses'' of Jehovah,
I will make known thy faithfulness with my mouth to all
generations. •
2 For I have said, forever shall loving-kindness be built up.
In the heavens shalt thou establish thy faithfulness.
3 " I have made a covenant with my chosen,
I have sworn unto David my servant ;
1,2. The loving-kindness and the In the heavens ; lit. " The heavens,
faithfulness of Jehovah arc the source of thou shalt establish thy faithfulness in
the promise. ^Ve are led to the source, them." The heavens are the type of
that thence we may track the stream. unchangeableness and perpetuity, as
1. Foeevee. The position of these compared with the restless vicissitudes,
words before the verb has been supposed the ever-shifting shows of earth. Comp.
to indicate that the Ps.ilmist is not cxix. 89.
speaking in his own name, but in the 3, 4. These are the words of God, the
name of the church which abideth sum of his promise as given in 2 Sam.
"ever." But they may refer to the ever- vii. They are introduced with remark-
lasting continuance of God's love and able abruptness, standing alone in their
faithfulness, as pledged to David and forcible brevity, whilst the Psalmist
his seed. passes on to celebrate at length the might
Loving-kindnesses, plural, as in and faithfulness of the Promiser. In
Isa. Iv. 3, " The sure mercies [faithful the nineteenth verse he returns to the
loving-kindnesses] of David." For the promise, and then expands and dwells
same union of these two attributes of upon it. Most of the expressions,
God, see xxxvi. 5 [6]. " David my serviint," "establish," "for-
2. Foe I HAVE SAID, i.e. this is the ever," "build," the parallelism of "seed"
conviction whence springs the resolve and " throne," " my chosen," are taken,
inver. 1. either directly or indirectly, from the
Be built up, like some statelypalace, original passage in 2 Sam.
rising ever greater and fairer, stone by Mr chosen. The LXX have the plu-
stone, before the wondering eyes of men, ral rols iK\eKTo7s ^ou, but all the other
knowing no decay, never destined to fall versions follow the Ilcb. and retain the
into ruin. singular. See Critical Note « on ver. 19.

PSALM LXXXIX.

145

4 Forever will I establish thy seed,
And build up thy throne to all generations." [Selah.j
5 And the heavens shall praise thy wondrousness, 0 Jehovah,
Thy faithfulness also, in the assembly of the holy ones.
6 For who in the sky can be compared with Jehovah,
('Who)is like unto Jehovah among the sons of the mighty ?
7 A God very terrible in the council of the holy ones,
And to be feared above all them that are round about him ?
8 0 Jehovah, God of hosts.
Who is mighty " as thou, 0 Jah !
And thy faithfulness is round about thee.
9 Thotj rulest the pride of the sea.
When the waves thereof arise,* thou stillest them.
10 Thou hast crushed Eahab, as one that is slain,
With thy mighty arm thou hast scattered thine enemies.

5. At first sight the passage which
follows, to ver. 18, appears to break the
train of thought. But the object of the
Psalmist is to place in the strongest
light those attributes of God on which
the fulfilment of his promise depends,
for " in a promise everything depends
upon the person who promises." The
question therefore occurs, " Has he the
will and the power to fulfil the promise ? "
— Hengstenberg. Hence the Psalmist
dwells first upon God's power as ex
hibited and confessed in creation, then
upon his righteousness, goodness, and
truth, as manifested especially to his
people, of whom and of whose king he is
the protector.
Tht wondeousness (lit. wonder) :
either (1) "Thy wondrous works," as
inlx.xxviii. 10,12 [11, 13]; or (2) "Thy
wonderful mysterious nature and being,"
as separate and distinct from that of all
created beings. The word occurs in
Isa. ix. 6 [5], as one of the names of
Messiah (comp. also Judges xiii. 18).
Assembly of the holt ones, i.e.
the angels, to which corresponds in the
next verse, " the sons of the mighty,"
comp. xxix. 1. They are called an
" assembly " or " congregation," as the
church above, which, like the church
vol. ii.

below, worships and praises God. In
this second clause the verb must be
repeated from the first : " Thy faithful
ness also is praised," etc.
7. A God. It is more forcible to
regard this as a predicate, or as standing
in a kind of free apposition with " Je
hovah," than to take it as the subject of
a fresh sentence : " God is very ter
rible," etc.
8. Who is mighty, or, " Who is like
unto thee, a mighty one, O Jah."
And tht faithfdlness ; or, as
Ewald : "And what faithfulness is like
thy faithfulness," etc.
Round about thee, God's attri
butes being personified, as in ver. 14
and Ixxxv. 13 [14]. Then follow proofs
and instances, first, of God's might, ver.
9-13, and then of bis faithfulness, ver.
14-18. 10. Rahab ; here probably, as in
Ixxxvii. 4 (where see note), a name of
Egypt. God's power as ruling the sea
would naturally be connected in the
Psalmist's mind with that great mani
festation of his power in the deliverance
from Egypt. Compare the same asso
ciation of ideas in l.xxiv. 1.3-1 7. Others
take it in the more general sense of
pride (i.e. our proud foes), as in Job ix.
19

146

PSALM LXXXIX.

II Thine are (the) heavens, thine also is the earth ;
Thou hast founded the world and the fulness thereof.
12 Thou hast created the north and the south.
Tabor and Hermon shout for joy in thy name.
13 Thine is an arm (clothed) with might,
Strong is thy hand, exalted is thy right hand.
14 Righteousness and judgment are the foundation of thy throne,
Loving-kindness and truth go to meet thy face.
15 Blessed are the people that know the joyful sound.
That walk, 0 Jehovah, in the light of thy countenance.
16 In thy name do they exult all the day.
And in thy righteousness are they exalted.
17 For thou art the excellency of their strength.
And in thy favor dost thou exalt our horn :
18 For to Jehovah belongeth our shield.
And to the Holy One of Israel our king.

13; xxvi. 12. In the context of both
passages in Job, God's power over the
sea is magnified, but the book is too far
removed from tho circle of Israelitish
history to allow of our seeing any refer
ence there to the passage of the Red Sea.
As one that is slain. The panicle
of comparison must not be pressed.
The sense is : '" Thou hast crushed
Egypt, so that it lies fallen, like one
who has received a deadly wound."
11. Thou hast founded, etc.; lit.
" The world and the fulness thereof,
thou hast founded them." And so in
the next verse : " The north and the
south, thou hast created them."
12. Taboe and Heemon do not de
note merely the west and cast, as most
interpreters explain. They are men
tioned rather as conspicuous mountains
in a mountain land. Tabor, "remark
able for the verdure, which climbs — a
rare sight in eastern scenery — to its
very summit" (Stanley, Sinai and Pal
estine, 'p. 3.50) ; Hermon, as its name im
ports, " The lofty, prominent peak,"
crowned with snow, the most striking
of all the mountains of Palestine, are fit
representatives of the whole country;

open, as it were, the loud hymn of praise.
See I.xxii. 3 ; xcviii. 8.
Foundation. Others render" pillar,"
but Aq. has eSpaofia and Sym. $i<ris.
The LXX €Toifitt<ria. The same word
occurs in xxxiii. 14, where the render
ings are similar. The E.V. has "place"
there (in 1 Kings viii. 13, "settled place,")
and " habitation " here, but in the
margin "establishment."
Go to meet. See on Ixxxviii. 13.
15-18. Such is the God, so full o£
majesty and power, who has given the
promise. Blessed, therefore, are the
people who have Jehovah for their God.
They may well rejoice in their privilege.
15. The jotful sound, i.e. the loud
music of trumpets, etc., in the festivals,
especially on the new year's day (Lev.
xxiii. 24), or on extraordinary occasions
(Num. X. 1-10; xxix. 1 ; Josh. vi. 5, 20,
etc.). See on xxvii. 6; Ixxxi. 1 [2].
This Israel only knows, because Israel
only is the people of God. They are
blessed, because they, and they only, of
all nations, can keep these solemn feasts
to his praise.
18. OuE shield, i.e., as is evident
from the parallelism, the king. Comp.

PSALM LXXXIX.

147

19 Then thou spakest in vision to thy beloved," and saidst,
" I have laid help' upon a mighty man,
I have exalted one chosen out of the people.
20 I have found David my servant,
With my holy oil have I anointed him ;
21 With whom my hand shall be established ;
Mine arm also shall strengthen him.
22 No enemy shall exact * upon him.
No son of wickedness shall afflict him.
23 And I will beat down his adversaries before his face.
And plague them that hate him.
24 My faithfulness also and my loving-kindness shall be with
him.
And in my name shall his horn be exalted.
25 And I will set his hand on the sea.
And his right hand on the rivers.

xlvii. 9 [10]. The rendering, "Jehovah
is our shield," is against grammar.
19. The mention of the king in the
preceding verse leads now to the re
sumption and expansion of the promise
given to David. The two aspects of
God's relation to David and bis house
and kingdom are herein presented to us,
an outward and an inward, correspond
ing to the two great attributes of God
which are praised in ver. 1-18, his om
nipotence and his faithfulness. To the
first of these belong : (a) David's exalta
tion to the throne (ver. 19) ; (')) God's
constant aid, and hence his victory over
his foes (ver. 21-23), and extended do
minion (ver. 21, 25). To tho second,
which is the most prominent, God's
fatherly relation to David's seed, which
is shown in {a) the ex£\ltation to the
dignity of a son, who is also the first
born, and therefore holds the pre-emi
nence above all kings (ver. 26, 27);
accordingly lb) an everlasting covenant
made with him and his seed, and an
everlasting kingdom (ver.28, 29); hence,
too, (c) the transgressions of his sonscan-
notmake the covenant void (ver. 33, 34);
{d) with the assurance finally repeated.

that this covenant, which God has once
confirmed by an oath, cannot lie, and
that therefore the seed as well as the
throne of David must endure as the
very heavens. For this outline of the
connection I am indebted to Hupfeld.
Then, referring to the time when the
promise was given.
Thy beloved. On this word see
note on xvi. 10. David is evidently
meant, though the revelation was made
in vision, not to him, but to Nathan
(2 Sam. vii. 4, 17). If we adopt the
plural, which is the reading of many mss.,
then the revelation is made to the nation
at large.
A MiGHTT MAN. Comp. 2 Sam.
xvii.' 10.
22. Son op wickedness. This
clause is taken verbatim from the words
of the promise in 2 Sam. vii. 10.
25. The sea . . . the rivers, i.e. the
Jloditerrancan Sea and the Euphrates,
with reference, no doubt, to the extent
of Solomon's dominion. See above on
Ixxx. 11. Or the range of hope may
be wider, as in Ixxii. 8. The plural
" rivers " is in accordance with poetic
usage, and need not be explained of the

148 PSALM LXXXIX.
26 He shall call me, ' Thou art my Father,
My God, and the Rock of my salvation.
27 Also I will make him my first-born.
Highest of the kings of the earth.
28 Forever will I keep for him my loving-kindness,
And my covenant shall stand fast with him.
29 And I will make his seed (to endure) forever.
And his throne as the days of heaven.
30 If his children forsake my law.
And walk not in my judgments,
31 If "they profane my statutes.
And keep not my commandments,
32 Then will I visit their transgression with the rod,
And their iniquity with stripes.
33 But my loving-kindness will I not break off" from him,
Nor suffer my faithfulness to fail.
34 I will not profane my covenant.
Nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips ;
35 Once have I sworn by my holiness,
I will not lie unto David :
36 His seed shall be forever,
And his throne as the sun before me :
Euphrates and its separate thannels, or God of none effect (Rom. iii. 3). But
the Euphrates and Tigris, etc. see, as presenting a different view,
27. My fiest-eorn. As he calls me 1 Kings viii. 25.
"Father," so I not only acknowledge 32. The rod ... stripes. In 2 Sam.
him as my son, but as my first-born, vii. qualifying expressions are added :
and therefore my heir. (So Israel is "rod of men," "stripes of the children
called the first-born Ex. iv. 22, and of men " ; not meaning " such punish-
Ephraim, Jer. xxxi. 9). mcnts as all men, because all are sinners,
28. Shall stand fast; lit. "is are exposed to " (Hengst.) ; but either
yoiW/u^," the word being the same as in (1) chastisements such as men (comp.
ver. 37, " the faithful witness." for similar phraseology Hos. vi. 7; Job
30. There follows a paraphrase of xxxi. 33), human fathers, employ, for
2 Sam. vii. 14. The chastisement is a, the correction, not the destruction of
necessary part of the paternal relation- their children ; " for what son is there
ship (Heb. xii.). The sins of individuals whom his father chasteneth not " ? or
will be punished by God's fatherly cor- (2) chastisements fitted to the measure
rection, but the covenant cannot cease, of man's endurance (comp. 1 Cor. x. 13).
the promises made to the seed as a whole 35. Once, i.e. " once for all " (LXX,
cannot be withdrawn. Their unfaith- fijra|). Or, as others, " one thing."
fulness cannot make the faithfulness of By mt holiness, as in Amos iv. 2

PSALM

149

87 He shall be established forever as the moon,
And (as the) faithful witness in the sky."
38 But THOU hast cast off, and rejected.
Thou hast been wroth with thine anointed.
39 Thou hast made void ' the covenant of thy servant.
Thou hast profaned his crown (even) to the ground
40 Thou hast broken down all his hedges.
Thou hast made his strongholds a ruin.
41 All they that pass by the way have spoiled him.
He is become a reproach to his neighbors.
42 Thou hast exalted the right hand of his adversaries,
Thou hast made all his enemies to rejoice.
43 Yea, thou hast turned back the edge^ of his sword,
And hast not made him to stand in battle.
44 Thou hast made his splendor'' to cease.
And hast cast his throne down to the ground ;

Other formulae are " by myself," (Isa.
xlv. 23); "by my name" (Jer. xliv. 26).
For the general sentiment of the verse
comp. Rom. xi. : " The gifts and calling
of God are without repentance."
37. The faithful witness. This,
according to the parallelism, must be
"the moon." Luther and. others have
supposed the rainbow to be meant.
Others, again, think that the witness is
God himself, and render, "And a faithful
witness is in heaven." But the moon
is more for certain seasons than any
other orb ; in all countries she has been
the arbiter of festivals.
38. But now comes the mournful
contrast. This covenant, made by the
Almighty and all-faithful God, con
firmed and ratified by an oath, eternal
as the heavens are eternal, sure as the
order of the universe is sure — what has
become of it 1 Has it not failed, or is it
not in danger of failing 1 Appearances
are against its perpetuity, against the
truth of God. The expostulation of the
Psalmist is nothing less than a reproach.
God has with his own hand cast down
the throne of David, and annulled the
covenant; so it seems to one who mea

sures promise and performance by a
human standard. The boldness of the
expostulation has scandalized the Jewish
interpreters. Aben-Ezra tells the story
of a wise and pious Jew in Spain, who
would never read nor listen to this Psalm,
and he and others would -ret rid of the
offence by taking ver. 38-45 as expres
sing the scoff of enemies, not the re
proach of the Psalmist. But see the
exactly similar language in xliv. 9-22,
and notes there.
40. His hedges. The pronouns in
this and the next verse refer grammati
cally to the king, but in sense to the
people, who are regarded as one with
their monarch. The expressions are
borrowed from Ixxx. 12 [13].
43. Hast turned. Although there
is a change here to the present tense in
the Hebrew which is probably due to
the poetic imagination vividly bringing
the past before the eye, it is better, per-
ha]is, to render it as a perfect. See on
xviii. notec.
44. Splendor ; lit. " purity," and
thus " brightness," " lustre," and the
like. The literal rendering of the clause
is, " Thou hast made (him) to ceas«

150

PSALM LXXXIX.

45 Thou hast shortened the days of his youth.
Thou hast covered him with shame. [Selah.]
46 How long, 0 Jehovah, wilt thou hide thyself forever ?
Shall thy fury burn like fire ?
47 0 remember how short a time ' I have to live !
For what vanity hast thou created all the sons of men !
48 What man is he that liveth and shall not see death,
That can deliver his soul from the hand of the unseen
world ? [Selah.j
49 Lord, where are thy former loving-kindnesses.
Which thou swarest unto David in thy faithfulness ?
50 Remember, Lord, the reproach of thy servants,
How I bear in my bosom [the reproach of] many peoples,"

from his brightness, or splendor." See
Critical Note.
45. Thou hast shortened, etc.
This has been explained by Grotius and
others of the short reigns of the later
sovereigns of Judaea. But if spoken of
an individual monarch, the expression
would naturally mean that he had grown
old before his time ; comp. Hos. vii. 9 ;
if of the family of David, it would be a
figure denoting its failing strength be
fore it attained to the glory and dominion
promised. In this latter sense the clause
Is understood by Hupfeld and Hengst. ;
and so Rosenm. : " Quum regnum Judae
vix ad maturitatem aliquam perductum,
et quasi in ipso flore extinctum sit, neque
enim ad quingentos annos pervenit
Davidicae stirpis regnum."
46. The transition from expostulation
to pleading, which of itself shows how
the expostulation is to be understood.
It is human weakness discovering to
God its inmost heart. There is a sense
of wrong, and the true man says that
he feels it, speaks it out, and asks God
to set it right. It is an example of the
perpetual clash between convictions and
facts. See Hab. i. 2, 3. The pleading
consists of two parts, each comprised in
three verses. 'The argument of the first
is the shortness of human life ; that of
the second, the dishonor cast upon God
by the triumph of his enemies.

How long . . . forever. See note
on xiii. 1, and comp. Ixxix. 5.
47. How SHORT A time ; a frequent
ground of appeal to God's forbearing
mercy (xxxix. 5; Job vii. 6; xiv. l,etc.).
For the sentiment in this and the two
following verses, see note on Ixxxviii.lO.
The occurrence of the pronoun of the
first person singular can only be ex
plained by its being intended to describe
a fact of common experience, for in ver.
1 7, 1 8 the people speak in the first person
plural, and the anointed is always spoken
of in the third person. The " I " is the
expression of personal feeling, measuring
others by itself. Or ver. 47-49 may
mean, " Let me, even me, see thy restor
ing love."
49. Former loving-kindnesses ;
not the promise itself, but the manifold
proof of its fulfilment in past times.
50. I bear in my bosom. The
phrase elsewhere signifies "cherishing
with tender care and affection " Nnm.
xi. 12 ; Deut. i. 31 ; Isa. xl. 1 1 ; xlvi. 3,
a signification which is here, of course,
quite out of the question. See more in
the Critical Note. It is rather the ex
pression of an intense sympathy with
the anointed as the representative of
Jehovah, and is urged as a plea why
God's faithfulness should be vindicated.
51. Footsteps, i.e. as we might say,
" every step he takes." Comp. xvii. 1 1 ;

PSALM LXXXIX. 151
51 Wherewith thine enemies have reproached, 0 Jehovah,
Wherewith they have reproached the footsteps of thine
anointed.
52 Blessed be Jehovah for evermore. Amen and Amen.
xxii. 16 [17] ; xlix. 5 [6]. The Targum Thus ends the third book of the Psalter,
interprets this as a reproach, because of like the first and second, with a Mes-
the tarrying of the footsteps of the Mes- sianic Psalm.
siah. And so Kimchi : " He delays so 52. The Doxology is no part of the
long in coming, that they say he will original Psalm, but was added subse-
never come." quently, to mark the close of the book.
• Ethan the Ezrahite. The Greek versions differ, the LXX ren
dering T<3 'la-parjXiT-Q, another tw ZapaiTg, and another tm 'E^pai'Tiy.
(See note '* on Ixxxviii.) Compare 1 Kings iv. 31 [v. 11] ; 1 Chron.
ii. 6. An Ethan or Jeduthun, a Levite, is also mentioned 1 Chron. vi.
29 (44 in E. V.) ; xv. 17, 19, whom some hold to be the same person.
He and Heman, according to Hengst., are called Ezrahites as belonging
to the family of Serah, the K being Aleph prosthetic. At the same
time, as they were Levites, he thinks they were incorporated into the
family of Serah, the son of Judah. So Elkanah the Levite, 1 Sam. i.
1, is called an Ephraimite. Comp. Judges xvii. 7.
^ '^'non , with Dagesh lene, contrary to the rule, here and in Lam.
iii. 22.
° liDn , not constr., but like the forms "i^aa , I"''!'] , Isi'is . Perhaps B^ ''n
may be a special designation, as it occurs only here, " the strong Jah."
* S'iia, either mfin. ^xiias, xxviii. 2; Isa. i. 14 (instead of nxip)
or infinitival noun, like K^iU , Job xx. 6.
° ?)l''Bn . The sing, refers clearly to David, but many of De Rossi's
and Kenn.'s iiss., 16 edd., and all the Greek versions (LXX, tois uiots
crov, the others toIs octiok crov, except S. which has tok Trpo^rfrai.'s <rov),
the Chald., Syr., and Jerome, Sanctis tuis ; the Bab. and Jerus. Talmud
and the Rabbis have the plur., which would refer to the people. See
the same various reading in xvi. 10, and the double reference below
in ver. 41.
* "Its . Hupfeld objects to the word as inapplicable, and would read
either "iJS a crown (comp. ver. 40), or tj>, majesty. But the ancient
versions vouch for the present reading.
« at.'iis^ , the Hiph. usually means to deceive, lead astray (and so here
Symm., elaTroT^a-ti, J. II. Midiaelis, Maurer, Delitzsh), but, construed

152 PSALM LXXXIX.
with a , it is better to take it in the sense in which it occurs in Kal, to
act as a creditor, to exact.
^ '^^SS . Both the form and the meaning of this word occasion some
difiiculty. "ns , to which it is commonly referred, means properly to
break, violate, a covenant, etc., and hence could only be used improp
erly here ; and besides, the fut. Hiph. of that verb would be -SiJ .
Hence we must either refer it to a root "iis , as Gesenius does (Thesaur.
V. "'•ns), or read "iiBs, Twill take away, from the parallel passages,
2 Sam. vii. 15 ; 1 Chron. xvii. 13.
' fin'ixs. The word occurs only here (LXX, Kareo-Tptt/'as) and
Lam. ii. 7, (LXX, d-7r€Tiva^e). It seems to be cognate with lyj.
' "ii:£ . The only place where it occurs in this sense, " edge of a
sword," but the sense is amply justified by the cogn. Arab. .La», an
onomatopoetic root, used of sharp, shrill, grinding, grating noises, etc.,
as Fleischer has elaborately shown in a note to Delitzscli's commentary.
Hence it is quite unnecessary to translate, " O thou Rock" (Olsh.), or,
"the rock of his sword" (Hengst), in a metaphorical sense, "the
strength, etc., of his sword." LXX, rrjv Po-qOuav t^s pop^aiai avrov.
^ i^iiBB . This is the reading of Nurzi, Heidenheim, and the best
Christian editors. The Jewish interpreters (as Aben-Ezra Kimchi,
etc.) assume a noun "it^Ba , with euphonic Dagesh, as in u:"i|3p ,
Ex. XV. 17. The anomalous compound Sh'va is defended by such a
form as "7^'S.3 , 2 Kings ii. 1. But it is better to take the a as the
^r&p. from, " Thou hast made (him) to cease from his splendor." Nor is
it neccessary to have recourse to a form ^na or "ifia (if we read with
some MSS. 'in~t:?:), like b^s, ans, etc. It may be a heteroclite from
irb , instead of "iints , with rejection of the first syllable instead of
the second.
' 'n 'a "lis . MSS. vary considerably (see in Davidson's Hebrew Text),
and editors have troubled themselves with explanations, but there is
really no difficulty. The pronoun stands emphatically first instead of
¦'JX 'n na, ego quantilli sim aevi. See on xxxix. 4 [5], note ^ The
LXX, pvyicrQrjTi tis ij virocrTacrLi pov ; Symm. (Syro-hex.), p,v. tI dpi
S^Stv Trpos r/pepav (s. icfti^pepo';) dpi; Jerome, memento mei de profunda
(Aq., £K Kara8ucrcu)s) .
¦" The whole of the latter clause of ver. 50 [51] presents difficulties
sucli as render the correctness of the existing text questionable : (1)
the singular number, when the plural has just preceded (for the reading
•yrys of some mss., and the Syr., looks as if altered on purpose to
meet the diflSculty) ; (2) the sense in which the phrase to bear in the
bosom is here used, contrary to that in which it elsewhere occurs ; (3)

PSALM LXXXIX. 153
the strange collocation of Dia'n is , all, many, which cannot be defended
by Ezek. xxxi. 6, where ba stands in appos. with 'i S'^ia, following;
(4) the position of the adj. D"'a'i before its noun, wbicli in a common
phrase of this kind is indefensible, and derives no support from Jer.
xvi. 16, to which Maurer refers, as Q'^a'i is there emphatically placed
first. It seems necessary to repeat the word reproach from the first
member of the verse, as the object of the verb in the second, either
making this second clause a relative one, as the LXX, ov vTriaxov iv
TU) koAtto) p,uv TToXXSiv i6vo)v (Symm. without the relative or the per
sonal pron., ifidcTTaaa i. t. k. TrapiroXXCiv i6.), "which I bear from
[the whole of] many nations " ; or supplying rS'in after ia , " all
the reproach of many nations.'' AquUa may have had some other
word instead of C^a^, for he renders aipovros pov iv koXttio Trao-as
dSiKias XaSiv, and so Jerome, portavi in sinu meo omnes iniquitates
populorum. Tliis would remove all difficulty.
Delitzsch gives a different interpretation. He renders, " That I
carry in my bosom all the many nations," and supposes the Psalmist
to complain as a member of the body politic, that his land is full of
strangers, Egyptians and their allies (he assigns the Psalm to the
time of Shishak's invasion), whose outrages and taunts fill his heart with
sorrow. The literal rendering of the present text can only be : " How I beat
in my bosom all the many nations."
VOL. II. 20

THE PSALMS

BOOK lY.

PSALMS XC.-CVI.
155

PSALM XC.
" The ninetieth Psalm," says Isaac Taylor, " might be cited as per
haps the most sublime of human composition, the deepest in feeling,
the loftiest in theological conception, the most magnificent in its
imagery. True is it in its report of human life as troubled, transi
tory, and sinful. True in its conception of the Eternal, — the Sov
ereign and the Judge, and yet the refuge and the hope of men who,
notwithstanding the most severe trials of their faith, lose not their
confidence in him ; but who, in the firmness of faith, pray for, as if
they were predicting, a near-at-hand season of refreshment. Wrapped,
one might say, in mystery, until the distant day of revelation should
come, there is here conveyed the doctrine of immortality ; for in this
very plaint of the brevity of the life of man, and of the sadness of these
his few years of trouble, and their brevity and their gloom, there is
brought into contrast the divine immutability ; and yet it is in terms of
a submissive piety ; the thought of a life eternal is here in embryo.
No taint is there in this Psalm of the pride and petulance, the half-
uttered blasphemy, the malign disputing or arraignment of the justice
or goodness of God, which have so often shed a venomous color upon
the language of those who have writhed in anguish personal or relative.
There are few, probably, among those who have passed through times
of bitter and distracting woe, or who have stood the helpless spectators
of the miseries of others, that have not fallen into moods of mind vio
lently in contrast with the devout and hopeful melancholy which breathes
throughout this ode. Rightly attributed to the Hebrew lawgiver or not,
it bespeaks its remote antiquity, not merely by the majestic simplicity
of its style, but negatively, by the entire avoidance of those sophisticated
turns of thought which belong to a late, a lost, age in a people's
intellectual and moral history. This Psalm, undoubtedly, is centuries
older than the moralizing of that time, when the Jewish mind had
listened to what it could never bring into a true assimilation with its
own mind — the abstractions of the Greek philosophy." — Spirit of
the Hebrew Poetry, pp. 161-63.
Two objections have been urged by Hupfeld against the Mosaic
authorship of the Psalm, neither of which can be regarded as very
157

158 PSALM XC.
weighty. (1) The first of these is, that the Psalm contains no clear
and distinct reference to the circumstances of the Israelites in the wil
derness. (2) The next is, that the span of human life is limited to
threescore and ten or fourscore years, whereas not only Moses himself,
but Aaron, Joshua, and Caleb, are all said to have reached a period of
life considerably beyond this (Deut. xxxiv. 7 ; Num. xxxiii. 39 ; Josh.
xxiv. 29 ; xiv. 10).
As regards the first objection, it is sufficient to reply that the language
of the Psalms is in almost every case general, not special, and that all
that can be reasonably demanded is that there be nothing in the lan
guage at variance with the supposed circumstances, or unsuitable to the
person, the time, the place to which a particular Psalm is alleged to
belong. Hupfeld himself admits that the general strain of thought
and feeling is in every respect worthy of a man like Moses, as well as
in perfect accordance with the circumstances under which this Psalm
is commonly believed to have been written, viz. towards the close of
the forty years' wandering in the wilderness.
The second objection seems at first sight of more force. Tet there
is no evidence that the average duration of human life at that period
was as extended as that of the few individuals who are named. On
the contrary, if we may judge from the language of Caleb, who speaks
of his strength at eighty-five as if it were quite beyond the common lot
(Josh. xiv. 10), the instances mentioned must rather be regarded as
exceptional instances of longevity. The life of the majority of those
who died in the wilderness must have fallen short of fourscore ; and
there is no reason to suppose that their lives were prematurely cut
short. Not this (as Hupfeld asserts), but the forty years' wandering
in the wilderness was their punishment ; and this limit seems to have
been placed to their desert sojourn, because thus all the generation
who left Egypt, having reached man's estate, would, not exceptionally,
but in the natural course of things, have died out.
All the ablest critics, even those who, like Ewald and Hupfeld,
deny the Mosaic authorship of the Psalm, nevertheless admit, that in
depth and loftiness of thought, in solemnity of feeling, and in majesty
of diction, it is worthy of the great lawgiver and prophet. " The
Psalm," writes Ewald, " has something uncommonly striking, solemn,
sinking into the depths of the Godhead. In subject-matter and style it is
original, and powerful in its originality, and would be rightly attributed
to Moses, the man of God (as the later collector calls him, comp.
Deut. xxxiii. 1 ; Ezra iii. 2), if we knew more exactly the historical
grounds which led the collector to this view." It is strange that

PSALM XC. 159
Ewald's one reason for bringing down the Psalm to a later time, the
ninth or eighth century, B.C., is the deep sense of human infirmity and
transitoriness which pervades it, and which he imagines could not have
been felt at an earlier period of the history.
" There are important internal reasons," says Hengstenberg, " which
may be urged in favor of the composition of the Psalm by Moses, as
announced in the title. The poem bears throughout the stamp of high
antiquity ; ^ there is no other Psalm which so decidedly conveys the
impression of being the original expression of the feelings to which it
gives utterance. There is, moreover, no other Psalm which stands so
much by itself, and for which parallel passages furnish so little kindred
matter in its characteristic peculiarities. On the other hand, there
occurs a series of striking allusions to the Pentateuch, especially to the
poetical passages, and above all others to Deut. xxxii., allusions which
are of a different kind from those which occur in other passages in the
Psalms, and which do not appear, like them, to be borrowed. Luther
remarks in the Psalm another peculiarity: 'Just as Moses acts in
teaching the law, so does he in this prayer. For he preaches death,
sin, and condemnation, in order that he may alarm the proud who are
secure in their sins, and that he may set before their eyes their sin
and evil, concealing, hiding nothing.' The strong prominence given
to the doctrine of death as the wages of sin, is characteristic of the
Psalm, a doctrine of not frequent occurrence in holy Scripture, and
especially not in the Psalms, and which is proclaimed as distinctly and
impressively as it is here only in the Pentateuch (Gen. ii., iii.) and in
those ordinances of the ceremonial law which threaten death."
The points of resemblance between the language of the Psalm and
expressions occurring in parts of the Pentateuch, and more particularly
in Deuteronomy, will be found mentioned in the notes. To those who
believe, as I do, that Deuteronomy was written by Moses, they furnish
an argument for the Mosaic authorship of the Psalm.
" This Psalm, then, is one of the oldest of the inspired utterances.
It is the prayer which is read over the mortal dust of some hundreds
of the children of men, every week, in London alone. And so used,
none of us finds it antiquated. The lapse or three thousand years has
not made it necessary to discard this clause and that. Words that
described the relation of the children of Israel to the Eternal God,
serve still to express the devotion of English hearts turning to God in
their sorrow. As these grand words are uttered, the curtain that hangs
round our life seems to draw back, and we see, beyond, depths that we
I So Herder calls it " that ancient Psalm, that hymn of eternity." '

160 PSALM XC.
dreamed not of. From time and the slow succession of events, from
the minutes and the hours that seem so long and so many, we turn to
God, whose eternal nature was as it now is even when the world was
formed, and to whom a thousand years are no more than the middle
watch of the night is to a sound sleeper. Nations that seem established
for ever are carried off down the roaring cataract of time ; men full
of pride .ind glory and power grow and perish like grass ; and God
alone remains unchangeable, the same yesterday, and to-day, and for
ever." — Archbishop of York's Sermons preached at Lincoln's Inn, p. 2.
The Psalm has no strophical division, nor even any regular ryth
mical arrangement. It consists of two principal parts :
I. Tlie first is a meditation on the eternity of God, as it stands in
contrast with the weakness and transitoriness of man (ver. 1-12) ; and
here we liave, first, the contrast stated (ver. 1—6), and then the reason
of this transitoriness, viz. man's sin, and God's wrath as following
thereon, together with the prayer for wisdom to turn to a practical
account these facts of human life (ver. 7-12).
II. The second (ver. 13-17) is a prayer that God — who, notwith
standing Israel's sin, and notwithstanding the chastisement that sin has
provoked, is still Israel's hope and refuge — would now at last have
compassion upon his people, give them joy for sorrow (ver. 13-15),
and crown all their labors with success (ver. 16, 17).
[A Prayer cf Moses, the Man of God.]
1 Lord, thou hast been our dwelling-place
In all generations.
2 Before the mountains were brought forth.
Or ever thou gavcst birth to " tlie earth and the world.
Yea from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
1-6. The eternity and unchangeable- occurs Deut.. xxxiii. 27, combines both
mess of God contrasted with the transi- ideas, and would have u peculiar force
toriness of man. of meaning for the Israelites in the
Thou hast been, or "hast proved wilderness. For Israel was without a
thyself to be." It is the record of a past country and without a home, findin"- here
experience, not merely the statement of and there only a brief resting-place be-
what God is in his own nature. It is side the well and under the palms ot
the acknowledgment of what God had the desert. And Israel was without a
been to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, refuge, exposed to enemies and a thou-
when they had no fixed dwelling-place, sand perils.
but " confessed that they were strangers In all generations ; lit. " in gene-
and pilgrims " — of what he had been ration and generation," a phra.se which
both to their fathers and to themselves. occurs Deut. xxxii. 7.
Ouu DWKi.LiNO-PLACE, Or "a place 2. Thou g.ivest birth to. Perhaps
of refuge for us." The word, which the passive rendering, which Involve?

PSALM XC.

161

3 Thou turnest frail man to dust,*
And thou sayest : Return, ye children of men.
4 Por a thousand years in thy sight
Are (but) as yesterday, when it passeth,"
And as a watch in the night.

only a very slight change in a single
vowel-point (see Critical Note), is to be
preferred : " Or ever the earth and the
world were formed."
Earth . . . world. The former is
the more common and general word;
the latter, which is exclusively used in
poetry, denotes, according to its ety
mology, the fruitful earth (comp. Prov.
viii. 31 ; Job xxxvii. 12).
3. To dust ; lit. " to the state of one
who is crushed, reduced to dust," with
allusion, no doubt, to Gen. iii. 19.
Return. As men perish by the
breath of God, so by his word he calls
others into being : " one generation
goeth, and another cometh." This is
the sense given in the Prayer-book ver
sion ; " again thou sayest : Come again,
ye children of men." Others suppose
the second clause of the verse to be
merely a repetition of the first :
" Thou turnest men to destruction.
And sayest, Turn (i.e. to destruction),
ye children of men."
But if an emphatic repetition were de
signed, the form of the sentence would
rather have been :
"Thou sayest, Turn to destruction, ye
children of men.
And they are turned."
Besides, the fut. consec. "and saj'cst,"
would indicate that the act in the .second
clause of the verse is to be regarded as
a consequence of that in the first ; or, at
least, as subsequent to, and not merely
as parallel with it. Others, again, in
terpret the word " return " of a moral
returning or conversion ; or of the re
turn of the spirit to God who gave it ;
or even of the resurrection. But none
of these explanations harmonizes with
the context.
4. Yesterday. To a Jew, the new
vol. II. 21

day began in the evening. ... A watch
IN the night. The night was an
ciently divided into three, later into four
watches. There is u climax ; for the
past day, short as it seems, was, whilst
it was passing, capable of measurement;
it had its hours and its minutes, its
thoughts and its acts, and its memories.
But the night-watch " is for us as though
it were not ; we sleep through the watch
of the night, living, but observing no
thing." "In those words, ' a thousand
years in thy sight are but as yesterday,'
etc. the Psalmist h.is thrown a light
upon the nature of God such as a volume
of reasoning could not have kindled.
With God there are no measures of time.
With us time is the name we give to the
duration of a certain succession of
thoughts and eflforts, each of which for
a moment held full possession of us,
each of which cost us a. certain pain,
and contributed a little to that weariness
which at last took shelter in repose.
The Most High does not, and cannot, so
govern the world. He docs not look
away from the earth to add fuel to the
sun ; he does not leave one nation of
the earth neglected whilst he works
mighty social chani^es in another. . . .
All that we mean by time must now be
left out of the account. ... It would be
a longer and more tedious task, if a man
were the worker, to build a world than
to guide a wayward nation through its
fortunes ; but what means longer or
shorter where there is no labor nor
waiting nor weariness, but only the
streaming forth of an omnipotent will?
Dare we say that it cost more to con
struct the universe than to guide the
footsteps of one man during the short
year that has just closed ! " — Archbp.
of York's Sermons, pp. 6-8. The senti
ment of the verse is repeated by St.

162

PSALM XC.

5 Thou sweepest them away (as with a flood);* they are
(as) a sleep :
In the morning they are as grass which springeth afresh,'
6 In the morning it flourisheth and springeth afresh,
In the evening it is cut down ' and withereth.
" For we have been consumed by thine anger.
And by thy fury have we been terrified ;
8 Thou hast set our iniquities before thee.
Our secret (gins) in the light of thy countenance.
9 For all our days are passed away in thy wrath.
We have spent our years as a thought :

Peter, who gives also the converse
(2 Pet. iii. 8).
5. Thou sweepest, etc. Or the
two clauses may be dependent upon one
another, as in the Prayer-book version :
"As soon as thou bast swept them away,
they are {or, become) as a sleep."
In the morning. This can hardly
mean " in early youth," as some of the
Eabbis explain. The words, strictly
speaking, are a part of the comparison
("they are as grass which springeth
afresh in the morning") and are only
thus placed first to give emphasis to the
figure. In the East, one night's rain
works a. chjunge, as if by magic. The
field at evening was brown, parched,
arid as a desert ; in the morning it is
green with the blades of grass. The
scorching hot wind (.las. i. 11) blows
upon it, and again before evening it is
withered. 6. It is cut down. Others (see
Critical Note) render, " it is dried up."
The Prayer-book version gives both
meanings ; " it is cut down, dried up, and
withered." 7. For ; explanatory, not argumenta
tive. The reason of all this transitori
ness is to be found in Israel's sin, which
has provoked God's heavy displeasure
against his people. The statement is
not a general one of human sinfulness
and frailty. The use of the first person,
and the past tenses, shows that the
writer is dealing with the facts of his
own history and that of his people.

Have been terrified, or, "utterly
confounded." Sec the same word xlviii.
5 (note), "driven away in panic terror."
8. Our secret sins (this is favored
by the parallelism) or, "our secret
(heart) " ; for the word is singular.
The whole inner being, that which is in
man (John ii. 25), the pollution and
sinfulness of which is hidden from a man
himself, till it is set in the light of God's
countenance. Light, or more properly "luminary";
the same word which is found in Gen.i.,
used of the heavenly bodies, but no
where else used in this particular phrase.
(It is always 'or not m'or). There seems,
however, to be a special reason for this.
The light of God's countenance is every
where else spoken of as a light of love
and approbation. (Hence, the Syriac
renders the second clause " make us
grow young again in the light of thy
countenance.") Here it is a revealing
light. The "light" or rather "sun"
of God's countenance shines down into
the dark abysses of the human heart,
bringing out its bidden evils into strong
and painful relief. The nearest parallel
expression occurs in Prov. xv. 30, where
the same word is used, rendered in the
E.V". " the light of the eyes." It means
" that which contains and gives the light,
as the sun, a lamp," etc.
9. Are passed awat ; lit. " are
turned," or " have declined," comp. Jer.
vi. 4, " the day turns," i.e. declines.
The same word is used in Ps. xlvi. 5

PSALM XC.

163

10 The days of our years are threescore years anij ten.
Or (perchance) by reason of much strength,^ fourscore
years ;
And their pride is (but) labor and vanity,
For it passeth swiftly," and we have fled away.
11 Who knoweth the power of thine anger.
And thy wrath, according to the fear that is due unto
thee?
12 So teach us to number our days.
That we may gain a heart of wisdom.

[6], of the turning, i.e. dawn of the
morning. As A thought. The same compar
ison is found in Homer, as an emblem
of speed : ojcel tmphv i\e v6rip.a. And
Theognis speaks of the years of youth
as fleeing like a thought : at\fia yap Strrs
v6rip.a irapepXiTai &,y\aos rj/S?). But per
haps we ought to render, " as a sigh or
sound," a meaning which the word has
in the two other passages where it occurs.
Job xxxvii. 2 (E. V. sound), Ezek. ii. 10
(E. v. mourning). Referring to this
passage in Ezekiel, Kay renders here :
" sad reverie." But the root idea of
ron is rather to think aloud. Hence the
word may mean " a brief, passing utter
ance," "a fleeting sound." Others again,
" as a breath." So the Chald., " as the
breath of the mouth in winter." (Comp.
xxxix. 5, 6 (6, 7], where, however, the
word is different.) The LXX, and the
Syr., have " as a spider." On this ren
dering and its probable origin, informa
tion will be found in Rosenm. 's note.
10. The days of oue tears (a
common expression in Genesis). The
literal rendering of this clause is, " The
days of our years (nom. absol.) — in
them are seventy years."
Ok (perchance). More literally,
"or if they (the years) be with much
Btrength." Their pride (the word occurs only
here), i.e. the pride of the years, mean
ing all in which men make their boast,
as health, strength, honor, riches, etc.
Fob it passeth, etc. Words which

come with double force from the lips of
one now standing himself on the extreme
verge of life, and looking back on the
past. Comp. the language of St. John,
" The world passeth away, and the lust
thereof," etc.
1 1 . Who knoweth, i.e. " regardeth,
considereth aright." This must be re
peated with the next hemistich, " Who
regardeth thy wrath, according," etc.
12. Teach us ; lit. "To number our
days, so teach us." i.e. in this manner
teach us, give us this kind of instruction.
The position of the words and the ac
cents justify this interpretation. Others
take so (l/s) in the sense of accordingly.
Others, as meaning rightly. And others
again connect it with what goes before :
"So, i.e. according to the fear due unto
thee " ; or, in accordance with all the
previous meditation. Of the need of
this divine arithmetic Calvin well says :
" Nam qui optimus erit arithmeticus, et
myriades myriadum distincte ac subti-
liter tenebit ac excutiet, non tamen
poterit octoginta annos supputare in
propria vita. Hoc certe prodigio simile
est homines extra se ipsos metiri omnia
intervalla, cognoscerequotpedibus distet
luna a ccntro terrae, quam longis inter
se spatiis planetae dividantur, denique
omnes coeli et terrae dimcnsiones tenere,
quum in seipsis scptuaginta annos non
numcrent." That we jiat gain, gather, bring
in as a harvest, the fruit of the earth,
etc. Comp. the use of the same word,
2 Sam. ix. 10; Hag. i. 6; a heart oJ

164

PSALM XC.

13 Eeturn, 0 Jehovah ! — how long ? —
And let it repent thee concerning thy servants.
14 0 satisfy us in the morning with thy loving-kindness,
That we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
15 Make us glad according to the days' wherein thou hast
afflicted us.
The years wherein we have seen evil.
16 Let thy work appear unto thy servants.
And thy majesty upon their children.

wisdom, a wise heart is the fruit which
we are to gather from the divine in
struction. 13. The prayer which follows springs
from the deep source of the preceding
meditation. God is everlasting, man
transitory and sinful. Man does not
consider his sin aright, even when God
lays his hand upon him. He needs
divine instruction that he may take to
heart the lesson both of his sinfulness
and his transitoriness. But Moses does
not forget that, in spite of all, God has
been and still is the home of his people.
He is a compassionate God, as well as a
God that punisheth transgression. And
therefore he asks not only that he and
his people may learn the lesson of divine
wisdom, but that the God who had
chastened them would visit them with
his loving-kindness, that the night of
sorrow may flee away, and the morning
of gladness dawn. God's love, God's
personal manifestation of himself, his
blessing descending upon them as they
enter upon their new life in the promised
inheritance, — for this, and not for any
thing less, he prays. "And the prayer
is a presage of the end of their pilgrim
age, and of their forgiveness, and their
settlement in the land that God had
given them."
Return. This may mean, as in Ex.
xxxii. 12, " Turn from thine anger," or,
as in vi. 4 [5], " Turn to thy people."
How LONG. See notes on vi. 3, 4.
Let it repent thee, or, " show
compassion towards." The fuller ex
pression is found in Ex. xxxii. 12, "Let

it repent thee of the evil," etc. The
phrase occurs frequently in the prophets.
14. In the morning, when the night
of sorrow is spent. Comp. xlvi. 5 (note);
cxliii. 8.
15. Afflicted us, or " humbled us,"
the same word which is used in Deut.
viii. 2, where this " humbling " is said
to have been God's purpose in those
forty years' wandering.
16. Tht work. The word is used
both of God's judgments and of his acts
of grace. Some editions have the plural,
" Thy works," but the sing, is most
common in the Psalms when the refer
ence is to God. Comp. Ixxvii. 12 [13] ;'
xcii. 4 [5]; xcv. 9, and Hab. iii. 2. Here,
the bringing of Israel into his inheritance
is meant. The noun occurs nowhere in
the Pentateuch, except in Deuteronomy.
See, for instance, Deut. xxxii. 4. " Quia
Deus Ecclesiam suam deserens, quod-
ammodo alienam personam induit, scite
Moses propriuni ejus opus nominat pro-
tectionis gratiam quam pollicitus fuerat,
filiis Abrahae. . . . Hac ratione Paulus
(Rom. ix. 23) Dei bonitatem gloriae ti-
tulo spccialiter insignit." — Calvin.
Tht m.vjestt. " Notandum est,"
says Calvin : " decoris et pulchritudinis
nomen, unde colligiraus quam incom-
parabilis sit erga nos Dei amor. Quam-
vis enim suis donis nos ornans, nihil
sibi acquirat, liberaliter tamen nobiscum
agendo splendere vult, et decorem suum
palamfacere; ac si forma ejus obscura
esset, ubi nos sua beneficentia prosequi
cessat." Upon, as coming down out of heaven,

PSALM XC. 165
17 And let the graciousness of Jehovah our God be upon us ;
And the work of our hands do thou establish upon us ;
Yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.
and so descending upon. Comp. Isa. Ix. work carried out by human instruments,
1, 2 ; but this is not certain, as the may look for his blessing. Referring
prepositions ?!* and ?5 are often inter- to the use of this Psalm in the ofiice for
changed. the burial of the dead, Mr. Housman
17. Graciousness, or" favor." This observes: " It is remarkable how not
is perhaps a better rendering here than only this but the thirty-ninth Psalm, as
"beauty," which I have retained in well as the lesson (1 Cor. xv.) all close
xxvii. 4, where see note ; but see Prov. with the same thought, — work; as
iii. 17 ; Zach. xi. 7. though the one great use of the short-
The work of our hands, another ness of life, and the coming on of death,
expression which runs all through Deut. were to stir us up to use the very utmost
The order deserves notice. God's work of the time that is left." — Readings on
is first to appear, his majesty to be re- the Psalms, p. 189.
vealed ; then man's work, which is God's
" i^inn'i. (1) According to the existing punctuation, this is active
(Pilel) ; but it may be either 2d pers. masc, as in the E. V., or it may
be 3d fem., as the Syr. takes it : " or ever it " (i.e. the eartli) " was in
travail," or " brought forth," viz. plants, animals, etc. (comp. Gen. i. 11,
24). So Ewald : " ek' kreiste Erd' und Land. Hupfeld, Delitzsch, and
Bunsen adopt the former rendering, which makes God the subject of
the verb, appealing to Deut. xxxii. 18, where the same verb is used
of God in reference to Israel. The act of creation, says Delitzsch, is
compared to the pangs of travail. There is, however, greater harshness
in the application of such a figure to the origin of the material universe,
than in its application to describe the relation of his pepple to God.
But (2) a very slight change of jiuiictuation will give us the passive,
bbinn , which accords with the pass. Il^^i before, and which is the ren
dering of the Chald.; LXX, irAao-6^i/ai ; Aq. and Symm., wSLvrjdrjvai,
and Jerome, who says that this is wliat the Hebrew had in his time,
and all the versions, " illud autem, quod et Hcbraicum habet et omnes
alii interpretes : Antequam monies nascerentur, et parturiretur terra."
Then the rendering will be : " Or ever the earth and the world were
formed," lit. " born."
*¦ NS'n , according to Ewald, fem. subst., for ns'n , the termination in
K being found early. Num. xi. 20. (Comp. Deut. xxiii. 2, where the
reading varies between the form in fi and that in X .) The form, how
ever, is rather that of the adj. (xxxiv. 19 ; Isa. Ivii. 15), either in a
neuter sense, contritum, comminutum, i.e. dust (comp. Gen. iii. 19), or
as a predicate, eo ut fiat contritus, " to the condition of one who is

166 PSALM XC.
crushed" (comp. for the constr. Num. xxiv. 24). LXX, ets Tairuvuxriv)
Symm. (Syro.-hex.), ad condemnationem contritionis ; Chald., " Unto
death." " ib?>:) 13 . This can neither be rendered " when it is past " (as the
E. v.), nor " when it shall have past" (as De Wette) ; grammatically
it can only be "when it passeth" or "is passing" (so Ewald, who
observes, " it is at evening, when the day is just passing away, that it
seems the shortest," but?), or "because it passeth"; but neither of
these yields a satisfactory sense ; we want the rendering of the E. V.,
" when it is past" Hupfeld therefore would take 'V q^X as the subject
of ^bs^ , " For a thousand years are in thy sight when they pass (or,
because they pass) but as yesterday." We have Cj^js with the sing.
verb in xci. 7, but there the verb stands first in the sentence (and
nothing is more common than for the verb to be in the sing, when it
precedes a plur. subject), and q^x is without a substantive.
* cris'^t. The verb occurs only here and Ixxvii. 18, formed from
the noun D'^'i . The preterite may stand in the protasis as the condi
tion of what follows : " (When) thou hast swept them away with a
flood, they become as a sleep," etc., like the shadowy image of a dream,
which leaves no trace behind. Hupfeld connects "ij^ba with this clause:
" they become as a sleep in' the morning " (comparing Ixxiii. 20 ; Isa.
xxix. 7). No doubt this gives a good sense, and there is a difficulty in
explaining the Masoretic text, " In the morning they are as grass," etc.,
for " the morning " cannot mean the morning of human life, or youth,
as Kimchi and others understand. But on the other hand, Hupfeld's
arrangement of the clauses leaves the second miserably lame : "As the
grass passeth away." [On the question whether p can thus be construed
with the verb, see on xiii. note " (3).] On the whole, it is better to
assume an incorrectness of expression, and to take " in the morning
they are," etc., as ^= " they are as grass which withereth [or springeth
afresh, see belowj in the morning."
¦^ri'^n;:). Two exactly opposite interpretations have been given of
this verb, both proceeding from the same radical idea, that of change,
transition from one place or condition to another ; but the one imply-
mg the change of new life, growth, etc., the other that of decay and
death. The first meaning is common, in the Hiph. of this verb (comp.
Isa. ix. 9 ; xl. 31 ; xli. 1 ; and of plants. Job xiv. 7 ; xxix. 20), but is
nowhere else found in the Kal (though Gesen. gives this sense in Hab.
i. 11, but wrongly). Hence Ewald, Hupfeld, Bunsen, and others, adopt
the second meaning of passing away, in the sense of perishing (so the
LXX has Trapc'X^ot, and Jerome, quasi herba pertransiens). Accord-

PSALM XCI. 167
ing to this view, the first member of ver. 6 contains the whole figure,
the latter part of which is then repeated and expanded in the second
member : In the morning it flourisheth, and (then) perisheth,
In the evening it is dried up and withered.
Gesenius, on the other hand (Thesaur. in v.), gives to S;in , in this pas
sage, the sense of viret revirescit. Zunz's Bible has sprosset, Delitzsch,
schosset wieder. And amongst the older interpreters, the Chald. and
Syr. render similarly. Hupfeld and others object to the repetition
involved in this rendering ; but that exists on either interpretation, and
the repetition is merely emphatic, as for instance in xcii. 10.
* bViB"! . According to the punctuation, Palel, act, which is usually
taken as an impers. instead of the passive : " one cuts down," instead
of " it is cut down." Ewald, Hupfeld, and others give to the verb bia
the sense of withering, here and in xxxvii. 2 ; and the former observes
that the beauty of the comparison consists in the fact that the flower
which was so lovely in the morning fades away of itself, the same day,
in the scorching heat of the sun. But perhaps here the pass., with
the same slight change of the vowel as in note ", is preferable.
8 niiDJa . " Poet. plur. for sing. The word, an abstract from '^'iaa,
occurs nowhere else in this sense, but always of physical strength as
exercised, put forth, as for instance in warlike prowess ; so of the war-
horse cxlvii. 10 ; Job xxxix. 19 (comp. 'b'T\ , Ps. xxxiii. 16), of the sun
at his rising. Judges v. 31 (comp. Ps. xix. 6). The plural in particular
is always used of deeds of valor, of the mighty acts of God or of men.
The notion of physical strength, natural vigor, etc., is usually expressed
by nsa , li'a , and the like." — Hupfeld.
^ 15 , not from ttS , in a pass, sense, is cut off, as Symm., Tp-rjOivre';,
but to be connected with tia , Aram, and Syr., to pass by. See on Ixxi.
note ""j where, however, la is spoken of as the part. It is better, as the
Vau consec. follows, to take it as the pret.
' niai. , only here and Deut. xxxii. 7, instead of "B"^ ; the following
m'SCJ , poet. plur. for ''JizJ , occurs first in the same passage of Deut. Both
are in construct, with the verbal clauses following, Gesen. § 114, 3.

PSALM XCI.
This Psalm, which in the Hebrew has no inscription, is by the
LXX, apparently without sufficient reason, ascribed to David. It
celebrates, with considerable variety and beauty of expression, God's

168 PSALM XCL
loving and watchful care, and the perfect peace and security of those
who make him their refuge. " Can the providence of God," aska
Herder, " be taught in a more trustful or more tender spirit ? The
language is the language of a father, growing ever more fatherly as it
proceeds, till at last the Great Father himself takes it up, and declares
his truth and faithfulness."
Mr. Plumptre speaks of it as " an echo, verse by verse almost, of
the words in which Eliphaz the Temanite (Job v. 17-23) describes the
good man's life. — Biblical Studies, p. 184.
There is no reason to suppose that the Psalm was written during the
prevalence of a pestilence (such, for instance, as that mentioned in
2 Sam. xxiv. 15),^ for the variety of figures employed shows that the
Psalmist is thinking of peril of every kind, coming from whatever
source, and that he paints all dangers and fears vividly to the eye of his
mind, in order to express the more joyfully his confidence that none of
these things can move him, that over all he is more than conqueror.
It is St. Paul's fervid exclamation, " If God be for us, who can be
against us ? " expressed in rich and varied poetry.
The structure of the Psalm is in some respects peculiar. The writer
speaks at one time of or from, at another to, himself ; he is both sub
ject and object ; now he utters his own experience, and now he seeks
to encourage himself with divine promises ; and the transitions are so
abrupt, that various attempts have been made to soften or explain them.
A full account of these will be found in the Critical Note on verse 2.
There is no strophical arrangement ; but the general structure of the
Psalm rests on the common principle of pairs of verses, except that the
two concluding groups consist of three verses each, thus : 1, 2 ; 3, 4 ;
5, 6; 7,8; 9, 10; 11-13; 14-16.
1 He that sitteth in the secret place of the Most High,
That resteth under the shadow of the Almighty,
1. In the first ed. this verse was ren- the common principle of Hebrew paral-
dered as if it were complete in itself: lelism. There is no reason for affirming
" He that sitteth in the secret place of that the verb resteth (lit. " lodgeth,
the Most High passeth the niL:ht,") is used in any em-
Resteth under the shadow of the phatic sense, such as is implied by the
Almighty." rendering of the E.V., "He that dwel-
But it cannot be denied that such a leth, etc. . . . shall abide," i.e. constantly
rendering is open to the charge of tan- and permanently continue. Hence the
tology, the second clause being only a reading of the LXX, who in ver. 2 have
variation of the first, in accordance with the 3d per. epei, he shall say, instead of
} Stier mentions that some years ago an eminent physician in St. Petersburg
recommended this Psalm as the best preservative against tho cholera.

PSALM XCI. 169
2 Saith" of Jehovah, he is iny refuge and my fortress.
My God, in whom I trust.
3 Por HE shall deliver thee from the snare of the hunter,
From the devouring pestilence.
4 With his featliers shall he cover thee.
And under his wings shalt thou find refuge,
His truth shall be a shield and a buckler.
5 Thou shalt not be afraid for any terror by night,
(Xor) for the arrow that flieth by day,
6 For the pestilence that walketh in darkness,
(Nor) for the sickness that wasteth ^ at noon-day.
7 A thousand shall fall at thy side.
And ten thousand at thy right hand ;
(But) it shall not come nigh thee.
8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold
And shalt sec the reward of the wicked.
9 For thou, 0 Jehovah, art my refuge : —
Thou hast made the Most High thy habitation ;
the 1st, I will say, has much to commend artifice of Oriental warfare ; or, perhaps,
it, and I have now adopted it. In each to a destruction like that of Sennacherib.
clause of ver. 1, 2, God is spoken of by 7. It shall not co.me nigh tiiee.
a diflFerent name. God is " Most High," The sin^ailar refers to any and every
far above all the rage and malice of one of the evils mentioned in ver. 5, 6.
enemies ; "Almighty," so that none can "As the general who carries within him
stand before his power ; "Jehovah," the the convietiun that he is called to a
God of covenant and grace, who has great work, whilst the bullets fall thick
revealed himself to his people ; and it is as hail about hiui, stands with calm eye
of such a God that the Psalmist says in and firm foot, and says : I know that
holy confidence, he is "my God," in the bullet is not yet cast which can
whom I trust. strike mc, so stands the man of pro-
2. Saith, or "will say." In the phelic faith in the hour of danger, with
Hebrew text the 1st person stands, "I the conviction that the thunderbolt will
will say." See more in Critical Note. turn aside Irom his bead, and tho torrent
3. Snare of the hunter. Comp. dry up at his feet, and the arrows fall
xviii. 5 [6] ; cxxiv. 7 ; Hos. ix. 8. blunted from his breast, becausethe Lord
Devoubing pestilence. For the wills it." — Tholuck.
epithet, see Critical Note on v. 9 [10]. 9. The change of persons is again
4. With his FEATHEKS, or "pinion." perplexing. The Psalmist suddenly
See the beautiful passage, Deut. xxxii. interrupts the address to himself which
11, and note on Ps. xvii. 8 ; Ixiii. 7. had been continued in one strain from
5. Terror et night (comp. Song ver. 3 (and which is resumed again in
of Sol. iii. 8; Prov. iii. 23-26), in allu- the second clause of this verse, " Thou
sion, probably, to night-attacks like hast made," etc.), to express his own
those of Gideon (Judges vii.), a favorite trust in God. But whether we suppose
vol. ii. a2

170

PSALM XCI.

10 (Therefore) there shall no evil befall thee.
Neither shall any plague come nigh thy tent ;
11 For he will give his angels charge over thee,
To keep thee in all thy ways ;
12 On (their) hands they shall bear thee (up),
Lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
13 Upon the lion and adder shalt thou tread.
Thou shalt trample the young lion and serpent undei
thy feet.
14 " Because he hath set his love upon me.
Therefore will I deliver him ;
I will set him on high, because he knoweth my name.

the address in ver. 3-8, and again that
which, beginning with the second mem
ber of ver. 9, extends to the end of ver.
13, to be the words of the Psalmist him
self, or whether they are put into some
other mouth with a view to musical
effect — in either case the words are
really a voice from heaven, tho promise
of God uttered to and appropriated by
the soul.
10. Tent. An instance of the way
in which the patriarchal life became
stereotyped, so to speak, in the language,
comp. Mai. ii. 12. There is an allusion,
perhaps, to Israel's exemption from the
plagues of Egypt (Ex. xii. 23).
11. Angels; not as "guardian an
gels," but as God's ministers in the
government of the world, and cspeci.ally
as "sent forth to minister to them that
shall be heirs of salvation." Comp.
xxxiv. 7. By the " lion and adder "
there is no need to understand exclu
sively, or chiefly, the powers of darkness,
the evil spirits (as Delitzsch thinks). As
by " a stone " all hinderances, so by " the
lion and dragon " all hostile powers, are
denoted, more particularly in the natural
world. This may be illustrated from
histories like those of Samson, David,
Daniel, etc., and especially in the New
Test, by the history of the temptation
(Mark i. 13). What a prophecy of the
victorv of faith over the material as well

as over the spiritual world, and that not
only i)y miraculous, but by non-miracu
lous means! Comp. Mark xvi. 18;
Luke x. 19; John xiv. 12. The LXX
render ver. 11, 12, 'dn toXs ayyihois avrov
4vT€\e7rat irepj (rod, tov SiatpvKa^at ffe iv
Trdaats Ta7s 6So7s oov. 'Eirl x^ip^v apovtriv
oe, p.'ljtror^ irpocrK6r^ris irphs KiOov rhv iroSa
(TOV. The quotation both in Matt. iv. 6,
and Luke iv. 10, 11, is made from the
LXX, but the former omits the whole
of the clause " to keep thee," etc., and
the latter the words " in all thy ways,"
so that it would seem that the omission
of this last was designed in the mouth
of the tempter. The " ways " spoken of
in the Psalm are the " ways " of obedi
ence and duty, not the " ways "of pre
sumption or self-seeking. S. Bernard,
speaking of the temptation, says : " Non
est via haec, sed ruina, et si via, tua est,
non illius." " Quanquam autem de
singulis Ecclesiae membris agit propheta,
non temere hoc diabolus aptavit ad
personam Christi. Nam utcunque sem
per ei sit propositum pervertere et cor-
rumpere veritatem Dei, in generalibus
tamen principiis speciosum colorem
adhibet, satisque acutus est theologus."
— Calvin.
14-16. God's answer to the soul which
trusts in him. " God himself coines
forward to establish the faith of his
servant, writes deeper in the soul so

PSALM XCL 171
15 When he calleth upon me, I will answer him.
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him ;
16 With long life will I satisfy him,
And show him my salvation."
great a, consolation, and confirms the The special promise of long life at the
testimony to his servant. ' He hath set close, as a temporal blessing, is in ac-
his love upon me ; he knoweth my name ; cordance with the general character of
he calleth upon me' — these are the the Old Testament. Still it is possible
marks of a true servant of God. God that men like the Psalmist, full of faith
draws nigh to one who so draws nigh to in God, attached a deeper and more
him." Comp. with this passage 1. 15, spiritual meaning to promises and hopes
23. like these, than was attached to them by
16. Long life; lit. "length of days." the majority of their countrymen.
* "isN. This, as it stands, can only be the 1st pers. fut., which is
embarrassing, as the 3d pers. precedes. This and other abrupt changes
of person in the Psalm have given rise to every variety of explanation.
Delitzsch thinks that the Psalm is dramatic in character, and that it
must be distributed between three voices, and may have been possibly
so sung in divine service. The flrst voice utters ver. 1 : " lie that sitteth
in the secret place, that abideth in the shadow of the Almighty,'' and
is taken up by the second voice, which sings ver. 2. The first voice
resumes at the beginning of ver. 3, and continues to the end of ver. 8.
The second voice then utters the first clause of ver. 9, " For thou, O
Jehovah, art my refuge." And the first voice begins with " Thou hast
made the Most High thy habitation," and goes on to the end of ver. 13.
The third voice, which utters the words of God himself, is heard in
verses 14-16.
Probably this, on the whole, is the simplest explanation of the
change of speakers in the Psalm ; but ver. 1 may have been sung by
the choir rather than by a, single voice.
Tholuck's arrangement is the same, except that he makes ver. 1
complete in itself, and that he gives ver. 1, ver. 3-8, and 9S-13 to the
precentor: ver. 2 and 9a to the choir, and supposes 14-1(5 (the divine
words) to be sung by the precentor and choir together.
Herder in like manner distributes the Psalm between two voices,
but gives verses 1, 2, and 9a to the first voice, and the rest of the
Psalm to the second.
Ewald has a different conception of the structure of the Psalm.
Partly, he thinks, the poet expresses his own feelings as from himself,
and partly as if they were uttered by another. He seems to listen to

172 PSALM xcn.
the thoughts of his own spirit, till they become clear and distinct, like
some prophetic words, or some divine oracle speaking to him from
without, and giving him thus the assurance and the consolation afresh
which had already sprung up in his heart.
Hupfeld, who is followed by Bunsen, alters the text. He would
supply ^ycj» at the beginning of ver. 1, and read "iSN instead of ^BSt
in ver. 2. He renders ver. 1, 2.
" [Blessed is he] who sitteth in the hiding-place of the Most High,
Who passeth the niglit in the shadow of the Almighty,
Who saith to Jehovah, my refuge," etc.
Again in ver. 9 he supplies n'^ON :
" Because [thou hast said] ' Thou Jehovah art my refuge,'
(And) bast made the Most High thy habitation."
Such alterations may, no doubt, " get rid of all difficulty at a stroke,"
but they are purely conjectural, and have no support from mss. or ver
sions. The difficulty is older than any of the existing versions. The
LXX. felt the awkwardness of the change from the 3d pers. in ver. 1 to
the 1st in ver. 2, and hence they retained the 3d pers., ipei, in ver. 2.
Jerome likewise has dicens in ver. 2, as if he read ^icN . The Syr.
also has the 3d pers. instead of the 1st. The Chald. distributes the
Psalm between three speakers. On any view there is much difficulty
in determining the relation of the first verse to what follows. Taken
by itself it is tautological — the second clause is merely a repetition of,
the first, for the \erb "ipVp"; is not, as Michaelis and others suppose,
emphatic. It would seem better, therefore, with the Syr., LXX, and
Jerome, to retain the 3d pers. in ver. 2, and to read either nsN or T5N'',
the change in either case being very slight. The latter is preferable,
as in the former both the subject and predicate would be participial.
Ewald, however, thinks the poet is himself the subject in both verses ;
first, as looking'at himself (hence, 3d pers.), then, as speaking of him
self, 1st pers.) : " The man who sitteth . . . who resteth, etc., . . . even I
say," etc. He refers to Job xii. 4. See also Isa. xxviii. 16.
^ iw; for ^TO^ from "ild. Comp. for similar forms Prov. xxix. 6 ;
Isa. xiii. 4. The LXX Kai Saipoviov, from a false reading -\^\

PSALM XCII.

This Psalm is called a Psalm for the Sabbath-day, and, as we learn
from the Talmud (Tr. Kiddushin), was appointed to be used in the
temple service on that day. It was sung in the morning, when, on the

PSALM xcn. 173
offering of the first lamb, the wine was poured out as a drink-offering
unto the Lord (Num. xxxviii. 9). At the evening sacrifice one of the
three passages, Ex. xv. 1-10; 11-19; Num. xxi. 17-20, was sung.
The Talmudic treatise above referred to gives the following as the
selection of Psalms for the service, each day of the week, in the second
temple. On the first day, Ps. xxiv. ; on the second, Ps. xlviii. ; on the
third, Ps. Ixxxii. ; on the fourth, Ps. xciv. ; on the fifth, Ps. Ixxxi. ; on
the sixth, Ps. xciii. ; on the seventh, " A Psalm or song for the Sab
bath-day, i.e. a Psalm or song for the future age (the age of the
Messiah), all of which will be Sabbath." In Eosh ha-Shana, however,
the question is raised whether the Psalm refers to the Sabbath of
creation (R. Nehemia), or the final Sabbath of the world (R. Akiba).
The title in the Targum, " Of the flrst Adam," favors the former, as
does also the opinion of the older Rabbis quoted by Kimchi, who tells us
that this Psalm " was said by the first man, who was created on the eve
of the Sabbath, and when he awoke early in the morning of the Sabbath,
uttered this Psalm" (Phillips, Vol. ii. p. 302). Athanasius supposes
the latter to be intended, aivet iKclvrjv rrjv y^y]crop,ivT)V avdirava-iv. Better
Augustine, " Dicit unde solent perturbari homines, et docet te agere sabba-
tum in corde tuo." It cannot be said, however, that there is anything in
the contents of the Psalm which, as pointing either to the future or the
present rest, would account for its selection as the Sabbatical Psalm.^
It celebrates in joyful strain the greatness of God's works, and
especially his righteous government of the world, as manifested in the
overthrow of the wicked, and the prosperity and flnal triumph of the
righteous. The apparent success of the ungodly for a time is admitted,
but this is a mystery which worldly men, whose understanding has
become darkened, cannot penetrate (ver. 6). The Psalm therefore
touches upon the same great principles of the divine government which
are laid down in such Psalms as the first, the thirty-seventh, the forty-
ninth, and the seventy-third. But here there is no struggle with
doubt and perplexity, as in the seventy-third ; the poet is beyond all
doubt, above all perplexity ; he has not fallen down to the low level
of the brutish man (comp. Ixxiii. 22 with ver. 6 of this Psalm) ; he is
rejoicing in the full and perfect conviction of the righteousness of God.
The strophical arrangement of the Psalm is doubtful. Hupfeld
1 This and all the Psalms which follow, as far as the one huiiJredth, are litur
gical, in character, and were evidently intended for use in the temple service.
They bear also some resemblance to one another in point of style, especially in
•the anadiplosis, xcii. 9 [10] ; xciv. 1, 3 ; xcvi. 13. Compare also xciii. 1 with
xcvi. 10, and the recurrence of the same expression in xcv. 3 ; xcvi. 4 ; xcvii. 9

174 PSALM XCII.
groups the first three verses and the last four together, and disposes
the intermediate verses in pairs. Delitzsch is clearly wrong when he
distributes the Psalm into five groups, each of three verses. I believe
that we have two principal divisions (ver. 1-7, and ver. 9-15), each
division consisting of seven verses, separated' by a verse (the eighth),
which, unlike all the rest, is comprised in a single line. Each seven
is again subdivided into a three and four. The whole scheme, there
fore, stands thus: 1-3, 4-7, (8) 9-11, 12-15. All the joy of the
Psalmist culminates in that great fact, that Jehovah is throned on high
for evermore ; from that flows the overthrow of the wicked and the
triumph of the righteous.
[A Psalm. A Song for the Sabhath-Day.]
1 It is a good thing to give thanks unto Jehovah,
And to sing psalms unto thy name, 0 Most High,
2 To declare thy loving-kindness in the morning.
And thy faithfulness every night,
3 With a ten-stringed instrument and with the lute,
With sound of music ° upon the harp.
4 For thou hast made me glad, 0 Jehovah, because of that
thou hast done,
I will sing for joy because of the works of thy hands.
5 How great, 0 Jehovah, are thy works !
Very deep are thy thoughts.
6 A brutish man '' knoweth not.
And a fool doth not consider this.
1-3. Introduction, expressive of real So also in the next clause the works
delight in God's service. of tht hands, as in cxliii. 5.
It is a good thing, i.e. a delightful 5. How great ; not as in Ixxiii., " it
thing, not merely acceptable to God, was a trouble in mine eyes." Faith
but a real joy to the heart. wonders and adores. Men's thoughts
4. The great reason of all this joy. on such subjects are but folly. It is as
The Psalmist has witnessed the mani- though they considered not (ver. 6).
festation and the triumph of the eternal Faith is the true interpreter of the world
righteousness of God. (ver. 7).
That thou hast done, or "thy Vert deep. Comp. xxxvi. 6 [7];
doing" ; not here God's power in crea- xl. 5 [6] ; cxxxix. 17 ; Rom. xi. 33.
tion (a misunderstanding which may 6. A fool; in the same sense as in
have led to this Psalm being associated xiv. 1. " Stultos autem vocat omnes
with the sabbatical rest of creation), but incredulos, ac taciteeos fidelibus opponit, '
God's moral government of the world, qiubus Deus per Verbum suum et Spiri-

PSALM XCII.

175

7 When the wicked spring as the green herb.
And all the workers of iniquity do flourish,
It is that they may be destroyed ° forever.
8 And thou, 0 Jehovah, art (throned) on high for evermore.
9 For lo, thine enemies, 0 Jehovah,
For lo, thine enemies shall perish.
All the workers of iniquity shall melt away.
10 But thou hast exalted my horn like (the horn of) a wild ox ;
I am anointed * with fresh oil.
11 Mine eye also hath seen (its desire) upon them that lie in
wait for me,°
And my ear hath heard (its desire) of the evil-doers who
rise against me.
12 The righteous shall spring as the palm.
He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.

tnm illueet. Nam peraeque omnium
mentes occupat haec inscitia et caecitas,
donee coelesti gratia oculati reddamur."
— Calvin.
8. This verse, consisting of but one
line, expresses the great central fact on
which all the doctrine of the Psalm rests.
This is the great pillar of the universe
and of onr faith. " Hoc elogium non
tantum honoris causa ad Dei essentiam
refertur sed ad fidei nostrae fulturam :
ac si dictum esset, quamvis in terra anxie
gemantfidelesactrepident, Deum tamen,
qui custos est vitae ipsorum, in sublimi
manere et cos protegere virtute aeterna."
— Calvin.
On high. The word only occurs
here as a predicate of God ; lit. " height,"
or " in the height " (accusative). Comp.
the adverbial use of the same word in
Ivi. 2 [3], where see note. Elsewhere
God is said " to inhabit the height."
Isa. Ivii. 15, to be " glorious in the
height," xciii. 4, and in Mic. vi. 6 we
have " God of height," i.e. " God on
high,'' or " God in heaven."
9. Shall melt awat; lit. "shall
separate themselves, disperse," breaking
np, as it were, without the application of
any external force.

10. Fresh oil, or " green oil," as in
Latin oleum viride, said of the best oil.
11. Mine eye, etc. See for this ex
pression liv. 7 [9] ; lix. 10, etc.; the one
which follows in the next clause, of the
ear hearing with satisfaction of the over
throw of his enemies, seems to have been
expressly framed to correspond to the
other; it occurs nowhere else in this
sense. Them that lie in wait for me ;
the same whom in ver. 9 he calls "thine
enemies." Sure of the triumph of the
kingdom of God, he is sure also of his
own triumph.
12-15. What is true of the Psalmist
is true of all who are partakers of the
same faith. The date-palm and the
cedar are selected as the loveliest images
of verdure, fruitfulness, undecaying
vigor and perpetuity. " Throughout
the year, in the winter's cold as in the
summer's heat, the palm continues green.
Not by years but by centuries is the
cedar's age reckoned." — Tholuck. There
is also a contrast : " The wicked spring
as the green herb, or grass" (ver. 7),
which soon withers away, " The right
eous spring as the palm," which is ever
green and ever fruitful. Besides this,

176 PSALM XCII.
13 They that are planted in the house of Jehovah
Shall spring in the courts of our God ;
14 They shall still bear fruit in old age,
They shall be full of sap and green,
15 To declare that Jehovah is upright,
My rock in whom there is no unrighteousness.'
there are only two passages in the Old like the Haram es-Shcrif, contained
Testament where the palm is used in trees.
comparison, — Cant. vii. 7, where it is 14. Thet shall bear fruit, in
said of the bride, " Thy stature is like allusion probably to the great fruitful-
to a palm-tree " ; Jer. x. 5, where the ness of the date-palm, which, when it
idols are said to be " upright as a palm- reaches maturity, produces three or four
tree"; and one in the Apoerypha(Eccles. hundred pounds' weight of fruit, and
xxiv. 14), " I was exalted like a palm- has been known even to produce six
tree in Engaddi." This, as Dr. Howson hundred pounds' weight.
(Smith's Diet, of the Bible, mt. " P.ilm- 15. To declare, etc. Thus in the
tree ") has noticed, is remarkable, con- end God's righteous government of the
sidering the beauty of tho tree, and its world will be manifested. The flourish-
frequent recurrence in the scenery of ing of the workers of iniquity has been
Palestine. but for a moment (ver. 7, 9, 11) ; the
13. The figure need not be so far joy and prosperity of the righteous is
pressed as to imply that such trees forever. This is the signal proof of
actually grew in the temple-court (see God's righteousness; this is the justi-
on Iii. 8). Still it is by no means im- fication of the Psalmist's confidence
probable that the precincts of the temple, resting ever on that unshaken " Eock."
* ¦'i"'Sn . As this word occurs in the midst of others signifying
musical instruments, it seems most natural to suppose that it also means
an instrument of some kind. But usage and the derivation of the
word are rather in favor of Gesenius's interpretation, noise, sound (ad
strepitum cithara factum; comp. ix. 16 [17]) ; nor does the prep, "^is
militate against this. It may mean not only upon, but accompanying.
Hupfeld renders, " zum Spiel mit der Harfe," and Delitzsch, " auf
sinnigem Spiel mit Cither."
'' ara-aiix , " a brute-man," a compound expression, like Cns N'^Q ,
Gen. xvi. 12 ; Ezek. xxxvi. 38. Comp. xxxiv. 22, only that the rela
tive position of the two words is inverted.
° tD^^iirrt . An instance of the periphrastic use of the infin., with b
for the future (see on Ixii. note e) ; but perhaps the apodosis begins
with ^S^S*^ , " then all the workers of iniquity fiourish to their ever
lasting destruction."
* ^rifca . 1st Perf. sing, anomalously with the accent on the last
syllable (as cxvi. 6 ; Isa. xliv. 16). The form is rather that of the inf.
with suffix, and so it was taken, against the context, by the older trans-

PSALM XCIII. 177
lators. LXX, to yijpdis p.ov ; Symm, ij iraXai'wo'ts pov ; Jerome, senecta
mea. But this requires a verb to be supplied, on the principle of
zeugma, from the first clause. " Thou hast exalted (= refreshed) my
old age with fresh oil." It is preferable, therefore, to take the word
as 1st Perf. sing., here apparently intrans. (so Kimchi), though else
where trans, (cf. Gen. xi. 7, 9) ; and it may be trans, here, if we supply
the object, the horn, or the head.
' ''~'^':i, , similar participial forms occur Num. xxxv. 32 ; Jer. xvii. 13
(K'ri '•yio). Mic. ii. 8. ivi = "iii'ir v. 9, and the construction with the
suffix may be compared with ia|3 xviii. 40, but "iioj takes the ace. in
Num. xxiii. 9.
' nrbs , to be read "~;i' , as in Job v. 16, from Thiv , Isa. Ixi. 8, fem.
of iiii' (by contraction of the original diphthong au into 6), instead of
the more common tibis , which the K'ri prefers (fii^^l? , as cxxv. 3).

PSALM XCIII.

Tece sum and substance of this Psalm is contained, as Hitzig has
remarked, in the eighth verse of the preceding Psalm. It celebrates
the majesty of Jehovah as rider of the universe. He is Creator of the
world. He has been its King from everlasting; it rests upon him, and
is stayed by his might. All the powers of nature obey him, however
lawless they may seem, as all the swelling and rage of men, of which
those are but a figure, must obey him. But his majesty and his glory
are seen, not only in controlling the powers of nature, and whatsoever
exalteth and opposeth it.-^elf against him, but in the faithfulness of his
word, and in the holines.s of his house.
As the Psalm speaks of a particular manifestation of Jehovah's
kingly rule, of a time when he has taken to himself his great power
and reigned (see note on ver. 1), it may in this sense be termed Mes
sianic. For, as Delitzsch has pointed out, the Old Testament prophecy
concerning the kingdom of God consists of two series of predictions,
the one of which speaks of the reign of the anointed of Jehovah out
of Zion, the other of the reign of Jehovah himself as the great King
over all the earth. These two lines of prophecy converge in the Old
Testament, but never meet. Only here and there do we discern an
intimation (as in xlv. 7) that the two are one.
The LXX (Codex B) has the inscription, tZs rijv fjpipav rov Trpoeraf^-
fidrov, 0T£ KaT(iKt,(TTai rj yrj, oXvo's (JS^s to Aovi'S. The latter part of this
VOL. II. 23

178

PSALM XCIII.

title is probably merely conjectural. The former agrees with the
Talmudic tradition, according to which this is the Friday Psalm, and, as
is said in Rosh ha-Shana, 31 a, " because God on the sixth day had
finished his work, and begun to reign over his creatures." Perhaps
this is what is meant also by the ore. KaT(aKWTaL (or Kard^Kicrro), " when
the earth was peopled with living creatures," of the LXX.

1 Jehovah is King, he hath clothed himself with majesty ;
Jehovali hath clothed, he hath girded himself with
strength.
Yea, the world is established that it cannot be moved.
2 Thy throne is establislied of old ;
Thou art from everlasting.
3 The floods have lifted up, 0 Jehovah,
The floods have lifted up their voice.
The floods lift up their roaring.

1. Is King. More exactly, "hath
become King," as if by a solemn coro
nation (comp. the same expression of a
nc\v monarch ascending the throne,
2 Sam. XV. 10 ; 1 Kings i. 11 ; 2 Kings
ix. 13). He has been King from ever
lasting, but now his kingdom is visibly
set up, his power and his majesty fully
displayed and acknowledged ; as it is
said in the Apocalypse of the final man
ifestation, " Tho kingdoms of this world
are become the kingdoms of our Lord
and of his Christ."
Hath clothed . . . himself. Comp.
civ. 2 ; Isa. Ii. 9 ; Job xl. 10. In the
second member of the verse the verb is
rhythmically repeated, and the noun
" strength " really belongs to both verbs.
(So the LXX.) Por the further de
scription of this girding with strength,
sec Isa. lix. 17 ; Ixiii. 1 ; Dan. vii. 9.
Yea, the world, etc. The effect of
the divine rule and power, as in xcvi. 10.
The reference is apparently not merely
to the creation of the world and its prov
idential administration, but to these as
representing in a fiuurc the moral gov
ernment of God. For the throne of God
in ver. 2 denotes, as Calvin says, his
righteous sway and government, and

the language of ver. 3 is to be under
stood figuratively as well as liter.illy.
.3. The floods. The word com
monly signifies streams, rivers, but oc
casionally also is used of the sea in
poetic parallelism, as in xxiv. 2 ; John
ii. 3 [4] ; Jer. xlvi. 7, 8.
Have lifted up. The use of the
past tense had led some commentators to
see a reference to some historic event —
some gathering of hostile powers, who
arc described under the figure of the sea
and the waves roaring. But the change
in the last clause of the verse to the
present tense renders this doubtful.
Hupfeld infers from the use of the word
"floods" (comp. Ilab. iii. 8), the epithet
of " glorious," or " mighty " in next
verse, which is used of waters only here
and in Ex. xv. 10, and the " lifting up
the voice," as in Hab. iii. 10 (comp.
xxvii. 17, 18), that there is an allusion
to the passage of the Ued Sea.
Their roaring ; lit. " their blow,"
or " beating," said of the dashing of the
surf in thunders upon the shore. The
word occurs only here ; in the next
verse the plural " voices " is used here
only of the sea, elsewhere always of
the tbimdcr. Hence some have sup-

PSALM XCIII. 179
4 More than the voices of many waters.
The glorious ° breakers of the sea,
Jehovah on high is glorious.
5 Thy testimonies are very faithful.
Holiness becometh thy house, 0 Jehovah, forever.
posed a comparison, " Louder than the majesty of God as seen in his dominion
thunders." in the world of nature, to his revelation
4, This verse is the answer to ver. 3, of himself in his word. At the same
and may have been sung antiphonally. time there is a connection between the
The construction is not very clear. For two, as in xix. God who rules the
the different renderings see Critical world, he whose are the kingdom, and
Note. the power, and the glory, forever, has
Glorious, or " mighty." An epithet given his testimonies to bis people, a
of the waves in Ex. xv. 10, of God in sure and faithful word, and has himself
Isa. xxxiii. 21. come to dwell among them, making his
Jehovah on high. Comp. xcii. 8 house and his people holy.
[9] ; xxix. 10. Forever; lit. "for length of days,"
5. The triinsition is abrupt, from the as in xxiii. 6.
" D"'1''ti8< . According to the common accentuation, this adj., though
standing before its noun, is not a predicate, but an attribute, " the
glorious, or mighty breakers of the sea,'' and Hupfeld would defend
this by xcii. 12, where, however, the case is not parallel, the participle,
with the pron. and noun following, being so closely connected as to
form as it were one word, ''a '" 'p3 , or where, at least, the latter word
might be regarded as in appos. with the former. Perhaps, however,
as it has been suggested that there C^""i'a is a gloss, so in like manner
here n^ ¦¦"^'^^ may have crept into the text. There is a similar am
biguity arising from the place of the adj. in Isa. xxviii. 21, ... ^nirr'a ^1
¦in^bi; ";";:: , commonly rendered, as in E. V., " His strange work . . .
his strange act," although many there insist on retaining the predicate :
" His work is strange ... his act is strange," etc. But in Isa. xxxiii.
21, there can be no ambiguity. The adj. (and it is the same adj. as
here in the Psalm, "•'"x) can clearly be only an attribute, not a predi
cate, " the glorious Jehovah," and this fully justifies a similar rendering
Aere. So too, apparently, Isa. liii. 11 ¦''n^S p'^'ns , "My righteous
servant." But instead of Mjrca with =^~'^":i^ , or Tarchn, as Ben-Asher
reads. Ben-Xaphtali has Dechi, and according to this we may take both
adjectives as qualifying D"'? , and then repeat the prep, from the first
slause before '"^ 'c . " More than the voices of many mighty waters,"
^tc. Or we may take the prep, ya , not as expressing comparison, but
IS causal, and then two renderings are open to us, either (a) " Because

180 PSALM XCIV
of the voices of many waters, mighty are the breakers of the sea ;
Jehovah on high is mighty " [and this is supported by the LXX, ex
cept that perhaps they intended aTro (jiuyvwv vBdrmv ¦ttoXXuiv to be joined
with the previous verse] ; or (b) " By reason of the voices of many
mighty waters, even the breakers of the sea, Jehovah is mighty " ; i.e.
these great phenomena of nature show forth his glory and bis majesty.
There is yet anotlier explanation of the construction possible. The
Psalmist may have begun with a comparison, and then have broken it
off in order to bring the second and third members into more forcible
juxtaposition. Above the voices of many waters, — glorious are the
breakers of the sea, Jehovah on high is glorious.

PSALM XCIV.

Bt the LXX this is called "A lyric Psalm of David, for the fourth
day of the week" (rerpaSi crajipdrov). It is probably not a Psalm of
David, but the latter part of the inscription accords with the Talmudic
tradition (see introduction to Ps. xcii.).
The Psalm opens with an appeal to God to execute righteous ven
geance on wicked rulers or judges who oppress and crush the helpless,
whilst in their folly they dream that his long-suffering is but the
supineness of indifference. It concludes with the expression of a calm
confidence that God's righteousness will be finally manifested. The
righteous, taught by God's fatherly discipline, and upheld by him, can
wait for the end, when the wicked shall reap the reward of their wick
edness, and shall be utterly destroyed.
The conviction thus expressed of the righteousness of God's govern
ment is similar to that in Ps. xcii., except that here this conviction is
grounded more directly on personal experience.
The Psalm may be thus divided :
1. An introduction, consisting of an appeal to God (ver. 1, 2).
2. The reason for this appeal, namely, the insolence and oppression
of the wicked (ver. 3-7).
3. The blindness and folly of such conduct, as a virtual contempt of
God (ver. 8-11).
4. In contrast with this the blessedness of those who are taught of
God, and who can therefore in their confidence possess their souls
(ver. 12-15).
5. The strong personal conviction of Jehovah's righteousness, based
upon past experience (ver. 16-19).

PSALM XCIV. 181
6. A conviction which extends also to the future, and by virtue of
which the Psalmist sees righteous retribution already accomplished
upon the wicked (ver. 20-23).
1 0 Jehovah, thou God to whom vengeance belongeth.
Thou God to whom vengeance belongeth, shine forth.*
2 Lift up thyself, thou Judge of the earth
Render a reward to the proud.
3 How long shall the wicked, 0 Jehovah,
How long shall the wicked triumph ?
4 They belch out, they speak arrogant things,
All the workers of iniquity carry themselves proudly."
5 Thy people, 0 Jehovah, they crush,
And thine inheritance do they afflict.
6 They slay the widow and the stranger,
And they murder the fatherless ;
7 And they say : " Jah seeth not,
Neither doth the God of Jacob consider."
8 Consider, 0 ye brutish among the people !
And ye fools, when will ye be wise ?

1. God to whom, etc. ; lit. " God of words "fatherless" and "stranger,'' and
vengeances." Comp. ix. 12 [13] ; Jer. rendcrthclast " proselyte" (irpoo-TJAi/Toj').
Ii. 56. For the anadiplosis, see again The widow and the fatherless are men-
ver. 3, 23, and xciii. 1, 3. tioned, as often, as particular instances
3. With this verse begins the com- of those whose misery ought to excite
plaint, the expostulation with God, and compassion, but whose defcncelessness
therelbrc clearly the first strophe. De- makes them the easy prey of the wicked.
litzsch and others wrongly join this with There is no abbreviated comparison, as
the two preccdin j; verses as forming part Hengst. maintains, — " Thy people who
of the introduction. So far from that, are as helpless as the widow," etc. But
it is quite possible, with the E.V., to the language shows that domestic tyiMuts,
regard ver. 4 as continuing the question not foreign enemies, are aimed at.
of ver. 3, " (How long) shall they pour 7. Jah seetii not. Comp. x. 11;
forth," etc. lix. 7 [8]. Not that they deliberately
4. Thet belch out, thet speak, utter such blasphemy, but their conduct
two verbs having one noun as the object amounts to this, it is a practical atheism.
(as in xciii. 1 ) = " they pour forth hard. See on xiv. 1.
or proud (xxxi. 18 [19] ; 1 Sam. ii. 3) 8. The utter folly of this denial of a
speeches." The first verb is rendered divine providence, because judgment is
"they belch out" in li.x. 7. not executed speedily. The argument
5. Crush ; Prov. xxii. 22 ; Isa. iii. 5. which follows is from the perfections of
6. The LXX have transposed the the creature to those of the Creator,

182

PSALM XCIV.

9 He, that planteth the ear, shall he not hear ?
Or he that formeth the eye, shall he not see ?
10 He that instructeth the nations, shall not he reprove,
(Even) he that teacheth man knowledge ?
11 Jehovah knoweth the thoughts of man.
That they are vanity.
12 Blessed is the man whom thou instructest, 0 Jah,
And teachest out of thy law.

The very nature of God and of man
convicts these fools of their folly. " Can
anything," says Herder, "more to the
point be urged, even in our time, against
the tribe of philosophers who deny a
purpose and design in nature ? All
that they allege of the dead abstraction
which they term ' nature,' the heathen
ascribed to their gods ; and what the
prophets say against the one, holds
against the other."
Among the people, i.e. of Israel.
" Gravius est autem vocare stultos in
pqpw/o, quam simpliciter stultos; eo quod
minus excusabilis sit t.ilis amentia in
filiis Abrahae, de quibus dictum fuerat
k Mose, Quis populus tam nobilis, etc.
(Deut. iv. 7)." — Calvin.
10. In the English Bible this is broken
up into two questions, and a clause is
supplied in the second member, which
does not exist in the Hebrew, " Shall
not he know?" But this is incorrect.
There is u. change in the argument.
Before, it was from the physical consti
tution of man ; now it is from the moral
government of the world. He who is
the great educator of the race (" \\ho
nurtureth the heathen," Prayer-book
version), who gives them all the knowl
edge they possess, has he not the right
which even human teachers possess of
chastening, correcting, reproving ? Ho
may not always exercise the right, but
it is his. This, which I believe to be
the true interpretation of the verse, is
that of the LXX ; 'O 7rai5ei5wi> tdvi), ovxt
iXiy^ei ; ti Sid(i(TK(iiv avOpaiTTov yvw(nv ; or
there may bo a change in the appeal, a
breaking off of the question, as one he
need not ask. The Psalmist was going

to say at the end of ver. 10, " Shall not
he know ? " finishing his question as
the preceding verses, but instead of that
he gives the answer directly in ver. 11,
" He knoweth," etc. Hengst. remarks
that the doctrine of an influence exercised
by God upon the consciences of the
heathen is of comparatively rare occur
rence in the Old Testament, a fact to be
explained by the very depraved condition
of such of the heathen as were the near
neighbors of the Israelites, and among
whom few traces of such an influence
could be seen. On this divine education
see Rom. i. 20; ii. 14, 15.
11. So far from "not seeing," "not
regarding," as these " brutish" persons
fondly imagine, Jehovah reads their
inmost thoughts and devices, as he reads
the hearts of all men, even though for a
time they are unpunished. The verse is
quoted in 1 Cor. iii. 20, 6 Kvpios yivdxjKH
rovs 5ia\oyi(Tixovs rwv (joipijiiv on €i(rlv
/idraiot, which only deviates from the
version of the LXX in the substitution
of tho special cro<p!iv, as more suitable to
tlie apostle's argument, for the general
avBpdjTTQJV. Vanity ; lit. "a breath," as in xxxix.
5, 6. The second clause of the verse
is ambiguous. The pronoun " they,"
although masc, may refer to the noun
"thoughts" (fem.), but perhaps rather
to the collective " man." Probably the
best rendering of this cl.ause would be,
"For they (i.e. men) are but a breath" ;
this vanity, weakness, and emptiness of
men being alleged as a reason why God
sees and understands their thoughts ;
they are finite, whereas he is infinite.
12. The Psalmist turns to comfort the

PSALM XCIV.

183

13 To give him rest from the days of evil.
Till the pit be digged for the wicked.
11 For Jehovah will not thrust away his people.
Neither will he forsake his inheritance.
15 For judgment must turn unto righteousness.
And all the upright in heart shall follow it.
16 Who will rise up for me against the evil-doers ?
Who will set himself up for me against the workers of
iniquity ?
17 Unless ' Jehovah had been my help.
My soul had soon dwelt in silence.
18 (But) when I said, My foot hath slipped.
Thy loving-kindness, 0 Jehovah, held me up.
19 In the multitude of my anxious thoughts within me.
Thy comforts refreshed my soul.

individual sufferer. God who educates
the heathen (ver. 10), educates also the
Israelite, giving him a better instruction
(comp. Dent. viii. 5; Job v. 17), inas
much as it is that of a direct revelation.
13. To GIVE HIM rest. This is the
end of God's teaching, that his servant
may wait in patience, unmoved by, safe
FKOM, the DATS OP EVIL (comp. xlix.
5 [6]), seeing the evil all round him
lifting itself up, but seeing also the secret,
mysterious retribution, slowly but surely,
accomplishing itself. In this sense the
"rest" is the rest of a calm, selt-pos-
sessed spirit, as Isa. vii. 4 ; x.xx. 15;
xxxii. 17; Ivii. 20, and "to give him"
=" that thou mayest give him." Others
interpret the " rest " of external rest,
deliverance from sufferings (comp. Job
iii. 13,17) ; then " to give " would be =
" so as to give," etc.
14. Foe. God will give peace to the
man whom he teaches, /or he is a par
taker of the covenant, one of that people
and that inheeitance which he cannot
forsake, and he cannot forsake them till
righteousness ceases to be righteousness.
15. POR JUDGMENT, ctc. Or " for
judgment shall come back unto right
eousness with all them that are upright

in its train,'' i.e. with the approval ol
all good men. Judgment cannot always
be perverted, cannot always fail. It
must appear in its true character at last
as very righteousness. This, no doubt,
was what Luther meant by his forcible
rendering :
"Denn Rechtmuss dochRecht bleiben."
Shall follow it ; lit. " (shall be)
after it," i.e. shall give in their adhesion
to it, openly .avow their attachment to it.
Por the phrase, see 1 Sam. xii. 14 ;
2 Sam. ii. 10; 1 Kings xiv. 8.
16-19. Application to himself, and
record of his own experience.
Against ; lit. " with " ; but we need
not suppose that it = " to fight with,"
as Hupfeld explains. See note on Iv.
18 [19].
Set HIMSELF UP, in battle, as in ii. 2 ;
2 Sam. xxxiii. 10, 12.
17. Silence, i.e. of the grave, or the
unseen world, as in xxxi. 18 ; cxv. 17.
19. Anxious thoughts, or "per
plexities " ; lit. " divided or branching
thoughts," whether doubts or cares.
Kay, " busy thoughts." The word
occurs, as here, with the r inserted, in
cxxxix. 23, and the simpler form in Job
iv. 13.

184

PSALM XCIV.

20 Can the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee,*
Which f rameth mischief by statute ?
21 They gather themselves in troops against the soul of the
righteous.
And condemn the innocent blood.
22 But Jehovah hath been a high tower for me.
And my God the rock of my refuge.
23 And he hath requited them their own iniquity.
And shall destroy them through their own wickedness :
Jehovah our God shall destroy them.

20-23. This strophe, like the last, ap
plies the gener.al doctrine of the Psalm
to the individual case, the personal
security of the Psalmist, and the right
eous retribution visited upon the evil
doers. But for "Jehovah my God," in
ver. 22, we have in ver. 23, "Jehovah
our God," as if to remind us that his
personal welfare does not stand apart
from, but is bound up with, that of the
nation. Comp. ver. 14.
20. THETiiRONE.or "judgment-seat."
The word is purposely employed, as
Calvin observes, to show that he is in
veighing, not against common assassins
or thieves, but against tyrants who,
under a false pretext of justice, oppressed
the church. The throne of the king, the
seat of the judge, which is consecrated
to God, they stain and defile with their
crimes. Iniquity, or, perhaps, "destruction.''
It is scarcely possible to give the word
an a'jequate rendering here. It occurs
V. 9 [10] ("yawning gulf"), where see
C'litical Note ; xci. 3, where, as the
bitter of two nouns, it may be rendered
as an adjective, " devouring."
Have fellowship with thee. Cf.
for the Hebrew expression v. 4 [5] ; Gen.

xiv. 3. "Judges and magistrates ought
to exercise their authority as God's
vicegerents, so that in this their unright
eousness they might seem to be claiming
God himself as their ally. Comp. 1.
16." — Bunsen.
By statue. They claim to bo acting
according to law, seeking to hide their
unrighteousness by a holy name. This
seems, on the whole, the best rendering
of the words, though others would render
"against the law" (Symm. kotqi Ttpoir-
rdyfiaros ) .
21. Gather themselves IN troops,
like bands of brigands. Por the word
seexx.xi. 13 [14] ; xxxv. 15; Iv. 18 [19.]
Condemn the innocent blood, i.e.
" condemn the innocent to death " ; cf.
Matt, xxvii. 4. Delitzsch wrongly ex
plains that because the blood is the life,
the blood is the same as the person.
23. Hath requited ; lit. " hath
caused to return," as vii. 16 [17]; liv.
8 [7]. The preterites here express, not
so much what has already taken place,
as the confidence of faith which looks
upon that which shall be as if already
accomplished. Hence the interchange
with the futures which follow.

° y-'Bin , imperat. but irregular ; it should be either ni'isin , the full
form, as in Ixxx. 2 ; or i'Sin , the shorter form ; see Gesen. § 64, 1 t,.
It may, however, be the pret., as in 1. 2. So the LXX, irrapprjaidaaTo.
And so Hengst., who refers to xciii., xcvii., xcix., as also beginning
with the preterite.

PSALM XCV. 185
* 1"iS!Xn'^ , only here, not the Hithp. of "isx , " they say to themi-elves,
or among themselves"; but more probably, as Schultens, connected
^ M Is.
with the Ar.ab ^| to command, ^[j to carry oneself us ruler
(romp, ^ijijl Knir). In Heb. the root appears in ^"'KS , a liigh
branch, and ^" -X , dweller in the mountains, cognate with ^'C , the
liiphth. of which occurs Is.a. Ixi. 6, rightly rendered by Jerome,
smierhittis. " "h'h . We must supply "^n , nisi fuisset, or esset, the ajjcdosis
being propemodum, or cito (see on ii. 12, note*^) occuhuisset. As
regards the construction, comp. cxix. 92 ; cxxiv. 1-5 ; Isa. i. 9 ; and
for the pret. with 'cviTj , Ixxiii. 2 ; cxix. 87 (with the fut. Ixxxi. 3 5).
* ?l"."r"'. . not Pual for "("l^r'"'. > with substitution of o for Q, for this
would still leave unexplained the dropping of the Pathach, but Kal
with transposed vowel for '^~~n" Comp. T|:ni (Gen. xliii. 29 ; Isa.
xxx. 19) for Tiin"; , and 'in^rxn (.Job xx. 20) for artish. The same
law holds, as Hupfeld observes, iu such forms as ^-~sn for 'fixn , Prov.
i. 22, etc. The o in "(""n"; points to a form -an;; , which ought, however,
to be ""i^ni; , as the root is intrans., and therefore must be pointed "inn ;
but comp. f?";; and ybn;; from ysn . For the construction, comp.
rp-li , V. 5.

PSALM XCV.

This Psalm is one of a series, as has been already observed, intended
for the temple worship, and possibly composed for some festal occasion.
Both the joyfulness of its opening verses, and its general character, in
which it resembles the eighty-first Psalm, would render it suitable for
some of the great national feasts.
As to the date of its composition nothing certain can be said. The
LXX call it a Psalm of David ; and the writer of the Epistle to the
Hebrews, in making a quotation from the Psalm, uses the expression
'¦ in Dav'd," but this is evidently only equivalent to saying " in the
Psalms." Ii: 'the Hebrew it has no inscription.
In Christian liturgies the Psalm has commonly been termed the
Iiivitatory Psalm. We are all familiar with it, as used in the Morning
Service of our church ; and it has been sung in the Western churches
from a very remote period before the Psalms of the Nocturn or Matins.
(Palmer, Orig. Liturg. i. 221.)
VOL. II. 24

186 PSALM XCV.
" We may think of this Psalm, as we sing it in our daily worship, aa
prophetic of a better worship still, even of the perpetual adoration of
that heavenly city, wherein the apostle saw no temple, ' for the Lord
God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.'" — Housman,
Readings on the Psalms, p. 198.
It consists of two very distinct parts :
I. The first is an invitation to a joyful public acknowledgment of
God's mercies (ver. 1-7).
II. The second (beginning with the last member of ver. 7 to the end)
is a warning to the people against the unbelief and disobedience through
which their fathers had perished in the wilderness.
1 0 COME, let us sing joyfully unto Jehovah,
Let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation ;
2 Let us go to meet his face with thanksgiving,
With psalms let us shout aloud unto him.
3 For Jeliovah is a great God,
Yea, a great King above all gods.
4 (Even he) in whose hands are the deep places ° of the earth :
And the heights " of tlie mountains are his.
5 Whose is the sea, — and he made it,
And his hands formed the dry land,
1-7. The character of the invitation places the E. V. has "come before,"
here given, to worship God, not with which does not sufficiently express tha
penitence and brokenncss of heart, but forwardness, the ready alacrity, which
with loud thanksgiving, is the more are really denoted by the verb.
remarkable, when we recollect in what With psalms. The LXX, e;/ ij/aA/iois
a strain the latter part of the I'sr.Ira is ctAaActfu/ifi'. The Syro-hex. adds "with
written. the trumpet."
1. Unto Jehovah. Anuustinc lays 3. A threefold reason is given why
stress on this : " He invites to a f;reat this worship should be offered with glad
feast of joy, of joy not unto the world, hearts and loud thanksgivings — that
but unto the Lord." And in the next Jehovah is a King more glorious than
clause, where the Latin has jubilemus, he all "who are called gods, and who are
explains it of a joy which runs beyond worshipped," that he is the Creator of
all words. the world, that he is the watchful Shep-
Eocic or our salvation, as in herd of his own chosen people.
Ixxxix. 26 [27]. Comp. " Eock of my AnovE all oods : not the angels,
refuge," xciv. 22. but all the gods of the heathen. Comp.
2. Go to 3IEET. Such is the proper Ex. xviii. 11 ; xv. U, ctc. It cannot be
and strict rendering of the word. See inferred from this language that ib.e
the same phrase xvii. 13; Ixxxix. 14 Psalmist supposed the hca' hen deities to
[15]. The verb is used in the same have any real power, or real cxistcnco
sense as here, Micah vi. 6. In both (comp. xcvi. 5). He is merelv contriist-

PSALM XCV.

187

6 0 come let us worship and bow down.
Let us kneel before Jehovah our Maker.
7 For he is our God,
And we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of
his hand.
To-day oh that ye would hear his voice :

ing heathen objects of worship, clothed
in the imagination of their worshippers
with certain attributes, and the one true
supreme object of worship, who is really
all, and more than all, which the heathen
think their gods to be. See more iu the
note on xcvii. 7.
6. O COME. Again the invitation to
lowliest adoration and worship, called
forth afresh by the remembrance of
God's revelation to and covenant with
Israel. Our Maker, and ver. 7, our God,
thus asserting tho personal covenant
relationship of God to his people (so
Moses speaks of " the Piock who begat
thee, the God who made thee," Deut.
xxxii. 18) ; and here, as so often else
where, God's majesty as seen in creation
is linked with his love as seen in re
demption. See on xix. 7 ; xxiv. 1, 2.
7. People of his pasture, Hupfeld
would correct, " ].eople of his hand, and
sheep of his pasture." But this is as
dull as it is unnecessary. The subject
of comparison and the figure are blended
together. The last member of this verse
belongs clearly to what follows. It may,
however, be rendered (1) either as the
expression of a wish (as in the text),
'Oh that," ctc. ; lit. " if ye will hear . . .
(then it shall be well with you)," the
apodosis being understood; or (2), as
in the LXX, Jerome, the E.V., and
others, this clause may be the protasis,
"if ye will hear his voice" (ver. 8 intro
ducing the apodosis), " harden not your
hearts." So also in Heb. iii. 7, the
writer of the Epistle, as usual, following
the LXX. (3) A third interpretation,
however, is possible, which is that of
Aben-Ezr.a, and others, according to
which the first two members of ver. 7
ire to be taken parenthetically, and the

last member joined with ver. 6: "Let
us kneel before Jehovah . . . to-day if ye
will hear bis voice." In any case there
is the same solemn strain of warning
and expostulation breaking in upon the
very joy and gladness of the, temple
worship, as we have already observed in
Ixxxi. 6 [7]. Psalms like these seem to
have had a double purpose. They were
not only designed to ba tho expression
of public devotion, the utterance of a
nation's supplications and thiinksgivings,
but they were intended also to teach, to
warn, to exhort. They were sermons
as well as liturLjies. Hence, too, the
pro]ihetic character which marks them.
The Psalmist, like every true preacher,
comes as an ambassador from above,
S])eaking not his own words, but the
words which God has given him, the
words which God himself has uttered.
The warning hero rests, as in Ixxviii.,
Ixxxi , etc., on the example of their
fathers in tho desert.
To-day, the present moment, as crit
ical and decisive, the day of gr.ace which
may be lost; or the refisrence may be,
and probably is, to some special cir
cumstances under which the I'.snlm was
composed. It " stands firL,t," as Bleek
observes, " with strong emphasis, in
contrast to the whole jiast time during
which they had shown themselves dis
obedient and rebellious against the divine
voice, as, for instance, during the journey
through the wilderness, alluded to in
the following \erses : ' to-day ' theiefore
means ^now'; 'nunc litndem.'" "To
day " may, however, apply not only to
a particular historical crisis, but (as
Alford on Heb. iii. 7 remarks) to every
occasion on which the Psalm was used
in public worship. " Often as they were
faithless, the ' to-day ' sounded ever

188

PSALM XCV.

8 " Harden not your heart as at Meribah,
As in the day of Massah [trial] in the wilde rness,
9 When your fathers tried me.
Proved me, yea ° saw my work.
10 Forty years (long) was I grieved with (that) generation''
(saying)
' It is a people that do err in (their) heart.
And they do not know my ways ' ;

anew ; for ' the gifts and calling of God
are without repentance' " — Tholuck.
8. Harden not. Bleek asserts that
this is the only place where to " harden
the heart" is spoken of as man's act,
elsewhere it is said to be God's act ; but
this is not correct. Man is said to harden
his own heart, Ex. ix. 34 ; 1 Sam. vi. 6
(where the verb is 133 in the Piel);
Prov. xxviii. 14 Cwhere the same verb,
fr^P, is used as here; Deut. xv. 7;
2 Chron. xxxvi. 13 (where the verb
yax is in the Piel).
MEKinAii, "striving" or "provoca
tion." Mass \ii, "temptation" or"trial."
Prom Ex. xvii. 1-7 it would appear that
both names were given to the same locality.
But according to Nnm. xx. 1-13, the
names were given to two different places
on different occasions. Comp. also
Deut. xxxiii. 8, "thy Holy One whom
thou didst prove at JI;is-;ab, iind with
whom thou didst strive at the waters of
Meribah." The LXX in this V^aXm
only, give ¦iTapaTriKpa(7p.6s as the equiva
lent of " Meribah " : elsewhere they
have \oi^6p7](Tis (Ex. xvii. 7) ; KoiSopia
(Num. XX. 24) ; avTiXoyia (Num. xx. 13;
xxvii. 14; Deut. xxxii. 51; xxxiii. 8;
Ps. Ixxx. 8 ; cv. 32 [Ileb. Ixxxi. 7 [8] ;
cvi. [32]); tho only ]ilaces where they
have preserved the projier name being
Ezek. xlvii. 19 ; xlviii. 28 (see Alford on
Heb. iii. 8).
In the wilderness, of Sin, near
Kadesh, where the second murmuring
auainst .Moses and Aaron for want of
water took place (Num. xx. 1).
Tried me. In allusion to Massah,
" trial," in ver. 8.
9. My work. Whether miracles of

deliverance or acts of judgment, all that
I did. See in Critical Note.
10. FouTT TLARS. These words in
the quotation in Ileb. iii. 9 are joined,
as intheSyriac, with the preceding verse,
and the word "wherefore" is inserted
after them. This departs both from the
Hebrew and tho LXX. The alteration
is evidently intentional, because the
passage is afterwards quoted (iii. 17) as
it stands in the Psalm.
Was I GRIEVED. The word is a
strong word, expressive of loathing and
disgust. A people that do err ; lit. " a
people of wanderers in heart." There
may be, as Hupfeld suggests, an allusion
to the outward wandering- in the wilder
ness as the punishment of this inner
wandering. Tho same word is used of
the former (cvii. 4).
And tuey do not, ctc. This is
almost equivalent to "for they do not,"
etc. Their ignorance cf tho straight
way of God, " the king's highway " (as
Bunsen calls it), is the reason th.at they
wander in crooked by-paths.
11. I SWARE. The reference is to
Num. xiv. 21, etc., 28, ctc.
They shall not ; lit. " if they shall
enter," this elliptical form of the oath
being equivalent to a strong negative.
Hence in the LXX, and Heb. iii. 11, etc.,
et ilaeXeiKTOVTai.
Jlr REST, strictly "place of settle-
men t," as the abode of God ( comp. cx.xxii.
8, 14), but used also of the land of prom
ise (Deut. xii. 9), as a place otrest .after
the wandering in the wilderness. The
author of the Epistle to the Hebrews
(iv. 6-9) argues, from the use of the

PSALM XCV. 189
11 So that ° I sware in mine anger.
They shall not enter my rest."
word " to-day " in ver. 7, that the Ian- as their fathers, lest they also through
guage of the Psalm is applicable not unbelicfshould fail of God's rest. Hence,
merely to the times of the law, but also he argues, tho rest must be still future,
to the gospel dispensation ; and from aTtoXilirerat &pa aa0l3aTi(rn6s. This,
the reference to God's rest here, "in however, is not clear on the face of the
David" (i.e. in the Book of Psalms), Psalm, as the words "they shall not
that Canaan was not the true rest, enter into my rest " seem to refer to the
Joshua did not bring the people into past, not the present, history of Israel.
God's rest, he says, otherwise we should Hence Calvin remarks on tho quotation
not find in a Psalm written so long after in the Epistle to the Hebrews : " sub-
the settlement of the people in Canaan, tilius disputat quam ferant prophetae
a warning addressed to them not to sin verba."
* 'k ¦'tPT'? Symm., rightly, KardraTa y^s. But Aq. i^i^iarrpoi, and
Jerome fundamenta. The LXX, probably reading, iprna , ra iripara.
^ nisr-in (from ^"1 , Kapvecv, Komav), according to its etymology,
" the weariness that comes of hard labor," but not found in this sense.
In Num. xxiii. 22, xxiv. 8, spoken of the buffalo, it can only mean
strength ; in Job xxii. 25, it is used of " silver as obtained by toil and
labor from the mine." So Bottcher here would explain 'ri 'n , " mines
in the mountains," parallel with '¦ deep places of the earth " ; others,
" treasures of the mountains as obtained by labor." Others, again, fol
lowing the LXX, Tci vij/rj Tuiv opiuiv, " the heights of the mountains," a
meaning of the word which is supposed to spring from " the effort and
weariness with which men climb to the top of mountains '' (cacumina
montium, quia defatigantur qui eo ascendunt), an explanation etymo
logically unsatisfactory. The choice lies between the first and the last
of these meanings. The first is supported by the passage in Numbers ;
the last has the parallelism in its favor.
° 'a '1 C5. This kis been explained, (1) "Although they had seen
all the wonders I had wrought in their behalf." (2) " Tea (not only
did they prove me, but) they saw my judgments, felt my chastisements."
(So Hupfeld, Ewald, and Bleek.) The objection to the former is, that
Da does not elsewhere mean although ; it is not necessary so to render
it in Isa. xlix. 15, to which Delitzsch refers. On the other hand.
" My work " is more naturally understood of God's great redemptive
acts than of acts of punishment, although it occurs in the latter sense
Ixiv. 10; Isa. V. 12; Hab. i. 5.
•^ "111 , without the article (LXX, t^ yevi(i. iKeivrj), perhaps, as De
litzsch explains, "not hac but tali generatione," the purely ethioal
notion being predominant in the word. But the absence of the article

190 PSALM XCVI.
may be only poetical usage. The Targum has " w.th a generation iu
the wilderness."
' "iCK , so that, as in Gen. xi. 7.

PSALM XCVI.

This grand prophetic Psalm looks forward with joyful certainty to
the setting up of a divine kingdom upon earth. But it is only in
directly Messianic. It connects the future blessings, not with the
appearance of the Son of David, but with the coming of Jehovah.
And it has already been pointed out (in a note on Psalm Ixxii. 17)
that there are in the Old Testament two distinct lines of prophecy,
culminating in these two advents. Their convergence and ultimate
unity are only seen in the light of New Testament fulfilment. The
same hopes, however, gather about both, as may be seen, for instance,
by a comparison of this Psalm with such a passage as Isa. xi. 1—9.
Calvin, in his introduction to the Psalm, observes that it is "An exhor
tation to praise God, addressed not to the Jews only, but to all nations.
"Whence (he adds) we infer that the Psalm refers to the kingdom of
Christ ; for till he was revealed to the world, his name could not be
called upon anywhere but in Judea."
The LXX has a double inscription :
(1) ore o oTkoi (oKoSopuTO pera ttjv aL^aX(j)criav, which is probably
correct, as indicating that the Psalm was composed after the exile,
and for the service of the second temple.
(2) (aSr) T(i AaviS, which seems to contradict the other, but was no
doubt occasioned by the circumstance that this Psalm, together with
portions of Psalm cv. and cvi., is given, with some variations (which
will be found in the notes), by the author of the Book of Chronicles,
as the great festal hymn which " David delivered into the hand of
Asaph and his brethren to thank the Lord " on the day when the
ark was brought into the sanctuary of Zion.
The Psalm consists of four strophes (of which the first three are
perfectly regular, consisting of six lines each) :
I. Jehovah is to be praised'iii all the world and at all times (ver. 1-3).
II. He alone is worthy to be praised, for all other objects of worship
are nothing (ver. 4-6).
III. Let all the heathen confess this, and give him the honor due to
his name (ver. 7-9).

PSALM XCVL 191
rV. Let all the world hear the glad tidings that Jehovah is King,
and even things without life share the common joy (ver. 10-13).
Supposing the Psalm to have been sung antiphonally, verses 1 and
2, 4 and 5, 7 and 8, may have been sung by two bands of Levites
alternately, the whole choir taking up the concluding verses of each
stanza, verses 3, 6, 9. Then in the last strophe, verses 10, 11, 12
would be sung antiphonally, the whole choir taking up the grand
solemn close of verse 13, with fullest expression of voice and instrument.
1 0 SING nnto Jehovah a new song.
Sing unto Jehovah, all the earth.
2 Sing unto Jehovah, bless liis name.
Publish his salvation from day to day.
3 Declare his glory among the nations.
His wonders among all the peoples,
4 For great is Jehovah, and highly to be praised.
He is to be feared above all gods ;
5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols.
But Jehovah made the heavens.
6 Honor and majesty are before him.
Strength and beauty " are in his sanctuary.
7 Give unto Jehovah, 0 families of peoples,
Give unto Jehovah glory and strength ;
1. A NEW SONG. See on xxxiii. 3. See the strong assertions of their abso-
The new song is not the Psalm itself, lute nothingness in Isa. xli., xliv.
but one which shall be the fit expression 5. Jehovah made the heavens.
of all the thoughts and hopes and tri- So has he manifested his power and
nmphs of the new and glorious age majesty as the Creator in tho eyes of all
which is about to dawn. It is the glad the world ; but the chief manifestation
welcome given to the King when he of his glory is in Israel, "in bis sanctu-
enters his kingdom. Comp. with this ary." Compare the same strain in xcv.
verse Isa. xiii. 10; Ix. 6; Ixvi. 19. 3-7.
2. Publish, or, "tell the tidings of." 7-9. The families of the nations (see
Seelxviii.il [12]; xl. 9 [10]. LXX, xxii. 27 [28]), themselves are called upon
evayy€\i(e(T6e. to take up the song in which Israel has
4. The manifestation of God's glory, made known to them the salvation of
Comp. cxiv. 3 ; xlviii. 1 [2]. Jehovah. Comp. Zeph. iii. 9. These
Above all gods (as in xcv. 3 ; see three verses are taken partly from xxix.
note on xcvii. 7). Here, as is plain from 1,2.
what follows, the heathen deities, which 7, 8. Give. We go into God's courts, it
are idols ; lit. " nothings," a favorite has been truly remarked, to (jiv rather
word in Isaiah for idols, but occurring thantojc-^ Thisistheprinciplcofalltrue
also as earl/ as Lev. xix. 4; xxvi. 1. prayer, ascription rather than petition.

192

PSALM XCVt.

8 Give unto Jehovah the glory due unto his name,
Bring presents, and come into his courts,
9 Bow yourselves before Jehovah in holy pomp.
Tremble iDefore him, all the earth.
10 Say ye among the nations ; Jehovah is King, —
Yea the world is established that it cannot be moved, —
He shall judge the peoples in uprightness.
11 Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad.
Let the sea timnder, and the fulness thereof ;
12 Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein.
Then shall all the trees of the wood sing for joy

8. Presents (the collective sing, for
the plural), in allusion to the Oriental
custom which required gifts to be brought
by all who would be admitted to the
prcsenccof a king. Comp. xlv. 12 [13];
Ixviii. 29 [SO] ; Ixxii. 10.
Into his COURTS. In 1 Chron. xvi. 29,
" before him," meaning the same thing.
Comp. the parallelism above in ver. 6.
9. Pomp, or "array"; but the word
rather denotes all that lent solemnity
and impressivcness to the service. See
xxix. 2 ; 2 Kings viii. 22.
10. The glad tidings which the world
is to hear. The world's largest hopes
are to be fulfilled. A new era is to
begin, a reign of rigliteousncss and peace,
a time so blessed that even the inanimate
creation must be partakers of the joy.
Comp. Isa. xxxv. 1 ; xiii. 10; xliv. 23;
xlv. 8; xlix. 13; Iv. 12. With the
coming of Jehovah and the setting up
of his kingdom all the broken harmonies
of creation shall be restored. Not "the
sons of God " only, but tho whole crea
tion is still looking forward to this great
consummation (Itom. viii. 21).
Jehovah is King ; lit. " hath be
come King"; hath taken to himself his
great power and rcifrncd. See xciii. 1 ;
Eev. xi. 17. The LXX rightly, 6 Kipwu
i0aai\ev(T€, with the addition in some
copies of airh toO ^v\ov, whence the Itala
Dominus regnavit a ligno, on which Justin,
Tcrtullian, Augustine, and others, lay
great stress.
Yea the world, etc. This clause

is introduced somewhat abruptly, and
quasi-parentbetically, from xtiii. 1. It
describes one of ihe elements in .lehovah's
government; but is it to be understood
in a physical or a moral sense ? It may
be that the fact that God has so estab
lished the natural order of the world is
alleged as showing his power and his
right as Creator to rule (so PLOsenm.).
Or the meaning may be that the nations
of the world (the inhabited earth), shaken
and torn by war and anarchy, arc now
safe and peaceful under Jehovah's right
eous sway (so Delitzsch). Calvin has
well combined the two senses : " Notatn
vero dignum est quod subjicit de stabili-
tate orbis. Etsi enim scimus naturae
ordinem ab initio divinitus fuisse posi
tum, cundem semper solcm, lunam, et
Stellas resplcnduisse in caclo, iisilem
alimentisquibns Cdcles sustentatos fuisse
incredulos, et enndcm traxisse spiritum
vitalem; tenenduin c"t omnia esse con-
fusa, et horribilem ara^lav instar diluvii
mundum in tencbris dcinersum tenere
quamdiu impietas hominum animos oc
cupat : quia extra Deum quid stabile
esse potest ? Kon immcrito igitur docet
hie locus stabiliri orbcm ut amplius non
nutet, ubi rcdiguntur homines sub ma
num Dei. Unde ctiam disccndum est,
quamvis suum officiumpcragantsingulae
creaturae, nihil tamen esse in mundo
ordinatum, donee rcgiam sedem sibi
Deus figat regcndis hominibus." He
refers to Ps. xlvi. 5 [6]. It may be
owing to the abrntness of this clause

PSALM xcvn. 193
13 Before Jehovah, for he cometh,
Por he cometh to judge the earth ;
He shall judge the world in righteousness.
And the peoples in his faithfulness.
that the chronicler has transposed some 13. [This verse may have been sung
of the clauses in his adaptation of the antiphonally by the choir in some such
Psalm. His arrangement (1 Chron. xvi. way as is suggested in the introduction
30-33) is as follows : " Tremble before to the Psalm.] He co.meth. The repe-
him all the earth, yea the world is es- tition if full of force and animation.
tablished (that) it cannot be moved. The participle is used to express more
Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth vividly the coming of Jehovah, as if
be glad, and let them say among the actually taking place before the eyes of
nations, Jehovah is King. Let the sea the Psalmist. It is a coming to judg-
thundcr, and the fulness thereof. Let ment, but a judgment which is to issue
the field exult, and all that is therein, in salvation. This judgment in right-
Then shall the trees of the wood shout eousness and faithfulness, and tho peace
for joy before Jehovah, for he cometh to which follows thereon, are beautifully
judge the earth." portrayed in Isa. xi. 1-9.
* '5-. -lin. Instead of this the chronicler has iaipaa ninni tb,
" Strength and joy are in his place," iijin being a late word formed
from a verb which occurs in the Pentateuch, Ex. xviii. 9. Whether,
as Delitzsch suggests, the chronicler put " in his place " instead of " in
his sanctuary," because the temple was not yet built, seems very
doubtful.

PSALM XCVII.

The advent of Jehovah, and his righteous rule over the whole earth
is the subject of this Psalm, as of the last. Here, however, it would
seem as if some great display of God's righteousness, some signal
deliverance of his people, had kindled afresh the hope that the day
was at hand, yea, had already dawned, when he would take to himself
his great power and reign.
"Jehovah is King." Such is the glad assurance with which the
Psalm opens. He has come to take possession of his throne with all
the awful majesty with which he appeared on Sinai. All nature is
moved at his presence. The heavens have uttered their message,
telling of his righteousness, and all the nations of the world have seen
his glory. His empire must be universal. Already the idols and the
worshippers of idols are ashamed ; and Zion rejoices in the coming of
VOL. II. 25

194 PSALM XCVII.
her King. He is near, very near. The first flush of the morning is
already brightening the sky. They who love his appearing may look
for him, in holy abhorrence of evil and in faithfulness of heart, waiting
till they enter into the joy of their Lord. Such is briefly the purport
of the Psalm.
" If the bringing in of an everlasting worship gives its distinctive col
oring to the foregoing Psalm, the final casting out of evil is the key
note of this ; if the thought of the Great King bringing salvation to his
people is foremost in that, in this it is the trampling down of his
enemies ; there he comes ' to diadem the right,' here ' to terminate the
evil.'" — Housman, p. 203.
The coming of Jehovah as King and Judge is described almost in
the same terms as the theophany in the eighteenth and fifteenth Psalms.
The use of the past tenses in verses 4r-8 and in particular the vivid lan
guage in verse 8 where Zion and the daughters of Judah rejoice in
presence of Jehovah's judgments, are most naturally explained as occa
sioned by some historical event, some great national deliverance or
triumph of recent occurrence ; such, for instance, as the overthrow of
Babylon and the restoration of the theocracy (so Ewald).
The structure of the Psalm, like the last, consists of strophes of
three verses.
I. In the first, the coming of Jehovah is portrayed as if actually
present (ver. 1-3).
II. In the second, its effects are described on nature, and its purposes
with reference to the world at large (ver. 4-6).
III. The third speaks of the different impression produced on the
heathen and on Israel, and the exaltation of God above all earthly
power as the final result (ver. 7-9).
IV. The fourth is an exhortation to the righteous, and also a
promise full of consolation (ver. 10-12).
1 Jehovah is King : let the earth be glad.
Let the multitude of the isles rejoice.
1. The strain of the preceding Psalm ophis caesus est, ille qui in ligno sns-
(xcvi. 10, 11), is here resumed. Comp. pensus est, illc cui pendenti in ligno
also Isa. xiii. 10-12 ; Ii. 5. insultatum est, illc qui in cruce mortuus
Jehovah is King. Augustine, who est, ille qui lancea percussus est, ille qui
understands this directly of Christ's ad- sepultus est, ipse resurrexit. Dominus
vent, writes : " Ille qui stetit ante judi- regnavit. Saeviant quantum possunt
cem, ille qui alapas accepit, ille qui regna; quid sunt facturaRegircgnorum,
flagellatus est, ille qui consputus est, Domino omnium regum, Creatori om'
ille qui spinis coronatus est, ille qui col- nium saeculorum " ?

PSALM xcvn.

195

2 Cloud and darkness are round about him,
Righteousness and judgment are the foundation of his
throne.
3 A fire goeth before him.
And devoureth his adversaries round about him.
4 His lightnings gave shine unto the world.
The earth saw, and trembled.
5 The mountains melted like wax at the presence of Jehovah,
At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
6 The heavens have declared his righteousness.
And all the peoples have seen his glory.
7 Ashamed are all they that serve graven images,
That boast themselves in idols :
Bow down before him, all ye gods.

Multitude op the isles ; lit. " the
many isles," or " many as they are."
(Comp. Isa. Iii. 15.) The word rendered
" isles " is used strictly of the islands
and coasts of the Mediterranean Sea (as
in Ixxii. 10), but perhaps here, as in the
later chapters of Isaiah, in a wider sense,
of heathen countries at large.
2. The coming of God is thus fre
quently described by later prophets and
psalmist in images borrowed from tho
theophany on Sinai (Ex. xix. 9, 1 6 ; xx.
21 ; Deut. iv. 1 1 ; v. 23) ; as in xviii.
9 [10]. The foundation of his throne :
comp. Ixxxix. 14 [15].
3. A FIRE, as in 1. 3. Comp. also
Hab. iii. 5, and the whole description in
that chapter, so solemn and so m.tjestic,
of God's coming; to judgment.
4. Gave shine unto. See on Ixxvii.
18 1 19], whence the first member of this
verrc is taken ; with the second compare
Ixxvii. 16 [17].
5. The mountains melted; comp.
Mic. i. 4, and Ps. Ixviii. 3.
The Lord of the whole earth.
This name of God occurs first in Josh.
iii. 11, 13, where the ark (at the passage
of the Jordan) is called "the ark of
. Jehovah the Lord of the whole earth,"
as if emphatically then, when the people

were about to occupy their own land, to
distinguish Jehovah their God from the
merely local and national gods of the
heathen. The name is found again in
Mic. iv. 13 ; Zech. iv. 14 ; vi. 5.
6. Have declared his righteous
ness. This is the end and purpose of
God's coming (as in 1. 6). He comes
to judge ; and the act of judgment is one
which the whole world shall witness, as
in Ixxvii. 14 [15] ; Ixxix. 10; xcviii. 3.
Comp. the language used of the great
deliverance from Babylon, Isa. xxxv. 2 ;
xl. 5; Iii. 10; l.xvi. 18.
7. This and the next verse describe
the twofold result of the divine judg
ment — the impression produced on the
heathen and on Israel, the confusion of
all worshippers of idols, and the joy and
exultation of the people of God.
Ashamed, a word frequently employed
with the same reference by the prophet
Isaiah. It is a shame arising from the
discovery of the utter vanity and noth
ingness of tho objects of their trust. On
this Augustine says : " Nonne factum
est? Nonne confusi sunt? Nonne quo-
tidio confunduntur ? . . . Jam omnes
populi gloriam Christi confitentur: eru-
bcscant qui adorant lapides. . . . Hanc
gloriam ipsius cognoverunt populi ; di-
mittuut templa, currunt ad ecclesias.

196

PSALM XCVIL

8 Zion heard and rejoiced.
And the daughters of Judah were glad,
Because of thy judgments, 0 Jehovah.
9 For THOU, Jehovah, art most high above all the earth.
Thou art greatly exalted above all gods.
10 0 ye that love Jehovah, hate evil ;
He keepeth the souls of his beloved.
He delivereth them from the hand of the wicked.

Adhuc quaerunt adorare scnlptilia ?
Noluerunt desercre idola : dcserti sunt
ab idolis."
All ye gods. The LXX {irpo(TKvvii-
<raT€ avr^i Trdvres &yye\oi avrov) and the
Syr. both understand these to be angels.
But this is contrary both to usage (see
note on viii. 5) and to the context. The
Chald. paraphrases : " all who worship
idols." But doubtless heathen deities
are meant. As all the worshippers are
confounded, so must all the objects of
their worship be overthrown, as Dagon
was before the ark of the Lord ; all must
yield before him who is the Lord of the
whole earth. If this be the meaning,
the line may bo taken as a sarcastic,
contemptuous challenge to the idols of
the heathen. If so, we need not enter
into the question whether angels or
spiritual beings were the real objects of
worship, idols being only their represen
tatives. Augustine supposes a heathen
excusing himself when charged with
idol-worship, by saying that he does not
worship the image, but "the invisible
deity which presides over the image,"
and argues that this is a, plain proof
that the heathen worship not idols but
demons, which is worse. Ho quotes in
support of this view the language of St.
Paul in 1 Cor. x. 19, 20; viii. 4. But,
he continues, if the pagans say we
worship good angels, not evil spirits,
then the angels themselves forbid such
worship : " Let them imitate the angels,
and worship him who is worshipped by
the angels " ; and then he cites the pas
sage in the Latin version, Adorate eum
omnes angeli ejus. Calvin here, as in the
two preceding Psalms (xcv. 3 ; xcvi. 5),
understands by "gods" both angels and

also those creatures of the human im
agination, the projected images of their
own lusts and fears, which men fall
down and worship. " Quanquam pro-
prie in angelos id compctit, in quibus
relucet aliqua Deitatis particula, potest
tamen improprie addcos fictitios extendi,
acsi dixisset: Quicquid habctur pro Deo,
cedat et se submittat, ut cmincat Deus
unus." Delitzsch refers to the addition
made by the LXX to the text of Deut.
xxxii. 43, Koi Trpo(TKvv7j(Tdr(t}(Tav avT(^
irdvTfs dyyeXoi @(ov, which is quoted iu
Heb. i. 6, perhaps with a reference also
to the Septuagint version of this Psalm,
and applied to the worship which the
angels shall give to the first-born of God
when he comes again [of course, taking
^rav irdKiv ^'((raydyri to mean, "When
he shall have brought in a second time
into the world," etc.] to judge the world;
"where it is implied that it is Jesus in
whom Jehovah's universal kingdom is
gloriously perfected."
8. Heard and rejoiced : borrowed
from xlviii. 11 [12], whore see note, and
the opposite to " the earth saw and
trembled " (ver. 4). Although the com
ing of Jehovah has been portrayed in
images full of awe and terror, yet here,
as in the two preceding Psalms, it is
described as a coming to be welcomed
with jubilant gladness by bis church.
In the same spirit our Lord, when speak
ing of the signs of fear which shall be the
precursors of his second coming, says,
" When ye shall see these things begin
to come to pass, then lift up your heads ;
for your redemption draweth nigh."
10. The Psalm closes with a practical
application, because the King and Judge
is drawing near, a warning against the

PSALM xcvm.

197

11 Light is sown " for the righteous.
And joy for the upright in heart.
12 Rejoice in Jehovah, 0 ye righteous.
And give thanks to his holy name.
evil which is in the world, and an as- in the sense of " scattered," " diffused."
surance of divine protection and blessing Jlilton uses the same figure of the dew :
to those who" hate evib" Comp. xxxiv. " Now Morn her rosy steps in th' East-
14-22 ; xlv. 7 [8] ; cxxxix. 21, 22 ; 2 Cor. ern clime
vi. 14-1 8. Advancing, sowed the earth with Orient
11. Light is sown. The figure has pearl."
been understood to mean that the pros- 12. Holt name ; lit. " Holy me-
perity of the righteous is future, just as morial." The first member of the verse
seed is cast into the earth, and only after corresponds nearly with xxxii. 11a; the
a time springs np and bears fruit. But second is exactly the same as xxx. 4
it is far simpler to take the verb " sown " [5] b, where see note.
' ST'f- The LXX, avireiXi, hath sprung up, arisen, and so the
other ancient versions, as if they read mt , as in cxii. 4, but the change
is unnecessary. In Prov. xiii. 9, " the light of the righteous rejoiceth"
it has been proposed in like manner to read n^i"; .

PSALM XCVIII.

This Psalm is little more than an echo of Psalm xcvi. Its subject
is " the last great revelation, the final victory of God, when his salva
tion and his righteousness, the revelation of which he has promised to
the house of Israel, shall be manifested both to his own people and to
all the nations of the earth."
The inscription of the Psalm in the Hebrew is only the single word
Mizmor, " Psalm " (whence probably the title " orphan Mizmor " in
the Talmudic treatise Avodah Zara, 24 a). In the Syriac the inscrip
tion runs, " Of the Redemption of the people from Egypt." Both the
beginning and end of the Psalm are taken from Psalm xcvi. The
rest of it is drawn chiefly from the latter portion of Isaiah.
This Psalm follows the reading of the first lesson in the Evening
Service. It was first inserted there in 1552, though it had not been
sung among the Psalms of Vespers or Compline.
[A Psahn,]
1 Sing unto Jehovah a new song.
For he hath done marvellous things ;
1. The first two lines are taken from Hath gotten him salvation, or,
xcvi. 1 ; the last line, and ver. 2, 3, from " the victory," as in E.V. Comp. xUv.
Isa. Iii. 10; Ixiii. 5. 4 (and note) ; Isa. lix. 16; Ixiii. 5. I

198 PSALM xcvin.
His right hand and his holy arm hath gotten him salvation.
2 Jehovah hath made known his salvation.
Before the eyes of the nations hath he revealed his right
eousness.
3 He hath remembered his loving-kindness and his faithfulness
to the house of Israel ;
All the ends of the earthhave seen the salvation of our God.
4 Make a loud noise to Jehovah, all the earth ;
Break forth and sing joyfully, and play, —
5 Play unto Jehovah with the harp.
With the harp and the voice of a psalm ;
6 With trumpets and the voice of the cornet.
Make a loud noise before Jehovah, the King.
7 Let the sea thunder, and the fulness thereof.
The world, and they that dwell therein.
8 Let the streams clap their hands ;
Together let the mountains sing for joy
9 Before Jehovah, for he cometh to judge the earth.
He shall judge the world with righteousness.
And the peoples with uprightness.
have preferred here the former rendering, phrase is "break forth into singing"
because in the next verse the noun occurs (Isa. xiv. 7; xliv. 23 ; xlix. 13; liv. 1).
from the same root, and there the ren- 5. Voice of a psalm, as in Isa. Ii. 3.
dering " salvation " is, I think, prefera- 6. Trumfets, "Chatsotseroth ; — here
ble to " victory." only in the Psalter. They were the
2. Before the eyes, etc. ; language straight trumpets (such as are seen on
especially applied (as in Isaiah) to the the Arch of Titus) used by the priests
great deliverance from Babylon. See forgivingsignals(Num.x.2-10; iChron.
xcvii. 6. XV. 24, 28, ctc. The shofar was the
Righteousness, parallel with " sal- ordinary curved trumpet, cornet, or
vation," as so frequently in the batter horn." — Kay.
portion of Isaiah. See note on Ixxi. 15. 7. Com p.are xcvi. 11 and xxiv. 1.
3. LoviNO-KiNDNESS . . . FAITHFUL- 8. Clapp THEIR HANDS. The Same
ness, the two attributes expressive of phrase occurs Isa. Iv. 12; elsewhere a
God's covenant relationship to his people, different verb is used, as in xlvii. [2] ;
4. Break foutii and sing, as in 2 Kings xi. 12. On the next verse see
Isa. Iii. 9, though the more common xcvi. 13.

PSALM XCIX. 199

PSALM XCIX.
Tins is the last of the series of Royal Psalms, of Psalms which
celebrate the coming of Jehovah as King. The first of the series is
the ninety-third. This opens with the announcement that " Jehovah
is King," passes on to tell that his throne has been from everlasting,
that he made the world and that he rules it — rules the rage of the ele
ments and the convulsions of political strife, of which that is the
figure — and then concludes with one brief glance at his revelation of
himself to his people, and the distinguishing glory of the house in
which he deigns to dwell, " Holiness becometh thine house forever."
The ninety-fifth Psalm ^ ascribes glory to him as " a great King
above all gods" (ver. 3). The ninety-sixth would have the glad
tidings run far and wide that " Jehovah is King," that " he shall judge
the people righteously " (ver. 13). The ninety-seventh opens " Jehovah
is King," speaks of the glory of his advent, and of the joy with which
it is welcomed by his people. The ninety-eighth calls upon all lands
to break forth into loud shouts " before the King Jehovah," to go forth
to meet him with glad acclaim, with the voice of harp and cornet and
trumpet, as men go forth to meet a monarch who comes in state to take
possession of the throne of bis fathers. The ninety-ninth, like the
ninety-third and the ninety-seventh, opens with the joyful announce
ment that " Jehovah is King," and then bids all men fall down and
confess his greatness, and worship him who alone is holy. Both the
first and the last of the series, the ninety-third and the ninety-ninth,
celebrate the kingly majesty and the holiness, of Jehovah, and also
the holiness of his worship.
All these Psalms, then, alike tell of the setting up of a divine
kingdom upon earth. All alike anticipate the event with joy. One
universal anthem bursts from the whole wide world to greet the advent
of the righteous King. Not Zion only and the daughters of Judah
are glad, but the dwellers in far-o£E islands and the ends of the earth.
Even inanimate nature sympathizes with the joy ; the sea thunders her
welcome, the rivers clap their hands, the trees of the wood break forth
into singing before the Lord. In all these Psalms alike the joy springs
from the same source, from the thought that on this earth, where
might has so long triumphed over right, a righteous King shall reign,
1 The ninety-fourth Psalm seems out of place in the series ; it does not, like the
rest, speak of the reign of Jehovah ; and the number seven, if we take the one
hnndreth Psalm as the closing Doxology, is complete without it.

200 PSALM XCIX.
a kingdom shall be set up which shall be a kingdom of righteousness
and judgment and truth.
In this Psalm, not only the righteous sway of the King, but his
awful holiness, forms the subject of praise, and the true character of
his worshippers as consecrated priests, holy, set apart for his service,
is illustrated by the example of holy men of old, like Moses, Aaron,
and Samuel.
The two principal divisions of the Psalm are marked by the greater
refrain with which each closes, "Exalt ye Jeliovah our God," etc.
(ver. 5, 9). But the thrice-repeated lesser refrain, " He is holy,"
more fall, as at the close (in ver. 9), "Jehovah our God is holy,"
marks also a strophical division, and is, in the words of Delitzsch, " an
earthly echo of the seraphic Trisagion " (comp. Isa. vi. 3). We have
thus three strophes or Sanctuses, verses 1-3, 4^0, and 6-9, the first and
second consisting each of six lines. In each of these Jehovah is acknowl
edged in his peculiar covenant relation to his people. In the first. He
is " great in Zion " (ver. 2) ; in the second, he has " executed right
eousness in Jacob" (ver. 4), and he is "Jehovah our God" (ver. 5) ;
in the third, the great examples of this covenant relationship are cited
from Israel's ancient history ; and again God is twice claimed as
"Jehovah our God" (ver. 8 and 9). In each there is the same ex
hortation to worship (ver. 3, 5, and 9), and in each the nature of the
worship and the character of the worshippers is implied, because the
character of God is in each exhibited, " he is holy." But in the third
Sanctus this is brought out most fully. The priestly character of all
true worship is declared. All who call upon Jehovah call upon him
as his priests, all anointed with the same holy oil, all clothed in the
same garments of holiness, " for Jehovah our God is holy."
Bengel (quoted by Delitzsch), recognizing this threefold partition
of the Psalm, explains the structure somewhat difEerently. " The
ninety-ninth Psalm," he says, " has three parts, in which the Lord is
celebrated as he who is to come, as he who is, and as he who was, and
«ach part is closed with the ascription of praise, he is holy.'' — (Erkldrte
Offenb., S. 313.)
1 Jehovah is King, the peoples tremble ;
He sitteth throned upon the cherubim, the earth is moved."
1. Is King ; lit. "hath become King," an independent clause as a further de-
regnum capessivit. See note on xcvii. 1. scription of the manner of God's kingly
He sitteth. This is a participle, rule : he rules sitting throned, etc. It
and is, strictly speaking, not so much also suggests " not only the identity ot

PSALM XCIX.

201

2 Jehovah in Zion is great.
And HE is exalted above all the peoples.
3 Let them give thanks unto thy great and fearful name :
He is holy.
'i And the King's strength loveth judgment ;
Thou hast established uprightness.
Thou hast executed judgment and righteousness in Jacob.
5 Exalt ye Jeliovah our God,
And bow down at his holy footstool :
He is holy.

the heavenly King with the God who is
worshipped in Zion, but also his presence
in his temple." — Moll.
Upon the cherubim. See note on
Ixxx. 1 [2].
3. Let them give thanks, or the
words may be taken as the utterance of
the Psalmist's hope that God's " great
and fearful name" (Deut. x. 17) that is
known in Israel shall be glorified in all
the world : " they shall give thanks,"
etc. But the optative form of expression
accords best with the exhortation in
ver. 5, 9.
He IS holt. This might be rendered.
"It is holy," i.e. the name of God, men
tioned just before. The meaning is the
same in cither case ; for God's name " is
God himself in his revealed holiness,"
as Delitzsch observes. I have preferred
the more immediately personal rendering,
because it is obviously required in the
repetition of the same words afterwards,
ver. 5, 9.
4. And the King's strength, etc.
This rendered as an independent clause
is awkward, though it is so rendered by
most of the ancient versions. But the
Chald., Aben-Ezra, Delitzsch, and others
take the two last words of this member
of the verse as a relative clause, and
ren Jer: "And the strength of a King,
who loveth judgment, thou hast estab
lished in uprightness." Others carry
on the construction from the last verse,
taking the words "he (or it) is holy,"
as parenthetical, thus: "They shall
praise thy great and fearful name (it is

holy), and the might of the King who
(or which) loveth righteousness." It
must be confessed that but for the words
of the refrain, which it is awkward to
take thus parenthetically, the sense and
the construction arc better preserved by
this rendering. Certainly tho use of
the conj. " and " at the beginning of this
verse is far more natural ou eidier of
these views than on tho other. At pres
ent it is otiose, supposing ver. 4 to begin
afresh sentence. It is possible, I think,
that the words "he is holy" did not
stand at the end of ver. 3 in the original
Psalm, and that they were subsequently
introduced in order to complete the Ter
Sunrtns. The correspondence between
the two greater refrains, the natural
introduction of the words there, and their
abruptness here, all render such a sup
position at least not wholy improbable.
The King's strength; the same
King who is mentioned ver. 1, Jehovah.
His might is no arbitrary power, like
that of earthly tyrants, but a judgment-
loving might. His power only expresses
itself in righteousness. He has " estab
lished uprightness" as the great eternal
law of his government, the inner prin
ciple of bis sw.ay, and he has manifested
it in all his acts : " lie has executed jadg-
ment and ri;.'htcousne3s in Jacob."
5. Pootstool: properly, the lower
part or step of tho throne (as Isa. Ixvi.
1 ; Ezek. xliii. 7) put for the throne itself
In cxxxii. 7 it is spoken, apparently, of
the sanctuary, " His dwelling's, or tabcr-
n.acles," being in the parallelism. So

26

202

PSALM XCIX.

6 Moses and Aaron among his priests.
And Samuel among them that call upon his narae —
They called upon Jehovah, and he answered them.
7 In the pillar of a cloud he spake unto them ;
They kept his testimonies and the statute he gave them.
8 Jehovah, our God, thou didst answer them,
A forgiving God wast thou to them ;
And (yet) taking vengeance of their doings.

the sanctuary is called "the place of my
feet" (Isa. Ix, 13). In 1 Chron. xxviii.
2 it is used of the ark of the covenant ;
in Lam. ii. 1 of the holy city (or, perhaps,
the temple) ; in Isa. Ixvi. 1 (comp. Matt.
V. 35) of the whole earth. Hero it seems
doubtful whether the earthly or the
heavenly sanctuary is meant.
6. Tho apparent abruptness of the
transition in this verse — which, how
ever, is very natural in Ijric jjoctry — to
the examples of Moses and Aaron and
Samuel has led to a variety of cxplan.a-
tions. Eosenm. proposes to join this
with ver. 4, the refrain in ver. 5 being
regarded as parenthetical ; and takes
this verso as containing a fresh instance
of God's goodness in hearing the prayers
of his people. Delitzsch sees in it an
appeal to tho i;rcat men of old, and their
experience as to the "absolute life and
kingly rule of Jehovah." No explana
tion that I have seen satisfies me. I
have already hinted, in the introduction
to tho Psalm, at what I believe to be the
train of thought. The great subject of
the Psalmist's praise is the holiness of
God. It is a holy God whom he calls
upon uU men to worship. It is " a holy
footstool," " a holy mountain," before
which they bow down ; it is therefore a
holy worship which they must render.
Such was the worship of his saints of
old ; and then likewise Jehovah mani
fested his holiness both in " forgiving"
and in "taking vengeance" (ver. 8).
Moses ... among iiis priests. The
priestly office was exercised by Moses in
the sprinking of the blood of the cove
nant (Ex. xxiv. 6-8), and again in the
whole rituel for the consecration of

Aaron and his sons (Lev. viii.), as well
as in the service of the sanctuary, before
that consecration took place (Ex. xl.
22-27). So likewise he " called upon
the Lord" as " a priest," in intercession
for his people (Ex. xvii. 11, 12; xxxii.
30-32 (comp. Ps. cvi. 23) ; Num. xii. 13).
Samuel also, though not hero classed
with the priests, but men tioned as a great
example of prayer, not only like Moses
discharged priestly functions, but also
like Moses interceded for the people.
We find him at Ramah offering sacrifices
in the high place, and his independent
priestly position so recognized by the
people, that they would not partake of
the sacrifice till be had blessed it (1 Sam.
ix. 12, 13). We find him on the occa
sion of a battle ofifering a whole burnt-
oflfering unto Jehovah (1 Sam. vii. 9),
at the same time that he sternly rebukes
Saul for presuming to do the same thing
(1 Sam. xiii. 11-13). Por the efficacy of
his prayers and intercessions — on which,
and not on sacrifices, the stress is here
laid — see the instances in 1 Sam. vii. 8, 9 ;
xii. 16-18. Comp. Eccles. xlvi. 16, 17.
7. In the pillar of a cloud.
Strictly this applies only to Moses, or
at the most only to Moses and Aaron;
see Nnm. xii. 5.
Thet kept his testimonies ; an
evidence of the holiness of those who
called on Jehovah, and whom he answered.
This latter clause might be disposed in
two lines, thus :
" They kept bis testimonies.
And he gave them astatute (statutes)."
This verse would then, like all the others
in this strophe, consist of three lines.
8. Wast thou, or " didst thou prove

PSALM C.

20'6

9 Exalt ye Jehovah our God,
And bow down before his holy mountain ;
For Jehovah our God is holy.
thyself to be," LXX, €ui'Aoros €7(^01; verse (and perhaps, as Calvin and others
ouTors. Comp. Ezek. xxxiv. 7. think, in ver. 7) must refer to the people
Taking vengeance. As it is clear at large, who, though not mentioned,
that this cannot refer to all the three are in the Psalmist's thoughts, as ha
great examples cited above, certainly goes back to their ancient history.
not to Samuel, the pronouns in this
^ t:i:n . The verb occurs only here instead of the more usual 31a.
In most of the ancient versions it is rendered, as well as in-.'; in the
previous member, as an optative. The LXX have op-ytfco-(9ajo-ai' . . .
o-aXivO^Tio ; .Jerome, commoveantur . . . concutiatur. But Mendelss.,
Hupfeld, and Delitzsch render the verbs as presents, which appears to
me to be preferable. The two verbs describe the effects which imme
diately and necessarily follow from the inauguration and establishment
of Jehovah's kingdom. For the sequence of tenses, cf. xlvi. 7.

PSALM C.
If we are right in regarding Psalms xciii.-xcix. as forming one
continuous series, one great prophetic oratorio, whose title is " Jehovah
is King," and through which there runs the same great idea, this Psalm
may be regarded as the doxology which closes the strain. "We find
lingering in it notes of the same great harmony. It breathes the same
gladness ; it is filled with the same hope, that all nations shall bow
down before .lehovah, and confess that he is God.
" This last Jubilate," says Delitzsch, " is the echo of the first — that,
namely, which occurs in the first half of Psalm xcv. There we find
all the thoughts which recur here. There it is said (ver. 7), ' He is our
God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.'
And in verse 2, ' Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving ;
let us sing joyfully to him with Psalms.' "
" Among the Psalms of triumph and thanksgiving this stands pre
eminent, as rising to the highest point of joy and grandeur. No local
restrictions, no national exclusiveness, can find place in the contempla
tion of God as the common Creator and Father of man ; hence it is

204

PSALM C.

that no hymn or psalm in any subsequent age nas found a readier
response than this first appeal to the whole world to unite :n wor
shipping Jehovah on the ground of common sonship and humanity." —
The Psalms Chronologically Arranged, p. 321.

[A Psahn for the Thank-Offering.']
1 Shout aloud unto Jehovah, all the earth. '
2 Serve ye Jehovah with gladness.
Come before his presence with a song of joy,
3 Know ye that Jehovah, he is God :
He hath made us and we are his,""
We are his people and the sheep of his pasture.
4 0 enter into his gates with thanksgiving.
Into his courts with praise :
Give thanks unto him, bless his name.

I. Shout aloud ; used of the wel
come given to a king who enters his
capital, or takes possession of the throne,
as in xcviii. 4, 6; l.xvi. 1.
All the earth. As in all the pre
ceding Psalms, xciii.-xcix., so here, the
hope of the Psalmist goes far beyond
the narrow limits of his own people and
country. The blessing of Abraham is
become the heritage of the Gentiles.
The whole world is to acknowledge
Jehovah, and to rejoice before him. So
Augustine: " Et tamen hanc vocem
audivit universa terra. Jam jubilat
Domino universa terra, et quae adhuc
non jubilat jubilabit. Pcrtendcns enim
benedictio incipiente Ecclesia ab Jerusa
lem per omnes gentes, impictatem ubique
prosternit, pietatem ubique coustrnit.
Et mixti sunt boni malis ; et mali per
omnem terram, ct boni per omncm
terram. In malis murmurat omnis terra;
in bonis jubilat omnis terra."
2. Serve te. Comp. ii. 11 ; where,
however, in accordance with the warlike
character ascribed to the monarch', it is
added " with fear," instead of " with
joy " as here. " Libera servitus est apud
Dominum," remarks Augustine, "libera
servitus ; ubi non necessitas, sed c oritas,
servit."

3. Know te, i.e. learn by experience,
as Theodorct explains, 5i' avTuv iJ,d9eTe
Tuv irpaypaT(jcv.
Hath made us ; i.e. not merely "hath
created us," but hath made us what we
are, viz. his people. Comp. 1 S.im. xii.
G : "It is Jehovah that made (E.V. ad
vanced) Moses and Aaron." See .also
Deut. xxxii. 6, 15 ; Ps. xcv. 6. And so
Israel is called " the work (lit. making)
of Jeliovah" (Isa. xxix. 23; Ix. 21.
We are his. For the justification
of this rendering see Critical Note, and
comp. xcv. 7. Dr. Kay, observing that
Psalms xciii.-c. are full of parallelisms
to Isa. xl.-lxvi., points out that this
reading (that of the K'ri) is supported
by Isa. xliii. 1 : "And now saith the
Lord that created thee, 0 Jacob, and formed
tliee, 0 Israel, fear not, for I have re
deemed thee, I have called thee by my
name ; mine art thou."
4. The knowledge that Jehovah has
chosen Israel to be his inheritance and
the sheep of his pasture is not to tend
to the exclusion of others from the same
privileges. On the contrary, all nations
are to flow to Jerusalem, and worship in
the temple. What in Isa. ii. 2, 3 appears
in the form of prediction, is here invita
tion, as in Isa. ii. 5. " His temple is

PSALM CI.

205

5 Por Jehovah is good, his loving-kindness is everlasting;
And his faithfulness (enduretli) unto all generations.
open to all. They may enter in ; and liijfih Psalms and Psalms of Thanks-
when they enter m.iy expect great things; giy'mg."— Delitzsch.
' For Jehovah is gracious, and his loving- 5. Good, i.e. " gracious," " kind," aa
kindness and truth never fail,' according in xxv. 8 ; xxxiv. 8 [9].
to the repeated expression of the Halle-
" ^n'~h . The expression is used apparently in a liturgical sense
(like the analogous titles of xxxviii., Ixx., xcii.), to denote that the
Psalm was to be sung during the offering of thank-offerings. Compare
'n naj, cvii. 22; cxv. 17, which is also termed simply rriin, Ivi. 13;
2 Chron. xxix. 31.
'' 'S N'^'i . So the K'thibh ; the sense being, as it is commonly ex
plained, " He hath made us (chosen us to be his people), and not we
ourselves " ; i.e. it was not of rnerit on our part, but of his grace.
So the LXX, avToi; iTTotrjcrev 17/ias, (cat ou;^ vpw, the Vulg., and the
Syr. And the Midrash (Bereshith Eabba, c. 100, ad init.) finds in
this confession the opposite to Pharaoh's boast, -' I have made myself,"
Ezek. xxix. 3 (where, however, the rendering probably is as in E. V.,
" I have made it (the Nile) for myself "). But it is very doubtful if
such a meaning would be thus expressed in Hebrew. Hence Symm.
(who adopts the K'thibh) gives a different explanation, outos iiroi-i^aev
rjpa.'s OVK ovras, and similarly Rashi.
But the K'ri, lbl , has the support of the Chald., Jerome, and Saadia ;
is found in nineteen iiss. of De R. and nine of Kenn. ; yields the best
sense ; is more in accordance with the parallel passage, xcv. 7, and has
been adopted by the ablest modern critics, Ewald, Hupfeld, Delitzsch,
etc. The last mentions that the Masora reckons fifteen passages in
which x'b is written, and lb ought to be read : Ex. xxi. 8 ; Lev. xi. 21 ;
xxv. 30; 1 Sam. ii. 3 ; 2 Sam. xvi. 18; xix. 7; Isa. ix. 2; xlix. 5;
Ixiii. 9 ; Ps. c. 3 ; Job vi. 21 ; xiii. 15 ; Prov. xix. 7 ; xxvi. 2.

PSALM CI.

This Psalm has been styled " the godly purposes and resolves of a
king." It might also be described as " Speculum Regis," a mirror for
kings and all that are in authority. It opens with the joyful contem
plation of God's mercy and justice as kingly virtues, in their measure
and degree to be manifested in earthly kings. It then records the

206 PSALM CL
king's pious resolve to keep his own heart and life unspotted, and to
remove from him all that might lead him astray. Yet scarcely has he
uttered the resolve, when, reflecting on all that such a resolve implies,
he breaks forth in the earnest cry that God himself would come to him
and take up his dwelling with him, giving him grace to walk in " a
perfect way." Thus having consecrated himself and his house, he
declares further how he will provide for the purity of his court. With
jealous care he will exclude those who are the bane ot king's houses —
the slanderer, the proud, the deceitful, the liar. None but the faithful ;
none but those who, like himself, walk in a perfect (i.e. blameless) way,
shall be admitted to places of honor and trust about his person. Finally,
the work of zealous reformation shall extend to his capital, the city of
Jehovah, and to the utmost borders of the land, that he may see real
ized under his sway the great ideal, " Ye shall be to me a kingdom of
priests and a holy nation."
All this falls in admirably with the early part of David's reign, and
the words are just what we might expect from one who came to the
throne with a heart so true to his God. If the words " When wilt
thou come unto me ? " may be taken to express, as seems most natural,
David!s desire to see the ark at length fixed in the tabernacle which
he had prepared for it on Zion, the Psalm must have been written
whilst the ark was still in the house of Obed-edom (2 Sam. vi. 10, 11).
" Zion was already David's royal seat, and the tabernacle of Jehovah
was there ; but all had not yet been accomplished that was necessary
for the proper ordering and administration of the kingdom. The new
state had still to be organized, and the great officers of fetate and of the
household to be chosen, men upon whose character so much always
depends, and especially in despotic monarchies like those of the ancient
world. David himself was standing at the threshold of the most critical
period of his life, and, fully aware of the greatness of his responsibilties,
did not feel himself as yet equal to the task which devolved upon him,
to the burden which he was henceforth to bear. Still, at this first
period of his reign in Jerusalem, in the flush of victory, in the full
splendor of his newly-acquired dominion over the whole of Israel, at a
time when lesser princes would so easily have been dazzled by the
deceitful sunshine of prosperity, or would have been terrified at the
responsibility, David is only the more earnest in praising Jehovah and
calling to mind his attributes, in striving to purify his own heart, and
to form wise measures for the conduct of a strong and righteous rule,
and in the resolution to keep far from him all that would bring a
reproach upon himself or a stain upon his court. For the very sanctity

PSALM CI.

207

of that city which had just been chosen as the dwelling-place of Jeho
vah required that nothing unholy should be tolerated therein. One
who begins his reign with thoughts and resolutions such as these may
well look for a happy termination of it, and nothing shows us more
clearly the true nobleness of David's soul than this short Psalm. It
is the spontaneous, inartificial expression of feelings long restrained ;
feelings and purposes, however, which form in themselves a whole,
and which therefore naturally, and without effort, appear as a whole
in the Psalm, and give it the unity which it possesses." '¦
[A Psahn of David.]
1 Op loving-kindness and judgment will I sing,
Unto thee, 0 Jehovah, will I sing psalms.
2 I will behave myself wisely " in a perfect way.
Wlien *" wilt thou come unto me ? —
I will walk with a perfect heart within my house.

1. Loving-kindness AND JUDGMENT.
These can only be the theme of praise
as divine attributes. But it is as a king
who would frame his own rule and his
kingdom after the divine pattern that
David makes these attributes the burden
of his song. He meditates on the mercy
and the righteousness of God, that he
may learn the lesson of that mercy and
righteousness himself. He meditates on
them till his heart glows with the thought
of their surpassing excellence, as seen
in the divine government, and with the
earnest desire that the same kingly
virtues may be transferred into his own
life and reign. Sec note on Ixxxv. 10.
Sing psalms, or perhaps, rather,
" play," i.e. upon the harp or other
musical instruments. " Quum dicit,
Tibi, Jeliovah, psallam," says Calvin,
"Dei beneficio sc agnoscit ad tam prae-
clarum et honorificum munns esse des-
tinatum ; quia supcrbae temeritatis fuis
set ultro se ingercre. Non abs re autem
regias vir;utes duabus his partibus com-
plectitur, dementia et judicio; quia
sicuti praccipuum regis munus est suum
cuique jus reddere, ita sollicitus erga

sues amor et hnmanitas in eo requiritur.
Nee abs re dicit Solomo ; Clementia
stabiliri solium (Prov. xvi. 12)."
2. I WILL BEHAVE MVSELF WISELT
IN, or, " I will give heed to" (see Crit
ical Note). The expression shows his
sense of his own responsibility. The
possession of absolute power too often
dazzles and blinds men. An Eastern
despot might have cast off all restraint,
or, at least, might have allowed himself
large license in the indulgence of his
passions or his follies, almost without
scandal or hatred. The nobler, therefore,
is this resolve.
When WILT thou come. It would
he possible to render : " I will behave
myself wisely in a perfect way when
thou comcst unto me " ; but the question
is far more expressive. It bursts forth
from the heart, moved and stirred to its
inmost centre, as it thinks of all the
height and depth of that resolve to
" walk in a perfect way." How shall a
frail son of man keep his integrity 1
The task is too great for his own strength,
honest and sincere as the resolution is,
and therefore he cries, " When wilt thou

I The passage in inverted commas is taken in substance from Ewald.

208

PSALM CI.

3 I will not set any vile thing before mine eyes ;
I hate the sin of unfaithfulness " ;
It shall not cleave unto me.
4 A froward heart shall depart from me ;
A wicked person I will not know.
5 Whoso privily slandereth * his neighbor.
Him will I destroy.
6 Whoso hath a high look and proud heart.
Him I will not suffer.

come unto me " ? — come to be my
abiding guest — come not only to dwell
in Zion, in thy tabernacle, but with me
thy servant, in my house and in my
heart (comp. John xiv. 23), giving me
the strength and the grace that I need?
The expression is' no doubt remarkable
as occurring in the Old Testament;
though if it be understood as referring
to the removal of the ark to Zion (see
introduction to the Psalm), it would be
but a claiming of the promise in Ex. xx.
24 ; " In all places where I record my
name / will come unto thee, and bless
thee." With a perfect heaet; lit. "in
the perfectness, or integrity, of my
heart." So " a perfect way " might be
rendered " the way of integrity."
3. Set before mine etes, i.e. as an
example to imitate. According to Cal
vin, he speaks in the previous verse of
the manner in which he will regulate his
private life; in this, of his duties as a
king. Vile thing; lit. " thing of villany."
The noun is that which is wrongly
rendered in the A.V. of the historical
books, " Belial," as if it were a proper
name. It is really a compound noun
meaning " that which profitcth not."
Comp. Deut. xv. 9. See on Ps. xli. 8.
The sin of unfaithfulness ; lit.
" the doing of turnings aside " (if we
take the noun as an abstract), or "the
doing of them that turn aside," i.e. I
hate to act as they do (if we take the
word as an adjective). The alliteration
of the sibilants in the three words is

noticeable. See more in the Critical
Note. All such deviations from truth,
from integrity, from that divine law by
which be rules himself, shall not "cleave"
to him. Temptations to such a course
may beset him. The whisper might
come: policy requires this course; craft
must be met by craft ; power is given to
be used ; kings are above law ; and the
like. But he refuses to listen to the
whisper of the serpent ; and when it
would fasten its fangs in him, he shakes
it off.4. First David proves himself, laying
down the rule for his own guidance;
then he determines what his court and
household shall be. In this verse he
repudiates generally " the froward heart "
and " the wicked person." In the fol
lowing he enters more into detail.
A wicked person, or " wickedness ";
but the former accords better with " the
froward heart" (comp. Prov. xi. 20) in
the parallelism.
5. The secret slanderer, seeking to
ingratiate himself into his prince's favor
by pulling down others, and the haughty,
over-bearing noble (ver. 6), would be no
uncommon characters in any court, least
of all an Oriental court. Such persons
would David destroy. Thus he exercised
the kingly virtue of "j udgment " ( ver. 1 ) .
"As a private individual he could never
have ventured on such a measure ; but
when he was placed on the throne, he
received from God's hand the sword
with which he was to punish wrong
doing." 6. A proud heart; lit. "whoso is

PSALM CL

209

7 Mine eyes are upon the faithful in the land.
That they may dwell with me.
Whoso walketh in a perfect way,
He shall minister unto me.
8 He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house.
He that speaketh lies shall not be established in my sight.
9 Every morning will I destroy the wicked of the land.
That I may cut off all workers of iniquity from the city
of Jehovah.

wide of heart," i.e. as puffed up and
blown out with pride (comp. Prov. xxi.
4 ; xxviii. 25). Elsewhere the phrase,
" a wide heart," occurs in a very different
sense. It is said of Solomon that God
gave him " a wide heart," i.e. compre
hensiveness, a large grasp, the power
not only of gathering facts, but the
power of seeing their mutual relation, —
breadth of sympathy, and breadth of
understanding. In cxix. 32 and Isa. Ix. 5
the phrase denotes a feeling of liberty
and of joy. In this last sense, the ex
pression " my heart is dilated " occurs
constantly in the "Arabian Nights."
Comp. 2 Cor. vi. 11 : "H KapSia tiixHv
irerrKaTwrai (where see Stanley's note).
I WILL NOT SUFFER, Or "I Cannot
away with," Isa. i. 13 ; Jer. xliv. 22.
7. Mine eyes are upon. Comp.
xxxii. 8; xxxiv. 15 [16] ; Ixvi. 7. His
ministers shall he chosen, not for high
birth, or gifts of fortune, or talents, or
accomplishments, or flattering lips, or
supple compliance, but for incorruptible
fidelity ; the word " faithful " implying
that faithfulness to God is the basis of
such fidelity to their king.
Whoso walketh in a perfect wat,
i.e. with evident reference to ver. 2,
" whoever has laid down for himself the
same rule of integrity, is actuated by the
same purity of motive as I myself am."

8. Worketh deceit, as in Iii. 2 [4j.
Be established, or " abide," " con
tinue" ; comp. cii. 28 [29].
9. Evert morning. Fast as the
evil springs under shelter of the darkness,
it shall be destroyed with the returning
light. This is the common explanation,
but I believe that the allusion, beyond
all question, is to the Oriental custom
of holding courts of law in the early
morning. (See the same allusion in
Jer. xxi. 12, " Execute judgment in the
morning, and deliver him that is spoiled,"
etc. ; Zeph. iii. 5, "Morning by morning
doth he bring his judgment to light."
See also 2 Sam. xv. 2, and comp. Luke
xxii. 66 ; John xviii. 28. ) Day by day
will he exercise his work of righteous
judgment, purging out all ungodliness
from the holy city. His zeal is like the
zeal of Phineas, a zeal for God and for
his honor. He will have a pure state,
a pure city, as the writer of the one
hundred and fourth Psalm hopes to see
a pure earth (civ. 35), without spot or
stain of sin. It is like the dream which
fascinated the Roman poet of an Astraea
redux. It is a hope which finds its ac
complishment in the .apocalyptic vision,
in that new Jerusalem into which " there
shall in no wise enter anything that
defileth, or worketh abomination, or
maketh a lie " (Rev. xxi. 27).

° rt"iSiiUK . See Critical Note on xli. 1 [2]. According to Hupfeld
with prep, (as here, and Dan. ix. 13, with 3 , and elsewhere with bx .
is, i), it can only have the meaning of to regard. But in Dan. i. 4
we have the Hiph. part, followed by a , apparently in the other sense o.''

27

210 PSALM cn.
behaving wisely, and hence the rendering of the E. V., " I will behave
myself wisely," may be defended. Delitzsch explains the verb by the
noun i'^Bi^a in xxxii. 1, xlvii. 8, as expressing " poetic meditation," will
dichtend ehren.
*¦ 'n ¦'na . The rendering given in the text is the most obvious. It is
that of the LXX, Ilore ^feis Trpo:; p,i ; and has been adopted by the E. V.
It would be possible, however, (1) to take "'TO , not as an interrogative,
but as a conjunction, when, as often as ; compare the similar usage in
Arab, and Syr., and that of other interrogative words, as for instance
•in, xxv. 12, xxxiv. 13. (2) xian may be 3d fem., referring to T;';;T! or
niaPi (so Maurer), " may it come to me," i.e. become my possession.
But to speak of " a way," or even of " perfectness " — taking D^an as
a neut. noun (see on xv. 2, note ") — as " coming " to a person, is a
strange expression, to which the words " within my house " in the
next line form no real parallel.
" nius , inf. constr. for rriiUS , as in Gen. xxxi. 28 ; 1. 20 ; Prov. xxi.
3; comp. iiifi. Gen. xlviii. 11.
CHD . It seems most natural to take this as an abstract = Diaffl ,
Hos. V. 2 (see note on xl. 5), after the analogy of D'^'?.?, xix. 14. The
verb almost requires this ; lit. " the doing of apostasies or faithlessnesses."
Ewald admits that this is the simplest construction, but thinks that the
passage in Hosea is against it, as well as the sing. p2y\ . Hence he
renders, " the doing of the false," i.e. so to act as the false do, taking
BO as an adjective.
^ ipiaiba (K'thibh), Part. Po., with the connectmg vowel of the old
stat. constr. (Gesen., § 93. 2 ; Ewald, § 211 b). According to Hupfeld
the K'ri is Piel for ''SE^a , like in:^'nn , Ixii. 4 ; but may be only the
shortened form of the Poel with Kametz Chatuph instead of Cholem,
in which case it will be read m'loshni.

PSALM CII.
This Psalm must have been written by one of the exiles in Baby
lon, probably toward the close of the captivity, when the hope of a
return seemed no longer doubtful. In mournful strains he describes
his bitter lot. Sorrow and pain had been very busy with him. His
very heart was smitten within him, as the grass is withered in the hot
eye of the sun. He was alone, with no friend to comfort him ; his

PSALM cn. 211
enemies turned his misery into a proverb ; his life was drawing to a
close under the heavy wrath of God.
But when he has time to look away from his sorrow, a prospect so
bright and so glorious opens before him, that in the thought of it all
else is swallowed up and forgotten. Zion's deliverance is at hand.
Her God has not forsaken her. The grounds on which his hope rests
are broad and manifold ; for Jehovah is the everlasting Kintr (ver. 12) ;
the time fixed in his counsels is come (ver. 13) ; the hearts of her
children are moved with a more passionate longing for her restoration
(ver. 14) ; the prayer of his suffering people has prevailed, the sighing
of the prisoner has entered into his ears (ver. 17, 19, 20). A new
nation shall be born in Zion, and other nations and kingdoms shall be
gathered into her to praise Jehovah (ver. 18, 21, 22).
Once again, as for a moment, the sadness of the exile and the suf
ferer prevails. His life is ebbmg away, his heart and his flesh fail.
Shall he be permitted to look upon that glory with the thought of
which he has been comforting himself, the vision of which has been
passing before his eyes ? " O my God, take me not away in the midst
of my days ! " is the natural and touching petition which breaks from
his lips, as he fears lest his eyes should be closed in death before that
glory appears. And then suddenly, ^s if every cloud of apprehension
were dispelled, he triumphs in the thought that there is One who
changeth not ; that though the solid frame of the universe itself should
crumble into dissolution, yet he is the same " yesterday, to-day, and
forever," the one hope and stay of his children now and in all genera
tions to come.
On the Messianic character of the Psalm, and the quotation made
from it in the Epistle to the Hebrews, see the remarks at the end on
verses 25—27. It is strange that this quotation should have been passed
over without any notice, not only by commentators like De Wette and
Hupfeld, but even by Calvin, Tholuck, and Hengstenberg.
This Psalm is clearly individual, not national ; and must have been
intended for private rather than liturgical use, as the inscription seems
designed to inform us. This inscription is peculiar: it stands quite
alone among the titles prefixed to the Psalms ; for it describes the
character of the Psalm, and marks the circumstances under which it
should be used. In all other instances the inscriptions are either
musical or historical.
Besides the prologue (ver. 1, 2), and the epilogue, (ver. 23-28), the
Psalm consists of two main divisions, the complamt (ver. 3-11), and
the consolation (ver. 12-22).

212 PSALM on.
[A Prayer of the Afflicted, when he is overwhelmed, and before Jehovah
poureth out his complaint.]
1 0 Jehovah, hear my prayer,
And let my cry come unto thee.
2 Hide not thy face from me ;
In the day when I am in distress incline thine ear unto me,
In the day that I call answer me speedily.
3 For my days are consumed in smoke.
And my bones are burnt up as a firebrand.
4 My heart is smitten ' like grass and withered,
For I have forgotten to eat my bread.
5 Because of the voice of my groaning.
My bone cleaveth to my flesh.
6 I am like a pelican of the wilderness,
I am become like an owl of the ruins.
7 I have watched, and have been *
Like a lonely bird on the house-top.
1, 2. The opening words are such as 4. Smitten, as by a sun-stroke. Cf.
are found in other Psalms : comp. xviii. cxxi. 6; Hos. ix. 16 ; Jonah iv. 8.
6 [7] ; xxxix. 12 [13] ; xxvii. 9 ("hide I have forgotten, in the sorrow of
not thy face"); lix. 16 [17] ("in the my heart, as in cvii. 1 8 ; Job xxxiii. 20 ;
day when I was in distress "), and xviii. 1 Sam. i. 7, 8 ; xx. 34 ; I Kings xxi. 4 ;
6 [7] ; xxxi. 2 [3] ("incline thine ear Dan. vi. 18 [19]. So too in Homer, 7/.
nnto me"); Ivi. 9 [10] ("in the day xxiv. 129.
when I call"); Ixix. 17 [18]; cxliii. 7 5. Mt bone. The Hebrew has the
(" answer me speedily "). But all these singular, and the E. V. retains the sin-
are forms of expression which would gular in Job xix. 20, but the sing, may,"
easily pass into the common language perhaps, be collective, for the plural.
of prayer. To mt flesh. More naturally in
2. This verse admits of a different Lam. iv. 8, " my bones cleave to my
arrangement of its clauses : skin " ; the expression denoting extreme
Hide not, etc. ... in the day of my emaciation. In Job xix. 20, however,
distress, it is, " my bone cleaveth to my skin and
Incline, etc. ... in the day that I call ; to my flesh," which may refer to a state
Answer me speedily. of weakness and relaxation brought on
So Hupfeld. by severe pain, in which the bones have
3. In smoke, as in xxxvii. 20. There lost their power of motion.
is no need to adopt the reading of some 6. A pelican ... an owl. Both are
MSS., "as smoke "; nor again is it nee- mentioned Lev. xi. 17, 18, and the former
essary to render in the next clause, " as as inhabiting the wilderness, Zeph. ii. 14;
M«<A a firebrand" (Hupfeld). The bones Isa. xxxiv. 11. The LXX have ireA6ic<£i/
are burned (see on Ixix. 3) as the brand and wKTmSpai. The owl is called in
is when placed on the fire. Comp. xxii. Arabic, " mother of the ruins."
15 [16] ; xxxi. 10 [II] ; xxxii. 3. 7. I have watched, sleep having

PSALM CII

213

8 All the day long have mine enemies reproached me.
They that are mad against me " have made their oaths
by me.
9 For I have eaten ashes like bread ;
And mingled my drink with weeping ;
10 Because of thine indignation and thy wrath.
For thou hast taken me up and cast me away.
11 My days are like a shadow that declineth,
And I am withered like grass.
12 But THOU, 0 Jehovah, sittest throned forever.
And thy memorial is to all generations.

been driven away by sorrow. With the
next clause of the verse may be com
pared "Virg. Aen. iv. 462 :
"Solaque culminibus ferali carmine
bubo
Visa queri, et longas iu fletum ducere
voces."
And Georg. i. 403 :
" de culmine snmmo
Nequicquam seros exercet noctua
cantus."
Ovid also has :
" In adverso nocturnus culmine bubo.''
8. Made their oaths bt me, i.e.
when they curse, choose me as an ex
ample of misery, and imprecate upon
themselves or others my misfortunes —
say, " God do to me, to thee, as he has
done to this man." Comp. Isa. Ixv. 15 ;
Jer. xxix. 22.
9. Ashes like bread, Lam. iii. 16.
Comp. Ps. xiii. 3 [4], " my tears are my
food," ixxx. 5 [6].
10. " The acknowledgment is the
same as in xc. 7-9. It is sin which has
thus provoked God's displeasure; the
two nouns, ' indignation ' and ' wrath,'
are in the Hebrew the strongest which
the language possesses." — Delitzsch.
Thou hast taken me up, etc. God's
wrath has seized and whirled him aloft,
only to cast him, as worthless, away.
So in Isa. xxii. 18, "He will toss thee
like a ball into a large country." Comp.
Job xxvii. 21; xxx. 22; Isa. Ixiv. 6;
Ezek. iii. 14. Others explain, "only to

dash him the more forcibly to tha
ground " ; but the verb properly means to
cast away, as in Ii. 11 [13] ; Job xviii. 7.
11. That declineth. The word is
used properly of the day at its close (as
in Judges xix. 9, or the sun as setting,
and so here transferred to the evening
shadows (comp. cix. 23), which would
strictly be said to lengthen. The figure
describes the near approach of death.
12. But thou. This is the great
consolatory thought by which he rises
above his sorrow. He, the individual,
may perish, but Zion's hopes rest on her
eternal King. And yet this might seem,
as Calvin remarks, a far-fetched conso
lation. What is it to us that God
changeth not, that he sitteth King for
ever, if meanwhile our own condition is
so frail and feeble that we cannot con
tinue for a moment in one stay ? His
unchangeable peace and blessedness do
but make our life seem the more com
plete mockery. But the Psalmist recalls
God's promises to his church especially
that great covenant promise, "I will
dwell iu the midst of you " (Ex. xxv. 8).
Resting on this, he feels sure that God's
children, however miserable their state,
shall have their share in that heavenly
glory wherein God dwelleth. Because
God changes not, his promise and cov
enant change not, and therefore we may
ever lift our eyes to his throne in heaven,
from which he will surely stretch forth
his hand to us.

214

PSALM on.

13 Thou wilt arise (and) have compassion upon Zion,
For it is time to have pity upon her,*
For the set time is come.
14 For thy servants find pleasure in her stones,
And have pity upon her dust.
15 And the nations shall fear the name of Jehovah,
And all the kings of the earth thy glory,
16 Because Jehovah hath built Zion :
He hath appeared in his glory ;
17 He hath turned to the prayer of the poor-destitute,
And hath not despised their prayer.
18 This shall be written for the generation to come.
And a people new-created shall praise Jah.

Sittest throned, as in ix. 7 [8] ;
xxix. 10.
Tht memorial, as in Ex. iii. 15.
Some MSS. read " thy throne " ; which,
however, may have come from the par
allel passage (Lam. v. 19).
13. Because God is eternal, therefore
he will have compassion on Zion. Or
we may connect this verse with the fol
lowing: thou, Jehovah, the covenant
God and our Father, wilt rebuild the
walls of Zion ; for even we her children
love her very dust.
Have pitt upon; lit. "be gracious
nnto," or as the E.V. " favor."
The SET time. See on Ixxv. 2. It
is not necessary to understand this def
initely of the seventy years prophesied
by Jeremiah, xxv. 11, 12 ; xxix. 10. It
is rather the time when her warfare is
accomplished. 14. Stones . . . dust. It is strange
that Luther and others should have un
derstood these of the materials for build
ing the new city. They evidently denote
the ruins of the old (Neh. iii. 34 [E.V.
iv. 2] ; iv. 4 [E.V. iv. 10]). It is not
less strange that Hengst. should assert
that we have here only a figure repre
senting the low and ruinous condition
of Zion, because in the Psalm there are
no traces of the destruction of Jerusalem.
Have pitt upon her dust. Zion

was not only dear to them in her glory,
when the splendor of her temple riveted
every eye ; but her very dust is sacred,
her very ruins are dear. " Quamvis
Bubversum sit templum, et deformis
tantum vastitas illuc appareat, fideles
tamen, in ejus amore manere defixos, in
putridis lapidibus et corrupto caemento
agnoscere Dei gloriam." — Calvin. And
then he applies all this to the spiritual
Zion, the church, bidding ns remember
that the more mournful her desolations,
the less should we cease to love her ; yea,
rather, the more earnestly should our
sighs and prayers go up on her behalf.
15. The effect produced on the heathen
world by the manifestation of God's
glory, as seen in the redemption and
restoration of his people, which is not
only the accomplishment of a sovereign
purpose, but vouchsafed in answer to
prayer. 17. Poor-destitute. I have retained
this rendering of the Prayer-book version
because the word expresses utter naked
ness and destitution. It only occurs
here and Jer. xvii. 6.
18. Shall be written. The only
place in the Psalms where the memory
of great events is said to be preserved in
writing : elsewhere (as in xxii. 30 [31] ;
xliv. 1 [2]; Ixxviii. 2 [3]) it is left to
oral transmission.

PSALM cn.

215

19 For he hath looked down from his holy height.
From heaven hath Jehovah beheld the earth,
20 To hear the sighing of the prisoner.
To set at liberty those that are doomed unto death,
21 That men may declare the name of Jehovah in Zion,
And his praise in Jerusalem,
22 When the peoples are gathered together,
And the kingdoms to serve Jehovah.
23 He hath brought down my strength ° in the way.
He hath shortened my days.
24 I said, 0 my God, take me not away in the midst of my
days;
Thy years are to all generations.

A people new-created, or " a peo
ple to be created," as In xxii. 31 [32],
" a people that shall be born." There
is, as Calvin remarks, an implied an
tithesis between the new creation of the
people and their present destruction.
" The return from the captivity was like
a second birth." It was a Tra\iyy€V€(Tia.
See the quotation from Cicero in the
note on Ixxxvii. 5. " The passage
strikingly teaches that even when the
church seems dead it can be created
anew when God wills. Let us never
therefore despair, bnt rest assured that
he who created a world out of nothing,
can also bring his church out of the
darkness of death."
19. He hath looked. Comp. Deut.
xxvi. 15.
20. Doomed unto death. Hebrew
"sons of death." See on Ixxix. 11.
22. On this gathering of the nations
in Jerusalem comp. xxii. 27 [28] ; Ixviii.
32 [33] ; Isa. xlv. 14. It is a fulfilment
of the prophecy in Gen. xlix. 10.
18-22 express again in a somewhat
different form what has already been
said in verses 13-17. Thus, " thou wilt
arise," etc., ver. 13, answers to ver. 19,
each describing the first movement of
the divine compassion. Again, ver. 17,
like ver. 20, ascribes God's merciful in
terference to the prayer of his people.

Vef. 15, like verses 21, 22, speaks of
the effect to be produced on the world
at large.
23. Again he returns to the contrast
between his own weakness and the brev
ity of human life, on the one hand, and
the eternity and unchangeableness of
God on theother (see above, ver. 11, 12),
finding in this list his perfect satisfaction
and rest.
In the WAT, i.e. in the journey of
life. Those who suppose the Psalm to
express the feelings rather of the nations
at large than of the individual, see here
an allusion to the journey through the
wilderness, as in Ex. xviii. 8 ; Num.
xvii. 12, 13 [27, 28] ; xx. 14.
24. The abrupt transition in this verse
is full of pathetic beauty. The prayer
that his life may not be prematurely cut
short seems to spring in this instance
not merely from a natural chnging to
life (as in Hezekiah's case, Isa. xxxviii.
10, 11), but from the intense desire to
see God's glory manifested in Israel's
restoration. Then, having uttered that
prayer, without waiting for the answer,
he magnifies God's eternity and un
changeableness. He finds in these his
strength in weakness ; he feels that he
can rest on the everlasting arms. He
draws his highest consolation from the
thought, that though he himself may

216

PSALM cn.

25 Of old thou hast laid the foundation of the earth.
And the heavens are the work of thy hands :
26 They shall perish, but thou remainest.
Yea, all of them shall wax old as a garment.
As a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be
changed.
27 But THOU art the same,
And thy years shall not come to an end.

perish, cut off in the midst of his days ;
though the heavens and the earth may
be changed, and wax old as a garment ;
yet he who created them is ever the
same, that his purposes cannot be frus
trated, that his church, the children of
his servants, shall abide, the witness
and the monument of his love.
25. The creation of the world implies
its transitoriness. That which had a
beginning shall have an end. He alone
who created all cannot change. Comp.
Isa. Ii. 6; liv. 10. Elsewhere the order
of nature is spoken of as unchanging,
as in cxlviii. 6. Comp. Gen. viii. 22.
And such expressions occur as "the
everlasting mountains," " the everlasting
heavens " ; but as compared with God all
that is most abiding has upon it the
impress of decay and death. On the
other hand, th^re is nothing here which
contradicts the promise made elsewhere
of " new heavens and a new earth "
(2 Peter iii. 13).
27. THOU ART the same; lit. "thou
art he." Comp. the same form of ex
pression, Isa. xli. 4 ; xlvi. 4 ; Job. iii. 19.
Or, in a different sense, as in Deut.
xxxii. 39, " I am he," i.e. I am God, I
am Jehovah, the only true God ; comp.
Isa. xliii. 10, 13; xlviii. 12; Hi. 6; and
see Neh. ix. 6, " Thou art he, Jehovah
alone," etc.
28. Continue ; lit. " dwell," i.e. in
the land, as in xxxvii. 29 ; Ixix. 36 [37],
where the full expression occurs.
25-27 are quoted in the Epistle to the
Hebrews (i. 10-12) as addressed to
Christ, and form a part of the writer's
proof from the Old Testament that he,
¦s the Son of God, is higher than the

angels. The quotation stands between
two others, one from the forty-fifth, the
other from the one hundred and tenth
Psalm, bearing on the same argument.
But these are both of them Messianic
Psalms, and the principle on which the
quotation rests is sufficiently obvious.
It is by no means so easy to understand
why the words of this Psalm should
have been quoted, as it does not seem at
first sight to be a Messianic Psalm. It
may be observed, however, (1) that it is
in this sense Messianic, that it looks
forward to Israel's redemption from
captivity, and the future glory of Zion ;
(2) that, as has been observed in the
note on Ps. Ixxii., and in the General
Introduction, Vol. i. p. 44, there are
two great lines of Messianic hope run»
ning through the Psalms, the one human,
the other divine ; the one of which the
reign of the Son of David, the other of
which the advent of Jehovah, is the
great end and object. Here the Psalmist
is occupied with the latter, tiie appearing
of Jehovah in his glory. (3) This iden
tification of the Jesus of the New Tes
tament with the Jehovah of the Old is
what we find elsewhere ; comp. John
xii. 41 with Isa. vi. (Isaiah sees the glory
of Jehovah ; St. John tells us it was the
glory of Christ), and John xix. 37,
"they shall look on him whom they
pierced," which in Zech. xii. 10 is lan
guage used directly of Jehovah. The
difference between these quotations in
St. John and the one in the Epistle to
the Hebrews is, that the argument in the
latter requires that the Messianic char
acter of the Psalm should be conceded.
(4) Not only the revelation, the appearing

PSALM cm. 217
28 The children of thy servants shall continue.
And their seed shall be established before thee.
of Jehovah in Zion, but also the creation as the person here spoken of; and on this
of the world (ver. 25) would point to last ground, especially, the quotation in
the Great Mediator, the Eternal Word, the Epistle to the Hebrews seems to rest.
" rsnn, incorrect orthography for nsn, as in Hos. ix. 16. See on
xlv. note '.
'' '^¦"'5,''* If the reading is correct, it is clear that the accent
(Athnach) is misplaced. Olsh. ingeniously conjectures fiafixj (comp.
lv.,18). Instead of l^ia many mss. of Kenn. and De R. have I'l'iJ,
wandering, as the Syr. also renders (the Chald. gives both), but con
trary to the Masora on Isa. xiv. 31 ; IIos. viii. 9.
" "Wna, Po. part. pass, (occurring also Eccl. ii. 2), with the
objective suffix. Comp. for a similar constr. ''5';on^*i , cix. 3 ; but the
part, lends itself more readily to this kind of construction, as the suffix
may be regarded, in a measure, as possessive ; comp. ''af?, xviii. 40.
* TOSnh , Inf. Kal. The not unusual expanded form of this verb,
as for instance in Isa. xxx. 18, with Segol, instead of Chirik or Pathach.
' ire . The K'ri is inb , which in this instance seems preferable, as
more in accordance with the parallelism ; but if we retain the K'thibh
we may render either (1) " he hath brought down,'' or " humbled," or
" afflicted with his strength, he hath shortened," etc. ; or (2) " his strength
hath humbled, it hath," etc.

PSALM CIII.
This beautiful Psalm is the outpouring of a full heart in thanks
giving to Jehovah for his grace and compassion, both as experienced
by the Psalmist in his own life, and also as manifested to his nation
in their history. It celebrates especially God's mercy in the forgive
ness of sin, and that tender pity, as of a human father, wherewith he
remembers the frailty, and stoops to the weakness of his children. It
is a hymn of which the text and motto are to be found in that revela
tion of himseK which God gave to Moses when he proclaimed himself
as " Jehovah, tenderly compasionate and gracious, long-suffering, and
abundant in goodness and truth " (Ex. xxxiv. 6).
Nothing certain can be said as to the author and date of the Psalm,
VOL. II. 28

218 PSALM cm.
though various conjectures have been hazarded. The Hebrew title
gives it to David, the Syriac still more definitely assigns it to his old
age. RosenmuUer supposes it to have been written after his sin in the
matter of Uriah, a supposition which appears to me to be wholly with
out foundation. DeWette places the Psalm near the end of the
exile, on the ground that the poet celebrates so largely God's grace
and long-suffering, manifested to his people in spite of their sins and
their idolatry. Not one word, however, hints at idolatry as the sin of
which they had been guilty, nor is there a word to connect the Psahn
with the exile.
The argument built on the supposed later (Aramaic) forms which
this Psalm has in common with Psalms cxvi., cxxiv., cxxix., cxxxix.,
is not absolutely conclusive for a post-exile date, for the same forms
occur in 2 Kings iv. 1-7. Still, such forms do not occur in David's time,
or in Psalms in the earlier books ascribed to him, and they must fairly
be regarded either as marking a dialectic variation (see Critical Note
on ver. 3), or a time when Aramaic influence had begun to make itself
felt. Ewald, who thinks that this and the next Psalm were written
by the same author, regards both as temple Psalms, composed after
the exile, the first praising Jehovah as the Redeemer of his people in
the various circumstances of their history, the second praising him as
the Creator and Ruler of the world.
There is little, however, to connect che two Psalms, except that
both begin and end with the same self-exhortation, " Bless Jehovah,
0 my soul."
Others, again, attempt to connect this with the preceding Psalm.
So Rieger observes : " To feel sin and death, and with this feeling to
wrestle for grace and reconciliation, and to seek after the kingdom of
God and bis righteousness, is the subject of the one hundred and second
Psalm ; to feel sin and death, and ftien to have received reconciliation
and the Spirit which quickeneth, and so to praise God, and in faith
and patience to join oneself to all God's saints, is the subject of the
one hundred and third Psalm." Delitzsch, who quotes this with appro
bation, takes the same view.
The Psalm consists of three parts :
I. A prelude, in a strain of trustful gladness, in which the Psalmist
seeks to stir up gratitude within hun, by the review of God's mercies
to him as an individual (ver. 1-5).
II. The body of the poem, in a more reflective tone, full of a quiet,
tender, pathetic, even melancholy beauty, in which, after a brief allusion
to the facts of the national history, the great covenant relationship of

PSALM cm.

219

God to his people forms the prominent ground of hope amid human
sins and transitoriness (ver. 6-18).
III. A triumphant conclusion. Joy in the remembrance of God's good
ness to himself and his people predominates over every other feeling.
Such a joy must utter itself m praise. Praise seems its natural
employment, and therefore the natural employment of all other crea
tures, which it summons to a holy sympathy and fellowship with itseK
(ver. 19-22). [(A Psahn) of David.]
1 Bless Jehovah, 0 my soul.
And all that is within me (bless) his holy name.
2 Bless Jehovah, 0 my soul.
And forget not all his benefits ;
3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquity,'
Who h«T<leth all thy diseases,
4 Who rede^meth thy life from the pit.
Who crowneth thee with loving-kindness and tender
mercies.

1. All that is within me; not as
opposed to outward or mere lip service,
but expressing the desire to enlist every
thought, faculty, power, the heart with
all its affections, the will, the conscience,
the reason, in a word the whole spiritual
being, all in man that is best and highest,
in the same heavenly service.
2. Poeget not. This touches the
secret spring of so much ingratitude; —
forgetfulness, the want of re-collection,
or gathering together again of all the
varied threads of mercy. Comp. Deut.
vi. 12; viii. 11, 14. "Si oblivisceris,
tacebis." 3. Fokgiveth, the first and greatest
of all the divine benefits to the soul
burdened with a sense of guilt and de
filement ; therefore also that which calls
first for acknowledgment. "God's ben
efits will not be before our eyes, unless
our sins be also before our eyes." —
Augustine. Diseases or " sicknesses," primarily,
at least, of body, as in Deut. xxix. 21 ;
:2 Chron. xxi. 19 ; and this agrees with
what follows ; though possibly the

maladies of the sonl may be included.
" Even when sin is forgiven," says Au
gustine, " thou still carriest about with
thee an infirm body. . . . Death is not
yet swallowed up in victory, this cor
ruptible hath not yet put on incorruption ;
still the soul herself is shaken by passions
and temptations. . . . [But] thy sick
nesses shall all be healed, doubt it not.
They are great, thou wilt say ; but the
Physician is greater. To an Omnipotent
Physician no sickness is incurable ; only
suffer thyself to be healed, thrust not
away his hand, he knoweth what he
doeth. ... A human physician is mis
taken sometimes ! why 1 Because he
did not make that which he undertakes
to heal. God made thy body. God
made thy soul ; he knoweth how to re
create that which he created ; he knoweth
how to reform that which he formed ;
only be thou still under the hands of
the Physician . . . suffer thou his hands,
O soul that blesseth him, forgetting not
all his benefits ; for he healeth all thy
sicknesses." 4. PaoM the pit (see on xvi. 10) ;

220

PSALM cm.

5 Who satisfieth thy mouth* with good (things),
So that thy youth reneweth itself ° as the eagle.
6 Jehovah executeth righteousness
And judgment for all that are oppressed.
7 He made known his ways unto Moses,
His acts unto the children of Israel.
8 Jehovah is full of compassion and gracious.
Long-suffering and plenteous in lo^dng-kindness.
9 He will not alway be contending.
Neither keepeth he (his anger) forever.

including death, the grave. Hades. The
Targum renders, " from Gehenna.''
Ckowneth. The love of God not
only delivers from sin, disease, and death.
He makes his children kings, and weaves
their crown out of his own glorious
attributes of loving-kindness and tender
mercies. 5. Satisfieth. Giving himself to
ns as the bread of life ; as Athanasius
says : TS>v irvev/iariKwv iifia^ ivin\7)(T€v
i.yadSov, kavrhv Tjfiiv &prov tjvra ^wtJs ^Tri-
SiSovs. And Augustine, observing that
every creature has its own good : " Seek
thine own good, 0 soul. None is good
but one, tliat is God. The highest good,
this is thy good. What, then, can he
want who hath the highest good ? . . .
God is this good. What kind of good
who can say ? Behold we cannot siiy ; and
yet we are not permitted to be silent."
As the eagle, i.e. so that in strength
and vigor thou art like the eagle. The
rendering of the E.V., " so that thy
youth is renewed like the eagle's," is
grammatically justifiable, but very un
necessarily makes the Psalmist responsi
ble for the fable of the eagle's renewing
its youth (See at end of Critical Notes).
Neither this passage nor Isa. xl. 31
countenances any such fable. There is
an allusion no doubt, to the yearly
moulting Of the feathers of the eagle and
other birds, the eagle being selected as
the liveliest image of strength and vigor.
The Prayer-book version gives the sense
rightly : " Making thee young and lusty
as an i

6. He passes from his own experience
to that of the church at large : God's
mercies to the individual are only a part
of that vast circle qf mercy which em
braces all Israel, ^le connection is
thus traced by Sart -iz in his para
phrase: "Thou hasi o. nvn mercy to
me, thou hast on various occasions ex
ecuted judgment on those who have
persecuted and oppressed me, and others
of thy people. These are thy ways
which thou didst show to Moses, and to
thy people in the wilderness. — The
Book of Deuteronomy from the fourth
to the tenth chapter, and again from the
twenty-seventh to the thirty-first, teaches
nothing else but this, that Jehovah is
full of compassion and long-suffering."
Los Salmos, tomo ii. p. 34.
Righteousness and judgment.
The words are in the plural, which
therefore must either be used intensively
for the singular (see note on Ixviii. 35),
or perhaps rather to denote the several
acts in which Jehovah had displayed his
righteousness. All that are oppressed ; the
church of God being a suffering church.
7. His ways, in allusion to the prayer
of Moses (Ex. xxxiii. 13) : " If I have
found grace in thy sight, make known
to me thy way, and let me know thee."
8. The verse is taken from Ex. xxxiv.
6. Comp. Ixxxvi. 5, 15; cxi. 4; cxiv.
8 ; Joel ii. 13 ; Neh. ix. 17, 31 ; 2 Chron.
xxv. 9.
9. Compare Isa. Ivii. 16, " For not
forever will I contend, and not perpet-

PSALM cm.

221

10 Not according to our sins hath he dealt with us.
And not according to our iniquities hath he requited us ;
11 For as high as the heaven is above the earth.
So great * is his loving-kindness upon them that fear him.
12 As far as the east is from the west.
So far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
13 Like as a father hath compassion on (his) children.
So Jehovah hath compassion on them that fear him.
14 For HE knoweth our frame.
He remembereth ° that we are dust.
15 As for frail man, his days are as grass.
As a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.
16 For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone.
And the place thereof knoweth it no more.
17 But the loving-kindness of Jehovah is from everlasting to
everlasting upon them that fear him.
And his righteousness unto children's children ;

ually will I be angry ; for the spirit
would fail before me, and the souls that
I have made."
Keepeth. See the same absolute use
of the verb. Lev. xix. 18, "Thou shalt
not keep (i.e. cherish any grudge)
against the children of thy people " ;
Nah. i. 2 ; and of the synonymous word
{shdmar) Jer. iii. 5, 12. Calvin compares
the French phrases il lui garde, il me I'a
gardi. 11. The expressions iu xxxvi. 5 [6] ;
Ivii. 10 [11], are similar. God's love is
like himself, infinite. It cannot be
measured by all the measures of the
universe. 12. Removed oue TBAN8GKE8SION8.
The forgiveness of sin (as in ver. 3) is
the great proof of God's love. " The
expression describes, in language which
might be that of the New Test., the
effects of justifying grace." — Delitzsch.
Comp. Mic. vii. 19, " Thou wilt cast all
their sins into the depths of the sea";
Isa. xxxviii. 17, " Thou hast cast all my
sins behind thy back."
14-16. Man's weakness and transito

riness is itself an appeal to God's fatherly
compassion. Compare Gen. viii. 21, and
see the same ground taken in Ps. xxxix.
5 [6], 13 [14] ; Ixxviii. 39 ; Job vii. 7.
14. Our frame; lit. "ovr fashioning,"
as in Gen. ii. 7, " And he fashioned
(formed) man of the dust," etc. ; or as
a potter moulds and fashions the clay
(Isa. xxix. 16 ; xlv. 9, 11 ; Job x. 8).
15. Compare, for the figures in this
and the next verse, xxxvii. 2, 10, 36;
xc. 5, 6 ; Isa. xl. 6-8 ; Ii. 12 ; Job xiv. 2 ;
and for the phrase, " the place thereof
knoweth it no more " (Job vii. 10).
17. The same contrast between man's
transitoriness and God's unchangeable
ness which occurs in Psalm xc. For
the third time God's mercy and loving-
kindness is said to be upon " them that
fear him," comp. ver. 11, 13, as if to
remind us that there is a love within a
love, a love which they only know who
have tasted that the Lord is gracious,
who fear him and walk in his ways, as
well as a love which " maketh the sun
to shine, and sendeth rain upon the just
and the unjust." In the next verse thera

222 PSALM cm.
18 To such as keep his covenant.
And to those that remember his precepts to do tliem.
19 Jehovah hath established his throne in the heavens,
And his kingdom ruleth over all.
20 0 bless Jehovah, ye his angels.
That are mighty in strength, that execute his word,
Hearkening ' to the voice of his word.
21 Bless Jehovah, all ye his hosts.
Ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure.
22 Bless Jehovah, all ye his works,
In all places of his dominion.
Bless Jehovah, 0 my soul.
is the same limitation, " To such as honor and power to him who sitteth
keep his covenant," and to those who upon the throne. Lastly, from all that
not only know but "do " his will. The vast congregation of worshippers prais-
blessings of the covenant are no inalien- ing God, he turns to himself, that his
able right; mancipio nulli datur; chil- voice may not be wanting in the mighty
dren's children can only inherit its anthem, " Bless thou Jehovah, O my
blessings by cleaving to it. Comp. Ex. soul."
XX. 6; xxiv. 7 ; Deut. vii. 9. 20. Mighty in strength, or "strong
From EVERLASTING TO EVERLASTING, warrtors " (see note on Iii. 1), as after-
"Ab aeterno, ob praedestinationem ; in wards " all his hosts," by which not the
aeternum, ob beatificationem ; altera stars but the angels are meant, as is
principium, altera finem nesciens." — plain from the parallelism, "ye minis-
(S. Bernard. ters of his, that do his pleasure." Com-
19. The concluding portion of the pare the AEtToup^iKct Tri/eiJ/iaTo of Heb. i.
Psalm extols the greatness and majesty 14. See also Ps. civ. 4 ; Dan. vii. 10.
of him who has thus stooped in pity to 22. All his works. In the same
his children. The Psalmist had begun way in Ps. cxlviii. first the angels and
by calling upon his own soul to bless then the whole creation is called upon
Jehovah for his goodness ; he had asso- to praise God. On the closing words,
ciated with_himself, as partakers in that " Bless Jehovah, O my soul," J. H.
goodness, all who feared the Lord. Now Michaelis observes "Magnum irdBos
he concludes by calling on the angels in habet hie Psalmi finis, in quo Psalmista
heaven and all creation, inanimate as per epanalepsiu ad animam suam re-
well as animate, to ascribe blessing and vertitur."
" -isjis . . . ¦'=';N!ii™ . These forms of the fem. suffix, echi in the
sing., and dy'chi in the plural, are commonly regarded as later Aramaic
forms. In the Psalter they occur, it is true, only in the later Psalms,
as in cxvi. 7, 19 (where in ver. 12 occurs also the pure Chaldee masc.
suffix, "^rf.-), cxxxv. 9 ; cxxxvii. 6. But they are rather to be regarded
as instances of a return to the original fuller form of the 2d pers. fem.
(corresponding to the original form ipN, afterwards shortened into

PSALM cm. 223
PX , a return due, perhaps, to Aramaic influence. It is, however, re
markable that these same forms are found (in the K'thibh) in a passage
in the history of Elisha, 2 Kings iv. 1-7, a fact which certainly seems
to suggest a dialectic, i.e. North Palestinian variation. The only other
passage in which (according to Delitzsch) this form of suffix occurs is
Jer. xi. 15.
'' '^'py . It is difficult to determine the meaning of the word here.
In xxxii. 9 I have adopted the rendering trapping, harness. Hupfeld
contends for a similar meaning here ; he takes it to denote the whole
apparatus of external means by which life is maintained, all, whether
in the way of ornament or use, which is to a man what trappings are
to a horse; all that he may be said, figuratively, to put on (>i*i"), just
as men are said, for instance, to put on strength, pride, etc. Hengs
tenberg also renders the word ornament or beauty, but supposes it to
be used, like the word glory elsewhere, for the soul, and tries to obviate
the objection to this, viz. that the soul is addressed in ver. 1, by saying
that in what precedes, the idea of the whole person has imperceptibly
taken the place of the soul. Maurer and Koster keep to the same
rendering, viz. ornament, but think that the body is meant, spoken of
by anticipation as restored to youth and beauty.
Of the older interpreters, the Syr. has thy body, the LXX, desire
(i-TTidvpiav), the Chald., old age (either as connecting the word with
1? , time, or as parallel to youth in the next member), and this last is
followed by De Wette and by Gesen. in his Lex., though in his Thesaur.
he prefers the more general sense of aetas, and thinks that youth rather
than old age is meant. Finally, there is the interpretation of Aben-
Ezra, Kimchi, and others, who here, as in xxxii. 9 (see Critical Note
there), give the sense mouth, lit. cheek [just as Cicero uses bucca in the
same general way, quicquid in buccam venerit scribito, " whatever
comes into your head""]. There are thus, in short, three meanings
assigned to the word : (1) that which is put on, ornament, beauty, etc.,
according to which the rendering would be, " Who satisfieth all that
thou hast about thee ; the awkwardness of this it is impossible not to
feel ; (2) time (whether youth or old age), a rendering to which Hup
feld would incline, if it were allowable to set aside usage, and to go
back to the root IS , aetas ; (3) mouth, for which may be alleged the
interpretation of the older versions in xxxii. 9, and the Arabic cognate.
This last, which in xxxii. 9 has Ewald's support (though here he has
"deinen Muth"), is perhaps, on the whole, simplest, though I give it
with some hesitation.
" C'nnnn : 3 fem. sing, with plural noun, according to the well-known

224 PSALM CIV.
rule, Gesen. § 146, 3. There is no reason to render this verb as a
passive. The proper reflexive meaning is far more lifelike and
expressive. * ^35 with is , in the same sense, cxvii. 2. Elsewhere the phrase has
a different meaning, Gen. xbx. 26 ; 2 Sam. xi. 23. Hence Hupfeld
would here read naj .
" ^!)3t , strictly a passive infixus, but according to Gesen. § 50, Obs.
2 = infixum (menti) habens.
' i'aci ; gerundial = obediendo.
The fable of the eagle's renewing its youth has received different
embellishments. The version of Saadia, given by Kimchi, is as follows :
The eagle mounts aloft into heaven till he comes near to the seat of
central fire in the sun, when, scorched by the heat, he casts himself down
into the sea. Thence he emerges again with new vigor and fresh
plumage, till at last, in his hundredth year, he perishes in the waves.
Augustine's story is more elaborate, and far less poetical. According to
him, when the eagle grows old, the upper curved portion of the beak
becomes so enlarged, that the bird is unable to open its mouth to seize
its prey. It would die of hunger, therefore, did it not dash this part
of its beak against a rock till the troublesome excrescence is got rid of.
Then it can devour its food as before, vigor is restored to its body,
splendor to its plumage, it can soar aloft ; a kind of resurrection has
taken place. Thus it renews its youth. And then, wonderful to say,
having told this story gravely, he makes Christ the rock, adding " in
Christ thy youth shall be renewed as the eagle's."

PSALM CIV.

The general argument of this divine ode of creation has been well
expressed by Calvin. " This Psalm," he says " differs from the last,
in that it neither treats of God's special mercies bestowed on his
church, nor lifts us to the hope of a heavenly life; but painting for
us, in the frame of the world and the order of nature, the living image
of God's wisdom, power, and goodness, exhorts us to praise him,
because in this our fraU mortal life he manifests himself to us as a
Father." It is a bright and living picture of God's creative power,
pouring life and gladness throughout the universe.
There are several points in the Psalmist's treatment of his subject
which deserve especial notice.

FSALM CIV. 225
1. First there is here, what is not to be found to the same extent,
if at all, in any other ancient poetry, the distinct recognition of the
absolute dependence of the universe, as created, upon tue Creator:
" He is before all things, and by him all things subsist." This truth is
throughout implied. It forms the very basis and, so to speak, main
thread of the poem.
2. Secondly, the great work of creation is here regarded not as a
iing of the past merely ; the universe is not a machine once set a-going,
ind then left to its fate, or to inexorable laws. The Great Worker is
ever working.^ " The world and all things owe their past origin and
their present form to the continuous operation '' of God. Creation ever
repeats itself ; death is succeeded by life. He who made, renews the
face of the earth. It is the same profound view of the relation of the
Cosmos to the Creator which St. Paul exhibits in his speech on Mars'
Hill. He, too, is careful not to separate the past from the present.
'¦ God, who made (past, 6 Troiijo-a?) the world," did not then leave the
work of his fingers ; the streaming forth of his omnipotence and his love
was not checked or stayed ; on the contrary, every part of his crea
tion rests at every moment on his hands ; " he giveth (present SiSous) to
all life and breath and all things" (Acts xvii. 25).
3. Thirdly, in its main outline the poem follows the story of creation
contained in the first chapter of Genesis. There manifestly is the
source whence the Psalmist drew. Meditating on that sublime descrip
tion, itself a poem, he finds in it his subject and his inspiration. And
yet the Psalm is not a mere copy of the original. Breathing the same
lofty spirit, it has a force and an originality of its own. In some
respects the Psalm, even more strikingly than the early record, exhibits
the infinite greatness, the order, the life of the universe. " It is re
markable," says a Spanish commentator, " how the lyric verse, while
losing nothing of its freedom and fire (bizarri'a ed entusiasmo), contrives
at the same time to preserve all the force and simplicity of the picture
of nature presented to us in Genesis." ^ But the creation of Genesis
is a creation of the past ; the creation of the Psalm is a creation of the
present. The one portrays the beginning of the eternal order, the
other its perpetual, living spectacle. Hence, too, the ode has far more
animation than the record. The latter is a picture of still life ; the
former is crowded with figures full of stir and movement. How vivid
1 See the excellent remarks on the importance of this view of nature in reference
to miracles, in the Eev. D. J. Vaughan's valuable work, Christian Evidences and
the Bible, p. 97.
2 Sanchez, Los Salmos, ii. 36.
VOL. II. 29

226 PSALM CIV.
are the images which it calls up, — the wild ass roaming the sands oi
the wilderness, stooping to slake his thirst at the stream which God
has provided ; the birds building their nests, and breaking forth into
song in the trees which fringe the margin of the torrent-beds; the
wild goats bounding from rock to rock, and finding their home in the
inaccessible crags ; the young lions filling the forest by night with
their roar, and " seeking from God their prey " ; and the sea with the
same plenitude of life, its depths peopled with huge monsters and
swarming myriads of lesser fish, and its surface studded with sails, the
image of the enterprise, the traffic, the commerce of the world ; and
lastly, in fine contrast with this merely animal activity of creatures led
by their appetites, the even tenor, the calm, unobtrusive dignity of
man's daily life of labor ; take all these togetlier, and we have a picture
which for truth and depth of coloring, for animation, tenderness,
beauty, has never been surpassed.
It is not surprising that this great hymn of creation should have
called forth the warmest expressions of admiration from those who
have studied it, and that they should have vied with one another in
praising it as a masterpiece which has rarely been exceeded. One
writer ' " prefers it to all the lyric poetry of the Greeks and Romans."
Another^ declares that "in Hebrew poetry there is little that can
compare with it in precision of outline, and in the delicacy of its
transitions, as well as in its warm sympathy with nature, and in the
beauty of its images." A third " says, " the Psalm is delightful, sweet,
and instructive, as teaching us the soundest views of nature (la mas sana
fisica), and the best method of pursuing the study of it, viz. by admiring
with one eye the works of God, and with the other God himself, their
Creator and Preserver.'' The great naturalist, A. Von Humboldt, writes :
" It might almost be said that one single Psalm represents the image
of the whole Cosmos. . . . We are astonished to find in a lyrical poem
of such limited compass the whole universe — the heavens and earth —
sketched with a few bold touches. The contrast of the labor of man
with the animal life of nature, and the image of omnipresent, invisible
power, renewing the earth at will, or sweeping it of inhabitants, is a
grand and solemn poetical creation." — Cosmos, ^'ol. ii. part i. (p. 413,
Bohn's edition). " With what an eye of gladness," says Herder, " does
the poet survey the earth 1 It is a green mountain of Jehovah, which
he lifted above the waters ; a paradise which he established for the
dwelling-place of so many living creatures above the seas. The series
1 Amyraldns. * Hupfeld. ' Sanchez.

PSALM CIV. 227
of pictures which the poet here displays is, in fact, the natural history
of the earth."
The Psalm is without any strophical division ; but its main outline,
as has been said, follows the first chapter of Genesis. The poet begins
with the light, and the heaven with its cloud and storms, (ver. 2-4),
corresponding to the works of the first and second days. Gen. i. 3-8.
Then he passes to the earth, first describing its original chaotic state,
and the separation of earth and water by the voice of God (ver. 5-9),
in accordance with Gen. i. 9, 10 (first portion of the third day's work) ;
and then the varied adornment of the earth as the dwelling-place of
living creatures, in a strain which goes far beyond the narrative in
Gen. i. 11, 12. The mention of the heavenly bodies follows (ver.
19—23) (fourth day's work), but with a more direct reference to the
life of men and animals than in Gen. i. 14-18. Then, after a short
exclamation of admiring gratitude (ver. 24), the poet, who has already
woven into his verse so happily some portion of the creative wonders
of the fifth and sixth days, the birds and beasts and creeping things
and man. Gen. i. 20-26, turns back again (ver. 25, 26) to speak of the
sea and its life, Gen. i. 21. Finally, after expressing, in vivid phrase,
the absolute dependence of all this vast and manifold creation upon its
Maker (ver. 27-30), he longs to see the bright original restored, to
find himself and all God's creatures parts of the mighty harmony, that
a new sabbath of creation may dawn, a rest of God, in which he shall
rejoice in his works and they in him, and the world become a temple
filled with the anthem of praise (ver. 31-35).
1 Bless Jehovah, 0 my soul !
0 Jehovah my God, thou art very great.
Thou art clothed with honor and majesty.
2 Thou coverest thyself with light as with a robe.
Thou spreadest out the heavens like a curtain.
1 . Clothed, comp. xciii. 1 . to God's creative action — teaches us to
2. Thoc covekest thyself ; lit. regard it not merely as a thing of the
"covering thyself" (and in the next past, but as still operative. The fifth
member "spreadingout"), if weconnect verse, on the other hand, opening with
these participial clauses with what pre- apast tense, takes us back to the original
cedes, or " covering himself" if we join creation of all things.
thom with what follows. This participial With light. This is the first day.
construction (of which we have further At the creation God said, " Let there ba
instances in ver. 10, 13, 14; ciii. 3-5; light." Here, where the creation is an
see also Isa. xliv. 24, 25 ; xlv. 7 ; Jer. x. ever-continued work, he apparels himself
12 ; Amos iv. 13) gives a present force with light. The final revelation tella

228

PSALM CIV.

3 Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters,
Who maketh the clouds his chariot,
Who walketh upon the wings of the wind ;

us that " God ' is light," 1 John i. 5 ;
comp. John i. 4-9. " In comparing the
light to a robe," says Calvin, " he sig
nifies that though God is invisible, yet
his glory is manifest. If we speak of
his essential being, it is true that he
dwelleth in light inaccessible ; but inas
much as he irradiates the whole world
with his glory, this is a robe wherein he
in some measure appears to us as visible,
who in himself had been hidden. ... It
is folly to seek God in his own naked
majesty ; ... let us turn our eyes to that
most beautiful frame of the world in
which he would be seen by us, that we
may not pry with idle curiosity into the
mystery of his nature." And Herder
asks, " Is there in the universe a created
thing more worthy to be the robe of
Jehovah, whose very being is such that
he dwelleth in darkness? "
Spreadest out the heavens. The
same figure as in Isa. xl. 22 (comp. xiii.
5 ; xliv. 24). This describes briefly the
work of the second day (Gen. i. 6-8).
The heavens are the firmament, the ex
panse (as the Hebrew word literally
means) which is spread out to separate
the waters. And iu the waters above
God lays, as it were, the floor of his
palace. Like a chrtain, i.e. the curtain of a
tent, " ac si diceret regium esse tento
rium." " Because the Hebrews conceived
of heaven as a temple and palace of God,
that sacred azure was at once the floor
of his, the roof of our, abode. Yet me-
thinks the dwellers in tents ever loved
best the figure of the heavenly tent.
They .represent God as daily spreading
it out, and fastening it at the extremity
of the horizon to the pillars of heaven,
the mountains. It is to them a tent of
safety, of rest, of » fatherly hospitality
in which God lives with his creatures."
— Herder. Both Athanasius and Au
gustine observe, that in the use of this
figure the Psalmist designs to mark not
merely the form of the heaven, but the

ease with which God works. " For easy
as it is," says the former, " for a man to
stretch out a skin, so easy it is for God
to create the heaven which did not exist
before." Augustine : " What infinite
labor and toil and difficulty and con
tinued effort it costs to spread out one
little room ; there is no eflbrt of this
kind in the works of God. Thou art
not to think that God spread out the
heaven as thou spreadest out the roof of
thy house ; but as easy as it is for thee
to spread out a single skin, so easy was
it for God to spread out that vast heaven.
. . . Nay, God did not spread out the
heaven as thou spreadest out the skin.
For let a skin, wrinkled or folded, be
placed before thee, and command it to
be unfolded and stretched out; spread
it out by thy word. ' I cannot,' thou
wilt reply. See then how far thou
comest short of the ease with which God
worketh." 3. Who lateth the beams. The
figures, as Calvin remarks, are all de
signed to teach the same truth, viz. that
we are not to pierce heaven in order to
discover God, because he meets us in his
word and presents everywhere living
pictures to our eyes. We must not sup
pose that anything was added to him by
the creation of the world ; it is for our
sakes that he puts on this garment.
His chambers ; lit. " upper cham
bers," vrepifa, built on the flat roof of
the Eastern houses. For the literal use
of the word, see, for instance, 2 Kings
iv. 10; for the figurative, as here, Jer.
xxii. 13, 14, and comp. Amos ix. 6.
Clericus cites from Ennius, " coenacula
maxima coeli " ; and from Plautus,
Amph. iii. 1-3, where Jupiter says of
himself, " in superiore qui habito coe-
naculo." In the waters, i.e. the waters above
the firmament (Gen. i. 7). It is impos
sible not to admire the boldness of the
figure. Walketh upon the wings. Act

PSALM CIV.

229

4 Who maketh his messengers winds,
His ministers a flaming fire,"
5 He established the earth upon the foundations thereof,
That it should not be moved forever and ever.

iiw(riv (its ovO£ ij rotv avefiotv (popa eiKr}
ipeperat, a\\* aitrSs i(rTiv SnTinp tis tjvIoxos
avTwv yiv6fievos, 5iA rb TOis avruv iirt-
Palvfiv Trripv^iv. — Athanasius.
4. Some of the ablest of the recent
commentators have rendered this verse :
Who maketh the winds bis messengers.
The flaming fire his ministers ;
and but for the order of the words, and
the plural predicate in the second mem
ber, I should have no hesitation in pre
ferring this rendering. It would seem
to be the natural sense of the words, and
that which harmonizes best with the
context. God has his palace in heaven,
he makes the clouds his chariot, the
winds and the lightning his avant-
couriers and his train. But first, the
plural predicate is awkward. We ought
to have either " flames of fire bis min
isters," or " tbeflaming fire his minister."
Hupfeld indeed attempts to account for
the plural predicate, "ministers," by
saying that it is an accommodation to
the plural predicate " messengers " in
the first member. It is more likely,
perhaps, that as by the flaming fire the
lightnings are meant, the subject itself
is conceived of as plural. And next,
the greater difficulty remains of the in
version, on this explanation, of the
order of the words. The natural order
in Hebrew, as in English, is verb, object,
predicate, and no instance has, as yet,
been alleged in which the predicate
stands after the verb before the object.
I have therefore, though reluctantly,
given up the interpretation which the
context seems to demand, in obedience
to the grammatical requirements of the
passage. Unless the grammatical dif-
ficnlty can be removed, we must render
" He maketh his messengers winds,"
etc., i.e. "' He clothes his messengers
with the might, the swiftness, the all-
pervading subtilty of wind and fire."
See the remarks of the Bishop of St.

David's in the Critical Note. This is
far better than to explain [as in first
edition] that God's messengers( or angels)
are the secret agents who assume the
forms of wind and lightning, in order to
accomplish his will, that what we see
working around us are not blind forces
of nature, but beings to whom natural
objects are a veil concealing their opera
tion. This view, which I now believe
to be quite untenable and without sup
port in Scripture, has been illustrated
with great beauty of language by Dr.
Newman in his Sermon on the Feast of
St. Michael : " But how do the wind
and water, earth and fire move ? Now,
here Scripture interposes, and seems to
tell us that all this wonderful harmony
is the work of angels. Those events
which we ascribe to chance, as the
weather, or to nature, as the seasons, are
duties done to that God who maketh his
angels to be winds, and his ministers a
flame of fire. . . . Thus, whenever we
look abroad, we are reminded of those
most gracious and holy beinu's, the ser
vants of the Holiest, who deign to min
ister to the heirs of salvation. Every
breath of air, and ray of light and beat,
every beautiful prospect, is, as it were,
the skirts of their garments, the waving
of the robes of those whose faces see
God in heaven." On the rendering of
the verse by the LXX, and the quotation
in the Epistle to the Hebrews, i. 7, more
will be found in the Critical Note. Cal
vin observes that we are not bound in
this and similar instances to regard the
application of a passage in the New
Testament as settling the question of its
meaning where it occurs in the Old.
5. The work of the third day in its
two great divisions : first, the separation
of the land and water (ver. 5-9) ; next,
the clothing of the earth with grass,
herbs, and trees (ver. 10-18). The poet,
however, ranges beyond the first creation.

230

PSALM CIV.

6 Thou coveredst if with the deep as with a garment ;
Above the mountains did the waters stand."
7 At thy rebuke they fled.
At the voice of thy thunder they were scattered, —
8 The mountains rose, the valleys sank, —
To the place which thou hadst established for them.

and peoples the earth with the living
creatures of the fifth day. It is not a
picture of still life, like that in Genesis,
but a living, moving, animated scene.
He established. God's order is
itself the surest prop.
Upon the foundations thereof.
Comp. Job xxxviii. 4-6 ; Prov. viii. 29.
On the other hand, in Job xxvi. 7, God
is said to " bang the earth upon nothing."
Mendelssohn gets rid of the figure here
by rendering " Thou hast established
the earth in herself " ; but it must be a
dull mind which needs thus to be guarded
against misapprehension. Yet it is cu
rious to see how these obvious figures
have been strained, and a hard, literal,
prosaic sense niven to what is manifestly
poetry. This was one of the passages
which, according to Father Sanchez,
was most strongly relied upon in the
controversy with Galileo.
6-8. These verses hang together in
construction, and are a poetical expan
sion of Gen. i. 9.
6. The original chaos is described, not
according to the heathen notion, as a
confused mass, earth and water mingled
together, but the earth as already formed,
yet completely enveloped in the water,
i^ iSaros Ka\ Si" vSaros (2 Pet. ii. 5).
This vast, swelling, tumultuous sea
hears the " rebuke " of God, and sinks
to its appointed place; the earth ap
pears, emerges from her watery covering,
and shows her surface diversified with
mountain and valley. So Milton :
" The earth was formed, but in the
womb as yet
Of waters, embryon immature involved.
Appeared not : over all the face of earth
Main ocean flowed."
7. Comp. Ixxvii. 17-19. At tht
rebuke; comp. xviii. 15 [16]; Ixxvi.
6 [7] ; Isa. 1. 2, and Matt. viii. 26.

8. (The) mountains rose, i.e. thej
seemed to rise as the waters subsided.
Comp. Ovid, Met. i. 43 :
" Jussit et extendi campos, subsidero
valles,
Fronde tegi sylvas, lapidosos surgere
monies " ;
and 244,
" Flumina subsidunt, monies exire vi-
dentur,
Surgit humus, crescunt loca, decresceu-
tibus undis."
And Milton :
" Immediately the mountains huge ap
pear
Emergent, and their broad bare backs
upheave
Into the clouds, their tops ascend the sky;
So high as heaved the tumid hills, so low
Down sunk a hollow bottom, broad and
deep,
Capacious bed of waters," etc.
Paradise Lost, book vii.
There is, however, some doubt as to
the construction of the clauses of this
verse. I should see no objection to that
which the LXX and Jerome have adopted,
according to which the two clauses are
immediately connected {avaffaivovoiv Sprj
Kai Kara^aivovirt ireSta els rdirov i>v iOe-
pe\iai(ras aiiToTs, Ascendent montes, et
descenden t campi ad locum quem fundasti
eis), but that the subject of the next
verse is evidently again that of ver. 6,
the waters. Ewald and Hupfeld, whom
I have followed, take the first member
as parenthetical, and connect the second
with the previous verse, "At the voice
of thy thunder the waters fled to the
place," etc. ; and there may be a reference
to Gen. i. 9, "Let the waters be gathered
into one place." Delitzsch says this ref
erence is undeniable, but his own ren
dering, " the mountains rose, (the water)
sank down into the valleys," is as im

PSALM CIV.

231

9 Thou hast set them a bound that they cannot pass,
That they turn not again to cover the earth ;
10 Who sendest forth springs along the torrent-beds,
They flow between the mountains,
11 They give drink to all the beasts of the field,.
The wild asses quench their thirst.
12 Above them the fowls of the heaven have their habitation
They sing among the branches.

probable as it is artificial and unneces
sary. The rendering of the Chald.,
" They (i.e. the waters) go up to the
mountains, they sink down into the val
leys," which has been followed by our
translators both in the Bible and in the
Prayer-book version (the margin gives
the rendering I have adopted), is gram
matically admissible, and has a certain
picturesque force, carrying on, as it does,
the image of the preceding verse — the
rush and confusion of the waters fleeing
at the rebuke of God. It has also the
advantage of retaining the same subject
throughout ver. 6-9. And further it
is supported by the very similar con
struction in cvii. 26. On the other hand,
the figure is, perhaps, somewhat strained,
and it does not harmonize so well with
ver. 6, or with the narrative in Genesis.
The words of the first member occur
again cvii. 26, where, as Ewald remarks,
they are strictly in place ; whereas here
he thinks they may have been no part
of the original poem.
9. A BOUND separating the sea from
the land, as in Job xxxviii. 8-11. See
for a wider view, extending still further
this separation of the elements, xxvi.
8-10; Prov. viii. 27, 29, and comp. Ps.
cxlviii. 6. Delitzsch says it might almost
seem as if the poet who wrote these
words did not suppose the flood to be
universal, but it is far more probable
that he is not thinking of the flood, but
only of the everlasting order first estab
lished at the creation, and afterwards
confirmed in the covenant made with ¦
Noah (Gen. ix. 9-16).
10. The loving care, the tender sym
pathy with which God, clothing the earth
with beauty, provides at the same time

for the wants of all his creatures. Even
the wild ass which shuns the approach of
man, and the birds of heaven, which have
no keeper, are not left unprovided for.
Who sendest forth. The article
with the participle carries on the con
struction , Jehovah being the great subject
throughout the Psalm.
The torrent-beds. The word
{nachal) denotes both the torrent and
the valley through which it flows, cor
responding to the Arab Wady. Ewald
and Hupfeld render, " Who sendeth forth
springs into brooks." The latter argues
( 1 ) that the word never means the valley
only, without the stream, and (2) that
the subject of the next clause, " They
flow," etc., cannot be the springs, but
must be the streams. But in answer to
(1) it may be said, that the torrent-bed
is not here supposed to exist apart from
the torrent, but rather to be produced
by the action of the torrent ; and in
answer to (2), that the general subject
of " water " is easily supplied from the
preceding clause, as the LXX have seen.
U. Quench their thirst ; literally
"break their thirst," a phrase which
occurs only here. Comp. the Latin
frangere sitim ; and the Welsh, " a dor-
rant eu syched."
12. Above them, or, " beside them."
The banks of the streams and the valleys
would first be tlothed with trees, and
there the foliage would be most luxuriant.
The FOWLS of the heaven, a fre
quent expression in Genesis, as iu i. 30 ;
ii. 19, etc.
Sing among ; lit. " give voice from."
13. God waters the earth not only by
the fountains and torrents, but by tha
rain. Comp. Gen. ii. 5 and 10.

232

PSALM CIV.

13 He watereth the mountains from his chambers ;
The earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy work.
14 He maketh grass to grow for the cattle.
And green herb for the service of man ;
That he may bring forth bread from the earth,
15 And that wine may make * glad the heart of man.
And that oil may cause (his) face to shine.
And that bread may strengthen man's heart.

He watereth ; lit. " He giveth drink
to," the same word is in ver. 1 1 . The
MOUNTAINS are mentioned not only
because on them the clouds rest, from
them the streams descend, but because
Palestine was a mountain-land. Comp.
Deut. xi.'U, "a land of mountains and
of valleys, of the rain of heaven it drink
eth water" (unlike Egypt, which was
watered by the Nile). Thus doubly
watered, from above and from beneath
(comp. Gen. xlix. 25), the earth brings
forth grass for the cattle, and its various
fruits, com and wine and oil, for the use
of men — for the cattle what they need,
for man more than he needs — that
which makes his heart glad and his
countenance bright.
His chambers the clouds, as in ver.
3, where they are built on the waters.
The fruit of thy work, i.e. ap
parently the rain, as seems to be required
both by the parallelism and by the ex
pression " the earth is satisfied," for
with the " mountains " in the first clause,
" the earth " can hardly stand here by
meton. for " the dwellers on the earth,"
viz. cattle and men. The rain may,
perhaps, be called " the fruit of God's
work," as the result of his operation, as
elsewhere it is called " the brook of God"
(Ixv. 9, 10).
14. Grass . . . green herb. Comp.
Gen. i. 11, 29, 30 ; iii. 18, 19 ; Ex. x. 12 ;
the latter comprising not vegetables only,
but corn, etc.
For the service of man. This
seems the most natural interpretation,
corresponding to " for the cattle," in the
first member, and may be supported by
the use of the word in I Chron. xxvi. 30.

Others render, "for the labor of man
(as the same word in ver. 23), with
which they connect the next clause;
" that he (i.e. man by his labor in culti
vating the earth) may bring forth bread
from it." But it is an objection to this,
that the whole passage speaks of God's
works and gifts, and there is nothing in
it to suggest man's co-operation.
That he mat bring forth, or, per
haps, " in that he brings forth," for the
construction is somewhat loose, and it
can hardly be said that purpose is clearly
marked. If we adopt the latter render
ing, then ver. 15 must be taken as an
independent statement. See Critical
Note. Bread in this verse seems to be used
in its most general signification to de
note all by which man is nourished. In
the next verse it is mentioned in its
proper sense, together with wine and oil,
as the three most important products of
the soil, the three essential elements of
an Eastern banquet, the object being to
set forth the bounty of God's provision
for man. He furnishes no scanty table ;
he gives with no niggard hand.
15. From the satisfying of the earth
by the precious rain, the poet's thoughts
turn to the satisfying of man by the
earth. Not that man is the main subject,
but rather the herbs and the trees ; only
he passes for a moment from them to
their chief uses, viz. for man, and foi
fowls, and for beasts.
And that oil, etc. ; lit. "And to
cause (or, that he may cause) his face to
shine with oil," the face being mentioned
rather than the head which was anointed,
because the radiancy of joy is seen in

PSALM CIV.

233

16 The trees of Jehovah are satisfied.
The cedars of Lebanon which he hath planted ;
17 Where the birds make their nests :
As for the stork, the cypresses are her house.
18 The high mountains are for the wild goats ;
The steep precipices are a refuge for the conies.
19 He hath made the moon for seasons ;
The sun knoweth his going down :
20 Thou makest darkness — and it is " night.
Wherein all the beasts of the forest do move.

the face. The construction of the verse
is doubtful. See Critical Note.
Strengthen man's heart. Gen.
xviii. 5 ; Judges xix. 5. Comp. Ps. cv. 1 6.
16. The trees of Jehovah, so called
as planted, not by human hand, but by
God himself (as in the next member),
trees of the forest and the mountain, in
opposition to those which come under
human cultivation, such as the vine and
the olive, which are implied in ver. 15.
See note on xxxvi. 6.
Abe satisfied, i.e. with the rain, as
in ver. 13.
17. These trees have their use; they
are a home and a shelter for the birds —
probably the larger birds are specially
intended, as the stork is named, the
smaller tribes of singing-birds having
already been mentioned, ver. 12.
The Stork. The word means in
Hebrew, " the pious, or affectionate bird,"
called in Babrius, Fab. xiii., tttjii/uk
(v(rf$f(rTaTov (daiv, and by Petronius,
55, 6, pietaticultrix.
18. The high mountains and prec
ipices or "cliffs " are mentioned, because
they, like the trees, are a shelter for the
wild animals. God provides food, and
God provides shelter for his creatures.
Conies. I have left the word as in
the E.V., though incorrect. The crea
ture meant is the hyrax Syriacus. See
Knobel on Lev. xi. 5, and Smith's Diet.
of the Bible.
19. Transition to the work of the
fourth day ; but still so contrived as to

introduce another picture of life upon
the earth, and the contrast between the
life of the night and the life of the day.
The moon, mentioned first, because
to the Hebrew mind the night naturally
preceded the day, as throughout Gen. i.,
"And there was evening and there was
morning." Hence we have first the
night-scene (ver. 20, 21), .and then the
day-scene (ver. 22, 23.
Forseasons, asin Gen. i. 14. Others
would render in both passn^es, "for
festivals" comp. Sir. xliii. 7, airh (re\i]vr]s
(rrip.elov eopTrjS, but there is no reason so
to restrict it. See note on Ixxv. 2 ('.'set
time "), and comp. Lev. xxiii. 4.
Knoweth his going down. Comp.
Job xxxviii. 12 ; Jer. viii, 7. This men
tion of the sunset prepares the way for
the night-picture which follows.
20-23. Even the night has its busy
life ; the beasts of prey are abroad, and
they, too, wait upon the providence of
God. The whole picture is finely con
ceived, and the contrast is perfect between
the restless movement and roaring of
the wild beasts, and man's calm life of
labor, continued in the quiet light of
day from morning till evening. All the
other creatures wait upon God, in simple
dependence upon him ; man must labor,
as well as gather what God gives him,
if he would be satisfied with good.
20. Do move. The word is strictly
used of the movements of reptiles and
fishes. In Gen. i. 21, and in Ps. Ixix.
34 [35] the verb, and iu ver. 25 of this

30

234

PSALM CIV.

21 The young lions roar after their prey,
And seek their food from God :
22 The sun ariseth, — they get them away.
And lay them down in their dens.
23 Man goeth forth to his work.
And to his labor until the evening.
24 How manifold are thy works, 0 Jehovah ;
In wisdom hast thou made them all :
The earth is full of thy riches.
25 Yonder is the sea, great and broad.
Wherein are things moving without number,
Beasts both small and great.
26 There go the ships,
(And there) leviathan whom thou hast formed to
take his pastime therein.

Psalm the noun, " things moving,'' are
used of creatures in the sea. In Gen. i.
24, 25, the noun denotes things creeping
upon the earth. Here, as applied to the
beasts of the forest, the word may have
been chosen to express their stealthy
movements in pursuit of their prey, or
it may be used of any kind of motion,
as it is in Gen. vii. 21, "all flesh that
moved upon the earth " ; see also Gen.
ix. 2.
24. Having thus come to man, the
crown of all creation, and so touched,
as it were, by anticipation, on the ^ork
of the sixth day, the Psalmist pauses to
review with grateful wonder the multi
tude of God's works, and the wisdom
which is manifest in creation. Athana
sius beautifully remarks on the sense of
rest and refreshment which is produced
by this change of strain, the Psalmist
passing from the narration of God's
works of providence to praise and glorify
him who is the Creator of all : rbi/ ircp!
Tris irpovoias Sie^eKdiiv \6yov irrl vfxvov
TOV KTtffOPTOs rbv \6yov fi€T€^aK€v, Siava-
•ndvQtv Sxrnep 5io tovtou t}jv &Koi}V.
Riches ; lit. " possessions." Others
giving a different meaning to the root
render " creatures."

25. Then he remembers that there is
one vast field of creative wonders of
which as yet he has said nothing. The
sea, too, has its life, a life in its depths
of things small and great, a life of the
coral insect as well as of the whale, and
also a life on its surface, where " go the
ships " carrying the thoughts and the
passions, the skill and the enterprise of
human hearts. The way in which the
sea is mentioned indicates a writer not
living on the coast. It is visible, perhaps,
but at a distance. Its monsters are not
familiar objects, but are vaguely de
scribed as "leviathan."
Broad; lit. "wide of two hands,"
i.e. " on both sides," and so in all direc
tions, a phrase used elsewhere of a land
or country, as Gen. xxxiv. 21 ; Judges
xviii. 10; Isa. xxii. 18.
26. Leviathan; not here as in Ixxiv.
14; Job xi. 25 [E.V. xli. 1], " the croc
odile," but a general term for all " sea-
monsters." Therein, i.e. in the sea, the pronoun
referring to the more remote noun. It
is strange that Ewald should render
"whom thou hast made to play with
him," and appeal to Job xl. 29 [E.V.
xli. 5], as supporting the rendering

PSALM CIV.

235

27 All of them wait upon thee.
That thou mayest give them their food in its season.
28 That thou givest them, they gather ;
Thou openest thine hand, they are satisfied with good ;
29 Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled ;
Thou takest away their breath, they die.
And turn again to their dust.
30 Thou sendest forth thy breath, they are created,
And thou renewest the face of the ground.
31 Let the glory of Jehovah be forever !
Let Jehovah rejoice in his works !

The Jewish tradition does indeed make
Leviathanthe plaything of the Almighty;
but there is nothing of the kind in
Scripture. 27, 28. In allusion, probably, to Gen.
i. 29, 30.
27. Wait upon thee. The verb
(which is more usual in Aramaic) occurs
in the same sense and with the same
construction (cxiv. 15).
In its season. Or the suffix may
refer distributively to the animal (not
to the food) : "to each in his season,"
"at the fitting time," "in due season"
as the E.V. renders.
28. Gather. The word denotes prop
erly " to pick up objects from the ground,"
as stones, flowers, ears of corn, grapes,
wood, etc. ; here, provender. There is
no allusion (as Hengst.) to the gathering
of the manna.
29, 30. God is not only the liberal
and provident householder, the gracious
father of a family. He is the fountain
of life to his creatures. Comp. xxxvi.
8, 9 [9, 10].
29. Thou HIDEST tht face; a phrase
elsewhere used to express God's wrath
or displeasure ; here, in a physical sense,
the withdrawal of his care.
Troubled. See the same expression
xxx. 7 [8], and comp. Job xxiii. 15.
Thou takest awat, or perhaps
rather "thou withdrawest," "drawest
in," correlative to " sendest forth," ver.
80. Comp. cxlvi. 4 with Job xxiv. 14.

Thet die; lit. "breathe out thei*
life," exhalare animam, exspirare, the same
word as in Gen. vi. 17; vii. 21, though
there is no need to assume any allusion
to the deluge.
Turn again to their dust, as in
Gen. iii. 19 ; Job xxxiv. 15.
30. The reference can hardly be (as
Hupfeld) to Gen. ii. 7, where the in
breathing of life is confined exclusively
to the creation of man, but rather to i. 2.
where the Spirit of God is the great
viviiying agent in all creation.
Thou sendest fobtu. Comp. Acts
xvii. 25. Tht breath. The same
word in Hebrew may be rendered
" breath " or " spirit." As the reference
is here only to physical life, I h.ave re
tained the former, especially as the same
word is employed in the previous verse,
where there can be no doubt as to the
meaning. Comp. Job xxxiii. 4 ; xxxiv.
14, 15; Eccl. xii. 7, with Ps. cxlvi. 4.
God is called " the God of the spirits of
all flesh," Num. xvi. 22 ; xxvii. 16 ; Heb.
xii. 9, and he " in whom we live, and
move, and have our being," Acts xvii. 28.
Thou renewest, life ever succeeding
death, and all life being, as it were, a
new creation.
" States fall, arts fade, but Nature does
not die."
31. The Psalm closes with the prayer
that the glory of that God who has thus
manifested his glory in creation may
endure forever, and that he who looked

236

PSALM av.

32 Who looketh on the earth, and it trembleth.
When he toucheth the mountains, they smoke.
33 Let me sing to Jehovah, as long as I live.
Let me play unto my God, while I have any being.
34 Let my meditation be sweet unto him ;
As for me, I will rejoice in Jehovah.
35 Let sinners be consumed out of the earth,
And let the wicked be no more.
Bless Jehovah, 0 my soul !
Hallelujali.*'

with loving approbation upon his works
when they were first created, pronounc
ing all "very good," may ever rejoice
in them ; for he is a God awful in his
majesty, one whose look makes the earth
tremble, one whose touch consumes the
mountains, one who could in a moment
blot out the creation he has made.
33. The same words occur in cxlvi. 2.
And as the Psalmist utters the devout
wish that God may rejoice in his works,
so he utters the wish for himself that he
may ever rejoice in God, that his thoughts
and words may find acceptance with
him. This is the truest, highest harmony
of creation ; God finding pleasure in his
creatures, his reasonable creatures find
ing their joy in him. But this harmony
has been rudely broken ; the sweet notes
of the vast instrument of the universe
are "jangled out of tune." Sin is the
discord of the world. Sin has changed
the order (kcSo-^uos) into disorder. Hence
the prophetic hope (ver. 35) that sinners

shall be consumed, that the wicked shall
be no more, and thus the earth shall be
purified, the harmony be restored, and
God once more, as at the first, pronounce
his creation " very good." In the pros
pect of such a consummation, the poet
calls upon his own soul, and upon all
around him, to bless and praise Jehovah.
35. Hallelujah, or "Praise ye Jah."
I have had considerable difficulty in de
ciding which mode of rendering to adopt.
Something is lost by not translating
uniformly "Praise ye Jah," especially
in Psalms where the verb occurs several
times with a different object. On the
other hand, Hallelujah is almost like
the titles of some of the Psalms, and
like Amen, has become current in our
language. The Talmud and Midrash
observe that this is the first Hallelujah
in the Psalter, and that the way in
which it is connected with the prospect
of the final overthrow of the wicked is
remarkable and full of meaning.

' The LXX render the verse : o ttolZv tov? dyyiXovs avrov irveupaTO,
Kal TOV? XuTOvpyov? avrov -nvp (ftXiyov (Trvpb? (jiXoya in the Cod. Alex.,
which is followed in Heb. i. 7, where the passage is quoted), making
the first nouns objects, and the second predicates. This is no doubt
supported by the construction in the previous verse, where the same
order is observed : " Who maketh the clouds his chariot." As regards
the English translation it may be remarked, that the two wcrds dyyi-
Xovs and wivpara being both ambiguous, it is just as correct to render
messengers and winds, as to render angels and spirits ; and the whole

PSALM CIV. 237
passage shows that winds, not spirits, is the proper meaning of irvevpara
here. But as has been already remarked in the note on ver. 4, most
of the modern commentators abandon the rendering of the LXX, and
invert the order of the object and predicate, " Who maketh the winds
his messengers, the flaming fire his ministers." The plural predicate
in the second member, as I have said, is to my mind a stumbling-block
in the way of this otherwise natural interpretation. Hoffmann, who
has discussed the passage carefully (Schriftb. I. 325), urges this diffi
culty, and contends, moreover, that riirs , followed by a double accus.,
means not to make a thing to be something else, but to exhibit a thing
as something else (etwas als etwas herstellen). So in Gen. vi. 14 the
meaning is not " thou shalt make the ark, already constructed, into
cells or compartments," but thou shalt construct it as (of) a number of
compartments. So again, "male and female created he them" (Gen.
i. 27), i.e. as male and female; and he "made the altar of planks of
acacia wood " (Ex. xxxviii. 1), is, says Hoffmann, not essentially dif
ferent. [Here, however, the second noun is not so much a predicate,
describing the form or manner in which the thing appears, as the
material out of which it is made.] He renders therefore, " making
his messengers as winds, his ministers as a flaming fire," so that the
passage does not describe the purpose to which God applies winds and
fire, but the form which he gives to those whom he, riding upon the
clouds, makes use of to announce his presence, and to execute his wiU.
And such is the traditional Jewish view ; as, for instance, in Shemoth
Rabba, § 25, fol. 123. 3. " Deus dicitur Deus Zebaoth, quia cum
angelis suis facit quaecunque vult. Quando vult, facit ipsos sedentes
(Judges vi. 11). Aliquando facit ipsos stantes (Isa. vi. 2). Aliquando
facit similes mulieribus (Zech. v. 9). Aliquando viris (Gen. xviii. 2).
Aliquando facit ipsos spiritus (why not ventos?) (Ps.civ. 4). Aliquando
ignem, lb." Delitzsch partially adopts this view, but takes the second
accus., that is, the predicate, as denoting the material out of which a
thing is made (as in Ex. xxxviii. 1). Accordingly he renders, "Who
maketh his messengers of winds, his servants of flaming fire," which
he says may either mean that God makes wind and fire of service to
him for special missions (comp. cxlviii. 8), or that God gives to his
angels wind and fire as means whereby they may work, forms in which
they may clothe themselves in order to execute his will in the world.
But the former of these meanings comes to the same thing exactly as
the rendering, " Who maketh winds his messengers," etc. The real
difficulty, however, lies in the order of the words. Could a Hebrew
vn-iter have placed the verb first, then the predicate, and then the object '.

238 PSALM CIV.
I have seen no proof that he could ; in the only passage which DelKzsch
quotes, Amos iv. 13, there is no reason whatever for supposing an inver
sion of the usual order.
The Bishop of St. David's has kindly allowed me to make use of
the remarks which he has sent me on this passage. After observing
that he can recall no instance of such an inversion of the natural order
of words in a sentence, he continues : " A priori, I should have thought
it incredible that the language should have been left in such a state as
to make it immaterial as to the sense whether you wrote ' Who maketh
the clouds his chariot,' or, ' Who maketh his chariot the clouds,' and that
the reader should have to infer the author's meaning not from the
order of his words, but from extrinsic considerations, such as those
which you have discussed. I cannot help thinking that more attention
should have been paid to this question, and that it should have taken
precedence of every other ; because if in this respect the rule of He
brew syntax was the same as our own, the only remaining doubt would
be in what sense we are to understand the words, ' He maketh his
messengers winds, his ministers a flaming fire,' which would then be
the only possible rendering. And in itself it would give a very good
sense as meaning : ' He endows his messengers with the might of the
winds, his ministers with the all-pervading subtilty of fire' — or as
any one might paraphrase it better. But it would be only the irresist
ible compulsion of a grammatical necessity that would induce me to
adopt this rendering ; because, however satisfactory in itself, it appears
to me quite foreign to the context. The Psalmist is evidently speaking
of God's doings in the visible creation, not of the secret agency by
which he accomplishes his ends. It was, therefore, very much to the
purpose to say that wind and fire are his servants and do his pleasure ;
but not at all to say that he has unseen servants who act as wind and
fire.'' The passages quoted in the first edition of this work (Gen. i.
27; Ex. xxv. 39), in which the predicate stands first, are not to the
point, because there the predicate stands before the verb.
¦' in^SB , abbr. for irn'^&B . The masc. suffix may refer to 'p^N ,
according to Delitzsch, by attraction, as in Isa. ix. 18 ; Ixvi. 8. Others,
in order to avoid the sudden change of gender in yyfi , render " As for
the deep (nom. absol.), as a garment thou coverest it" (i.e. placest it
as a covering over the earth). But thus the verb " to cover" appears
without an object, and Dinn , moreover, is generally like y-ix , fem.,
except in Job xxviii. 14 ; Jonah ii. 6. In other cases where it occurs
with a masc. verb, the verb precedes, and this proves nothing as to
gender ; when the verb precedes all fem. nouns may be construed with
a masc. verb.

PSALM CV. 239
' fiTDS; . The imperf. (after the perf. or pluperf .) as desci ibing the
then condition of things (relative preterite, as Hupfeld calls it), and so
again in the next verce, instead of historic tenses with 1 consec.
* The construction presents much difficulty. If we connect this
verse with the last clause of the preceding, then we have the inf. with
b twice followed by the fut., this change of construction from the infin.
to the fut. being in accordance with a well-known principle of the
language. Then the rendering will be as in the text.
Ewald gives to fo in ver. 15 the comparative meaning more than,
and takes the inf. with b as gerundial merely: "Bringing bread out
of the earth. Wine to gladden man's heart. More than oil making his
face to shine. Bread to strengthen man's heart " ; but this, though it
seems to be the most obvious construction of the words, places in too
subordinate a position what must have been designed to be prominent ;
oil and wine are commonly joined together as principal products of the
soil of Palestine (Judges ix. 9-13 ; Deut. xii. 17 ; Jer. xxxi. 12, etc.).
Hupfeld takes ver. 15 as unconnected in construction with the pre
ceding : " And wine maketh glad the heart of man, Whilst oil makes
his face to shine (lit. "whilst he maketh his face to shine with oU"),
and bread strengthens man's heart."
^ ini'i . . . ruin . The apocopated forms are used as marking protasis
and apodosis : " (When) thou makest darkness, (then) it is night " ; or
the first may be pret. (as in xviii. 12), and the second denote purpose,
object, etc. (as in xlix. 10).
' The Hallelujah is written differently in different mss., sometimes
S^-ii^n, at others n^ 'i^r'!!) without the Makkef or again i^'^^h'bT}, one
word, but always, unless by mistake, with the He mappic. When it
appears as one word, fif^ is not regarded as strictly the divine name, but
only as strengthening the meaning of ^bbn , as in the reading hinniaa,
cxviii. 5. — Geiger, Vrschrift u. Vebers, der Bibel, S. 275.

PSALM CV.
This Psalm, like the seventy-eighth and the one hundred and sixth,
has for its theme the early history of Israel, and God's wonders wrought
on behalf of the nation ; but it differs from both those Psalms in the
intention with which it pursues this theme. The seventy-eighth Psalm
is didactic ; its object is to teach a lesson ; it recalls the past, as convey-

240 PSALM CV.
ing instruction and warning for the present. The one hundred and
sixth Psalm is a Psalm of penitential confession. The history of the
past appears in it only as a history of Israel's sin. In this Psalm, on
the other hand, the mighty acts of Jehovah for his people from the
first dawn of their national existence are recounted as a fitting subject
for thankfulness, and as a ground for future obedience. Those inter
positions of God are especially dwelt upon which have a reference to
the fulfilment of his promise, which exhibit most clearly his faithful
ness to Ills covenant. Hence the series begins with the covenant made
with Abraham, tracing all the steps in its fulfilment to the occupation
of the Promised Land. This is commenced, as the theme of the Psalm,
in ver. 8-11.
Hengstenberg has inferred, from the length at which the history of
Joseph and thfe plagues in Egypt are dwelt upon, that the design of
the Psalmist was to encourage the exiles in the Babylonish captivity,
which by Psalmists and prophets is so often compared with the bondage
of the nation in Egypt. But although this is evidently one of the
later Psalms, and, like the two which follow (both of which contain
allusions to the exile), may have been written after the return from
the captivity, still there is nothing in its language to justify the view
which Ilengstenberg takes. There is no hint of any comparison or
contrast between those two great periods of national exile, and, in
particular, the very slight allusion to the circumstances of the deliver
ance from Egypt — nothing being said either of the passover or of the
passage of the Red Sea — is unfavorable to the supposition that any
such contrast is implied.
The first fifteen verses are found in 1 Chron. xvi. 8-22 (with some
slight variations), as the first portion of the festal song which, on the
day when the ark of God was brought to its resting-place on Zion,
was delivered by David into the hands of Asaph and his brethren, " to
give thanks unto Jehovah." The second part of that song consists of
Psalm xcvi., the first verse of Psalm cvii., and the forty-seventh and
forty-eighth verses of Psalm cvi. The last of these is the doxology
which closes the fourth book, and was evidently a late addition. It
seems, therefore, impossible to doubt that the song in the Chronicles
is a combination from other sources. It is a striking proof how little
a question like this, which is purely a critical question, can be fairly
perverted into a question of orthodoxy, that whilst Hitzig holds the
Psalm in Chronicles to be the original, Delitzsch maintains that it is a
compilation, though he observes that the writer of the book may not
have compiled it himself, but have found it in its present shape in the

PSALM CV. 241
Midrash of the Book of the Kings, which was his principal authority,
and the source of his materials.
Like the last Psalm, this closes with a Hallelujah. It is the first of
a number of Psalms beginning with the word ilifi (Hodu), " Give
thanks " (cv., cvii., cviii., cxxxvi.), which Delitzsch styles " Ilodu-
Psalms," or Confitemini, just as those that begin with Hallelujah may
be called Hallelujah Psalms, cvi., cxi.-cxiii., cxvii., cxxxv., cxlvi.-cl.
1 0 GIVE thanks to Jehovah, call upon his name.
Make known among the peoples his doings.
2 Sing unto him, play unto him ;
Meditate of all his wondrous works.
3 Make your boast of his holy name.
Let the heart of them rejoice that seek Jehovah.
4 Inquire ye after Jehovah and his strength ;
Seek his face evermore.
5 Remember his wondrous works that he hath done,
His tokens, and the judgments of his mouth,
6 0 ye seed of Abraham his servant.
Ye children of Jacob, his chosen.
7 He, Jehovah, is our God ;
His judgments are in all the earth.
1-6. The greatness of God's love, as Jacob. It is on this ground, because
manifested to his people in their history, they are Abraham's seed, because they
calls for the fullest acknowledgment. areGod'schosen.becausetbey areJacob's
The Psalmist would have Israel sound children, heritors of the covenant and
forth his praises among all nations, the promises, that they are bound be-
They are not to sit down in idle satis- yond all others to "remember" what
faction with their own privileges. His God has done for thera. On the other
"doings" (ver. 1), his "wondrous hand, God, who made the covenant with
works" (ver. 3, 5), his "tokens," "the their fathers, "remembers" it (ver. 8),
judgments of bis mouth" (ver. 5), " his " for his part will surely keep and per-
holy name" (ver. 3), as the revelation form" it.
of his character and attributes, — all 7. The Psalmist begins himself that
these are to form the subject of loud praise of God to which he has exhorted
thanksgiving, — all these are to become, his people. And first he extols " the
through Israel, the heritage of the world, covenant," "the word" (or promise),
1. Taken word for word from Isa. xii. 4. the "oath" by whichGod had bound
5. Tokens . . . judgments ; the mir- himself to the patriarchs, and which he
acles in Egypt are chiefly meant, as these " remembered," i.e. fulfilled, when he
are chiefly dwelt upon afterwards. brought them into the land of Canaan.
6. Seed op Abraham : in 1 Chron. Our God, by covenant, but also, as
xvi. 13, " seed of Israel." His chosen, follows in the next hemistich. Judge and
plural, referring to the people, not to Ruler of all nations.
VOL. II. 31

242

PSALM CV.

8 He hath remembered his covenant forever.
The word which he confirmed to a thousand generations ;
9 (The covenant) which he made with Abraham,
And the oath which he sware unto Isaac,
10 And he established it unto Jacob for a statute.
Unto Israel for an everlasting covenant,
11 Saying, " Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan,
The line of your inheritance."
12 When they were " (but) a small number,
Very few, and sojourners therein ;
13 And they went to and fro from nation to nation,
From (one) kingdom to another people ;
14 He suffered no man to oppress them.
And reproved kings for their sakes, (saying,)
15 " Touch not mine anointed ones.
And to my prophets do no harm."

8. He hath rejiembered : in 1 Chron.
xvi. 15, "remember ye."
Confirmed : for this, the original
meaning of the word, see Ex. xviii. 23,
" If thou wilt do this thing, then shall
God confirm thee, and thou shalt be
able to stand." Num. xxvii. 19, "con
firm," or " set him, before thine eyes."
In both these passages the word is joined
with the same verb which occurs in ver.
10 of this Psalm, " establish " ; lit.
" make to stand."
To a thousand generations : from
Deut. vii. 9.
9. The verb made (lit. " cut," as in
icere foedus) seems to require that the
relative should refer to "covenant "in
the first hemistich, rather than to "word"
in the second, of ver. 8. But the phrase
to "make (bt. "cut") a word" occurs
in Hag. ii. 5, and therefore the relative
may refer to the nearer noun.
Unto Isaac, in allusion to Gen. xxvi.
3, where God says to Isaac, " To thee
and to thy seed will I give all these
countries, and I will perform the oath
which I sware unto Abraham thy father";
comp. Gen. xxii. 16.
11. The line, i.e. an inheritance

measured out by line, as in Ixxviii. 55 ;
see note on xvi. 6.
12-15. The divine protection by which
the small beginnings of the nation were
shielded. 12. A SMALL number; lit. "men of
number," as in Gen. xxxiv. 30 ; see also
Deut. iv. 27 ; xxvi. 5 ; Jer. xliv. 28. So
Horace says, " Nos numerus sumus."
Vert few ; lit. " as (it were) a little,"
or "as little as possible," Haov d\lyov.
Comp. Prov. x. 20.
13. Nation . . . people. "The for
mer denotes the mass as bound together
by a common origin, language, country,
descent ; the latter as united under one
government." — Delitzsch.
U. He suffered, as in Ex. xxxii JO.
Kings, viz. of the Egyptians (Gen.
xii.), and of the Philistines (Gen. xx.,
xxvi.). 15. Touch not, with allusion, per
haps, to Gen. .xxvi. 11.
Mine anointed, i.e. specially set
apart and consecrated. The poet uses,
as Rosenm. observes, the language of
his own time, not that of the patriarchs,
who were never anointed. But inasi
much as in David's time priests and

PSALM CV.

243

16 And he called for a famine upon the land ;
He brake the whole staff of bread.
17 He sent before them a man ;
Joseph was sold for a slave.
18 They afflicted his feet with fetters ;
He was laid in iron (chains).

prophets were anointed (1 Kings xix.
16), when he would say that the patri
archs are priests of the true God, and
therefore to be regarded as sacred, he
gives them the epithet " anointed," as
in the next hemistich "prophets," a
name which God bestows upon Abraham
(Gen. XX. 7), when he says to Abimelech,
"And now give the man back his wife,
for he is a prophet ; and if he pray for
thee, thou shalt live."
Mt prophets. A good instance of
the wide signification of this word. It
is derived from a root signifying to boil,
to bubble up. The prophet is one in
whose soul there rises a spring, a rushing
stream of divine inspiration. In the
later language he not only receives the
divine word, but he is made the utterer
of it, the organ of its communication to
others. But in the earlier instances, as
in that of Abraham, his ofiicial character
does not distinctly appear, though doubt
less, like Noah, he was " a preacher of
righteousness," and taught his own
family (and through them ultimately
the whole world) the way of the Lord.
See Gen. xviii. 19. Here the prophet
means little more than one to whom
God speaks, one with whom he holds
converse, whether by word or vision or
dream or inner voice. (Comp. Num.
xii. 6-8.) We approach nearest to what
is meant by styling the patriarchs proph
ets when we read such passages as Gen.
xviii. 17: "And Jehovah said. Shall I
hide from Abraham that thing which I
dol " or again, the pleading of Abraham
for Sodom, in ver. 23-33 of the same
chapter. It is, indeed, as pleading with
God in intercession that Abraham is
termed a " prophet " in Gen. xx. 7.
The title is thus very similar to that of
the " Friend of God " (Isa. xli. 8 ;
2 Chron. xx. 7 ; Jas. ii. 23).

16. From this point, as far as ver. 38,
the history of the nation in Egypt is
followed, with a recognition of the divine
hand fashioning it at every step, and at
every step accomplishing the fulfilment
of the promise. '
1 6-22. First, the preliminary steps in
the history of Joseph. The famine in
Canaan was no chance occurrence ; God
called for it. (Comp. 2 Kings viii. 1 ;
Amos V. 8; Hag. i. 11.) Joseph's posi
tion in Egypt was no accident ; God had
sent him thither ; so he himself traces
the hand of God (Gen. xlv. 5 ; 1. 20).
Staff of bread. The figure occurs
first in Lev. xxvi. 26 ; comp. Isa. iii, 1.
The same figure is suggested in civ. 15,
"bread that strengtheneth (stayeth)
man's heart."
1 8. This isa much harsher picture of
Joseph's imprisonment than that given
in Gen. xxxix. 20-23; xl. 4. But it
may refer to the earlier stage of the im
prisonment, before he had won the con
fidence of his gaoler, or it may be tinged
with the coloring of poetry.
With fetters. Hebrew " with the
fetter." The word occurs only here and
cxiix, 8.
He was laid in iron. I have here
followed the paraphrase of theE.V. In
themargin, however, the literal rendering
of the Hebrew is correctly given : " his
soul came into iron," ("his soul,"
merely a periphrasis of the person ^
"he," as in Ivii. 4 [5] ; xciv. 17), i.e. he
was a prisoner, bound with chains. So
the Syr. and the LXX (riSripov SirjKBev
V ^vxh avTov. Jerome, " in ferrum venit
animaejus." The more picturesque but
incorrect rendering of the Prayer-book
version, " the iron entered into bis soul,"
follows the Vulg., " ferrum pertransiit
animam ejus." (The Chald. led th*
way in this interpretation, and it has

244

PSALM CV.

19 Until the time that his word came.
The saying of Jehovah tried him.
20 The king sent and loosed him.
The ruler of the peoples, and let him go free.
21 He made him lord over his house.
And ruler over all his substance,
22 To bind his princes at his will.
And to teach his elders wisdom.

been recently adopted by Moll.) The
force of the expression has made it stere
otyped in our language. It is a striking
instance of the supremacy of the Prayer-
book version. Probably not one reader
in a hundred of those who are familiar
with that version ever thinks of any
other translation of the verse, or is
aware that the Bible version is difi'erent.
19. HiswoRD. This may be ( 1 )" the
word of Joseph," i.e. either (a) his inter
pretation of the dreams of the king's
officers in the prison, which finally led
to his own liberation. Gen. xli. 12 (so
Eosnm., DeWette, Hupfeld) ; or (6) the
word revealed to him in dreams of his
own future exaltation. Gen. xiii. 9 (Aben-
Ezra) ; or (2) "the word of Jehovah,"
viz. that which first foretold, and then
fulfilled the promise of, his exaltation;
or (3) " his cause," i.e. his trial, in which
case the verb must be rendered " came
on," i.e. for hearing ; an interpretation
which seems, at least, very doubtful. If
we adopt ( 1 ), then the meaning is, Joseph
lay in prison till his interpretation of
the dreams came to pass.
Came, i.e. was fulfilled, a word used
in the same way of the fulfilment of
prophecies, Judges xiii. 12, 17 ("come
to pass," E.V.) ; 1 Sam. ix. 6 ; Jer. xvii.
15. Delitzsch, who understands the
" word " here mentioned as the word of
God, illustrates the passage by reference
to cvii. 20; just as there God "sends"
his word, so here, his word " comes " ;
it came first as an angel of promise, and
then as an angel of fulfilment.
The sating (utterance, promise) op
Jehovah. LXX, rh Xoyiov tov Kvplov,
different from the word in the previous

verse. This seems most naturally to be
understood, not of God's interpretation
of the dream (as Hupfeld and others),
but of God's promise of future exaltation
conveyed to him in his dreams. The
divine utterance {'imrah) has ascribed to
it a living efiectual power, as in cxix. 50.
It proved him by testing his faith during
the years of suffering and imprisonment
which intervened between the promise
and its fulfilment.
20. With what follows, comp. Gen.
xli. 14, 39, 40, 44.
22. To bind. The earliest instance
of the use of the word iu a sense ap
proaching to that which it had later, iu
the phrase " binding and loosing." It
denotes here generally the exercise of
control. " The capability of binding is to
be regarded as an evidence of authority ;
a power of compelling obedience, or in
default thereof.of inflicting punishment."
— Phillips.
Hengstenberg thinks that the figure
was occasioned by a reference to ver. 18 ;
his soul, once bound, now binds princes.
He illustrates the meaning by Gen. xli.
44, " without thee shall no man move
his hand or his foot in all the land of
Egypt"; and ver. 40, "thou shalt be
over my house, and all my people shall
kiss thy mouth."
At his will ; lit. " in, according to,
his soul " (see on xvii. 9), equivalent
to "according unto thy word," (Gen.
xli. 40).
To teach . . . WISDOM ; not to be
pressed of literal instruction iu the art
of politics, but merely expressing in
poetical form what is said iu Gen. xli.
38, 39.

PSALM CV.

245

23 Israel also came into Egypt,
And Jacob was a sojourner in the land of Ham.
24 And he caused his people to be fruitful exceedingly,
And he made them stronger than their adversaries.
25 He turned their heart to hate his people.
To deal subtly with his servants,
26 He sent Moses his servant,
Aaron whom he had chosen.
27 They did his signs among them.
And tokens in the land of Ham.
28 He sent darkness and made it dark, —
And they rebelled not against his words.

23. Land of Ham, as in Ixxviii. 51.
24. Comp. Ex. i. 7 ; Deut. xxvi. 5.
What follows to ver. 38 is a resume of
the history as given in the first twelve
chapters of Exodus, and especially of
the plagues. The fifth and sixth plagues,
however, are omitted altogether, and the
plague of darkness is placed first; in
other respects the order of Exodus is
observed. That in Ixxviii. 44, etc. is
different. 25. He turned. This direct ascrip
tion of the hostility on the part of the
Egyptians to God as its author gave
early offence. Hence the Chald. and
Arab, render, " their heart was turned."
Grotius and others would soften the ex
pression as meaning only that God
suffered this hostility, arising from the
increase of the people. But the difficulty
is exactly of the same kind as when it is
said that God hardened Pharaoh's heart,
or as we find in Isa. vi. 9, 10; Mark iv.
12 ; John xii. 39, 40 ; Rom. xi. 8. See
notes on Ii. 4 ; Ix. 3.
To DEAL suetlt; the same word
as in Gen. xxxvii. 18 (where E.V. " they
conspired against"). Comp. Ex. i. 10,
" Come and let us deal wisely with
them " ; the reference is to the putting
to death the male children.
26. Whom he had chosen, viz. as
bis priest.
27. Among them, the Egyptians.
Comp. Ixxviii. 43 ; Ex. x. 2, " My signs

which I have done (lit. set, placed)
among them."
Did his signs ; lit. " set the words
of his signs " ; comp. Ixv. 3 [4] (where
see note), cxiv. 5, perhaps as facts that
speak aloud (Delitzsch), or as announced
beforehand, so that they were, in fact,
prophetic words ( Hupfeld) , Ex. iv. 28, 30.
28. The ninth plague (Ex. x. 21-29)
mentioned first, — why, it is difficult to
see. Hengst. thinks because " darkness
is an image of the divine wrath," and
" the Egyptians were in this sense cov
ered with darkness from the first to the
last plague." But this is far-fetched.
The variation in the order of the plagues
from the narrative in Exodus may be
paralleled by the variation in the order
of the commandments as quoted by our
Lord in Matt. xix. 18, 19; Mark x. 19;
Luke xviii. 20, — passages in which the
order and enumeration differ from one
another as well as from the original iu
Ex. XX.
Made it dark ; causative, as in
c^fxxix. 12; Amos V. 8; but the intran
sitive rendering, " and it was dark," is
also defensible; see Jer. xiii. 16.
And thet rebelled not, i.e. Moses
and Aaron, who, and not the Egyptians,
must here be the subject. From not
seeing this, the LXX omitted the nega
tive, Kal TrapeTTiKpavav robs \6yous avrov
(and so also the Syr.,Arab., and Ethiop.),
whence iu the Prayer-book version, " and

246 PSALM CV.
29 He turned their waters into blood,
And made their fish to die.
30 Their land swarmed with frogs
In the chambers of their kings.
31 He spake the word, and there came flies,
Gnats in all their border.
32 He gave them hail for rain.
Flaming fire in their land.
33 He smote also their vines and their fig-treea.
And brake the trees of their border.
34 He spake the word, and the locusts came,
And grasshoppers without number,
85 And devoured all the green herb in their land.
And devoured the fruit of their ground.
36 And he smote all the first-born in their land,
The beginning of all their strength.
37 And he brought them forth with silver and gold.
And there was none among their tribes that stumbled.
38 Egypt was glad when they went forth.
For their terror had fallen upon them.
they were not obedient unto his word." winged, Nah. iii. 16, and hairy, Jer. U.
The Vulg. retains the negative, but puts 27), as in Ixxviii. 46, chdsil, "caterpillar,"
the verb in the singular, "Et non ex- in the parallelism; see Knobel on Lev.
acerbavit sermones sues." The obedi- xi. 22.
ence of Moses and Aaron to the divine 36. The fifth and sixth plagues are
command may here be made prominent, omitted, and the series closed with tha
with reference to the unwillingness of last, in language borrowed from Ixxviii.
Moses in the first instance, and also to 51.
the subsequent disobedience of both 37. With silver and gold; Ex.
(Num. -xx. 24; xxvii. 14). xii. 35.
29. The first plague (Ex. vii. 14-25); That stumbled. See the same
in the next verse, the second (Ex. viii. phrase, as descriptive of vigor, Isa. v . 27,
1_14 [vii. 26-viii. 11]). "none shall be weary or stumble among
31. The fourth plague, that of flies, them"; and for the general sense comp.
(Ex. viii. 20-24 [16-20]) ; and the third, Ex, xiii. 18.
that of gnats, or mosquitoes (E. V. 38. Was glad (Ex. xii. 31-33).
"lice"), Ex. viii. 16-19 [12-15]. Their terror (Ex. xv. 14-16 ; Deut.
32, 33. From the third plague he passes xi. 25).
to the seventh (Ex. ix. 13-35). 39-11. Threeof the principal miracles
34, 35. The eighth plague (Ex. x. in the wilderness, which sum up the
1-20), where only one kind of locust is period between thedeparture from Egypt
mentioned ('aric/i). Here we have also and the entrance into the Promised Land.
udek, "grasshopper" (a species of locust. But it is remarkable that the great mir

PSALM CV. 247
39 He spread a cloud for a covering,
And fire to lighten the night.
40 They asked and he brought quails.
And satisfied them with the bread of heaven.
41 He opened the rock and the waters flowed ;
They went in the dry places like a river.
42 For he remembered his holy word ;
(He remembered) Abraham his servant ;
43 And he brought forth his people with gladness.
His chosen with a song of joy.
44 And he gave them the lands of the nations.
And they took possession of the labor of the peoples ;
45 That they might keep his statutes,
And observe his laws. Hallelujah.
acle of the passage of the Red Sea, a that by virtue of this covenant they had
favorite theme with poets and prophets, taken possession of the land of Canaan ;
is not even alluded to. lastly, the great purpose designed by all
39. Spread a cloud ; not, as in Ex. that marvellous guidance, " That they
xiv. 19, as a protection against their might keep his statutes, and observe his
enemies, but rather over their heads, as laws."
a protection against the burning sun. 43. With gladness, alluding, prob-
See the use of the same verb, Ex. xl. 19, ably, to the song of triumph after the
of the tabernacle ; Joel ii. 2, of a cloud ; overthrow of Pharaoh and his captains
and comp. Isa. iv. 5, 6. in the Red Sea. Comp. Isa. xxxv. 10 ;
Lighten. See note on Ixxvii. 19 [20]. "And the redeemed of Jehovah shall
40. See on Ixxviii. 24, 27. return and come to Zion with a song of
Thet asked. The verb is in the joy, and everlasting gladness shall be
ising., referring to the people. on their head," etc.
41. Rock. The word is tsur, and 44. Labor; notonly cultivated lands,
therefore the miracle at Horeb is in- but cities, treasures, etc.
tended; see on Ixxviii. 15. 45. That they might keep. This
42-45. Conclusion ; giving, first the was God's purpose, that Israel should
reasons why God had thus dealt with be a holy nation in the midst of other
Israel, viz. his own promise, and the nations, a priesthood representing the
faith of his servant Abraham, as in ver. world, and claiming it for God as his
8, 9 ; next, the result in their history, world.
• Bn'i''na. There is some difficulty as to the construction in this
and the two next verses. In 1 Chron. xvi. 19 this verse is joined with
what goes before, the suffix being changed to that of the 2d pers.,
" when ye were," and so the Chald. and Syr. here. Delitzsch finds the
protasis here, and the apodosis in ver. 14. He takes ver. 13 as a part

248 PSALM CVL
of the protasis, according to the common rule, that a sentence beginning
with the iniinitive recurs to the use of the finite verb : " When they
were few, and sojourners, and went to and fro, etc. . . . (then) he suf
fered no man to harm them." Ewald connects both ver. 12 and ver.
13 with what precedes. Hupfeld thinks that ver. 12 is loosely subjoined
to what precedes, but makes of ver. 13 and ver. 14 independent
sentences : " they went from nation to nation," ... "he suffered no
man," etc.

PSALM CVI.

This is the first of a series of Hallelujah Psalms ; Psalms of which
the word " hallelujah " is, as it were, the inscription (cvi., cxi.-cxiii.,
cxvii., cxxxv., cxlvi.-cl.). As in the last Psalm, so here, the history
of Israel is recapitulated. In that it was turned into a thanksgiving ;
in this it forms the burden of a confession. There God's mighty acts
for his people were celebrated with joy ; here his people's sin is humbly
and sorrowfully acknowledged. Nothing is more remarkable in these
great historical Psalms than the utter absence of any word or senti
ment tending to feed the national vanity. All the glory of Israel's
history is confessed to be due, not to her heroes, her priests, her
prophets, but to God ; all the failures which are written upon that
history, all discomfitures, losses, reverses, the sword, famine, exile, are
recognized as the righteous chastisement which the sin of the nation
has provoked. This is the strain of such Psalms as the seventy-eighth,
the one hundred and fifth, the one hundred and sixth. This is in
variably the tone assumed by all the divinely-instructed teachers of the
people, by the prophets in their great sermons, by the poets in their
contributions to the national liturgy. There is no other poetry in the
world of a popular and national kind so full of patriotic sentiment, and
yet at the same time marked by so complete an abstinence from all those
themes which are commonly found in poetry written for the people.
There is not a single ode in honor of Moses or Aaron or Joshua or
David ; there is not one which sings the glory of the nation, except as
that glory is given it of God. The history of the nation, whenever
referred to, is referred to almost invariably for the purpose of rebuke
and upbraiding, certainly not for the purpose of commendation or self-
applause. A similar review of the past history of Israel, joined in the
same way with a confession of the sins of the nation during their

PSALM CVI. 249
history, occurs in the prayer of the Levites on the occasion of the
solemn fast proclaimed after the return from the captivity (Neh. ix.).
But the earliest specimen of this kind of confession is the prayer which
is directed to be used at the offering of the first-fruits, (Deut. xxvi.).
Solomon's prayer at the consecration of the temple (1 Kings viii.) is
not itself a prayer of confession, so much as a pleading with God that
he would hear his people whenever, having sinned, they should come
to him confessing their sins. All these instances differ from the Psalm
in being prose, not poetry. Still the Psalm is not free, as Delitzsch
observes, from certain peculiarities found in the others, such as (1) the
fondness for rhyme, especially in the use of suffixes having the same
sound (see, for instance, ver. 4, 5, 8, 35-41) ; (2) the fondness for
synonymes, as in ver. 21, 22. "great things," " wonderful things," " ter
rible things '' ; (3) the direct, even tautological expansion of the thought,
as in ver. 37, 38, to the comparative neglect of the usual principle of
parallelism. From verse 47 it may be fairly inferred that the Psalm is of the date
of the exile, or was written shortly after the return of the first com
pany of exiles. It is, however, remarkable that both that verse and
the closing doxology, together, perhaps, with the first verse of this
Psalm, form the concluding portion of the Psalm which, according to
the author of the Book of Chronicles, was sung by David when he
removed the ark to Mount Zion (1 Chron. xvi. 34-36). On this point,
see more in the introduction to Ps. cv., and the note on verse 48.
The Psalm has no strophical division. It consists of an introduction
(ver. 1-5). It then follows the history of Israel as a history of per
petual transgressions, first from Egypt through the wilderness (ver.
7-33), and then in the Holy Land (ver. 34r-46), and concludes with
prayer for deliverance from the present calamity, viz. the captivity in
Babylon (ver. 47).
1 Hallelujah! Give thanks unto Jehovah, for he is good,
For his loving-kindness (endureth) forever.
1-5. The first five verses seem to stand fession of sin. But this is a hasty and
alone, and to have little or no direct superficial view. The first verse, no
connection with the rest of the Psalm, doubt, is of the nature of a doxological
Hupfeld regards the first three verses, formula, such as we find in some other
in particular, as nothing but a general of these later Psalms. But the second
introduction, and one quite at variance and third verses have an immediate
with the strain of the Psalm as a con- bearing on what follows. What so fitting
VOL. II. 32

250

PSALM CVI.

2 Who can utter the mighty acts of Jehovah,
(Who) can tell forth all his praise ?
3 Blessed are they that keep judgment,
He that doeth righteousness at all times.
4 Remember me, 0 Jehovah, with the favor thou bearest
unto thy people,
0 visit me with thy salvation ;
6 That I may see the prosperity of thy chosen.
That I may be glad with the gladness of thy nation.
That I may make my boast with thine inheritance.
6 We have sinned with our fathers.
We have done iniquity, we have dealt wickedly.

to introduce the confession of a nation's
sin and ingratitude, as the rehearsal of
God's goodness manifested to it, and the
acknowledgment of the blessedness of
those who, instead of despising that
goodness, as Israel had done, walked in
the ways of the Lord, keeping judgment
and doing righteousness (ver. 3) ? Or,
again, what more natural than that the
sense of the national privilege, the claim
of a personal share in that privilege,
should spring in the heart and rise to
the lips of one who felt most deeply the
national sin and ingratitude ? The
fourth and fifth verses are clearly the
expression of personal feeling. It is
strange that some commentators should
have seen here a personification of the
people, when the fifth verse so expressly
distinguishes, in every clause, between
the individual who speaks and the people
of which he is a member. Nor is there
any reason to assume that the Psalmist
speaks in the name of the people. There
is the same blending of personal feeling
and personal experience with the national
life which we find, for instance, in Ixv.
3 [4]. The hope expressed is, that when
God looks again with favor upon the
nation, when he delivers them from the
hand of the heathen (see ver. 47), then
the Psalmist himself may share in the
general joy.
1. The Psalm begins with the litur

gical formula which was in use in Jere
miah's time, xxxiii. 11 (under Zedekiah),
and which became afterwards more fre
quent (1 Mace. iv. 24). It is not, there
fore, quite so certain that 1 Chron. xvi.
34 was taken from the beginning of this
Psalm, as that the two following verses,
35, 36, were taken from its close.
Good, i.e. not so much in reference
to his own nature, as in his gracious
dealing with men. The LXX, rightly,
Xpv<^t6s. 2. The mighty acts are all that he
has done for his people, as his praise
is all the glory which he has thus mani
fested, and which calls for praise from
them. 4. In this and the next verse the same
sufiix recurs, almost with the effijct of
rhyme ; " the peculiarity," says Delitzsch,
" of the T'phillah-style." In ver. 6 the
same thing is observable, whicTi is char
acteristic of these prayers of confession
( Vidduy, in the later Hebrew, from the
verb " to confess," Lev. xvi. 21), 1 Kings
viii. 47.
5. Nation. The word in the plural
is always used of the heathen, but in the
singular sometimes of the nation of
Israel, and even with the pronominal
sufiBx, as here, and Zeph. ii. 9.
6. The language is borrowed evidently
from that of Solomon's prayer (1 Kiufs
viii. 47). Comp. Dan. ix. 5 ; Bar. ii. 1^

PSALM CVI.

251

7 Our fathers in Egypt considered not thy wonders ;
They remembered not the multitude of thy loving-kind
nesses.
But rebelled at the sea, at the Red Sea.
8 And (yet) he saved them for his name's sake.
To make his might to be known.
9 And he rebuked the Red Sea, and it was dried up.
And he made them go through the depths as (through)
the wilderness.
10 And he saved them from the hand of the hater.
And ransomed them from the hand of the enemy.
11 And the waters covered their adversaries,
Not one of them was left.
12 And tliey believed his words,
They sang his praise.
13 Very soon they forgat his doings,
They waited not for his counsel ;

where in the same way several words are
used in confession, as if to express both
the earnestness of deep conviction, and
also the sense of manifold transgressions.
With qhe fathers. The nation is
thus regarded as a whole, one in guilt
and one in punishment. See note on
ixxix. 8. Not only the " fathers in
Egypt" (ver. 7) are meant, because the
generation in Canaan are also mentioned
(ver. 34-36).
7. Our fathers in Egypt. These
words are connected together by the
accents, but the words "in Egypt"
belong to the whole sentence. The
"wonders" are wonders wrought in
Egypt, the iir pression of which, great
as they were, had so quickly faded, that
they were forgotten even when the people
stood on the shore of the Red Sea.
Again in ver. 13, 21, this forgetfulness
is censured. Comp. Ixxviii. 11 ; Deut.
xxxii. 18 ; and see note on Ps. ciii. 2.
Rebelled (the verb is here used
absol., elsewhere with the accus.), with
reference to the occurrence in Ex. xiv.
10-13. This is the first act of transgres
sion of which confession is made.

8. His MIGHT TO BE KNOWN, aS in
Ixxvii. 14 [15].
9. Compare, for the form of expres
sion, Nah. i. 4; Isa. 1. 2; Ii. 10; Ixiii. 13.
11. Not ONE OP them was left.
Comp. Ex. xiv. 28.
12. They believed . . . thet sang,
with evident reference to Ex. xiv. 31 ;
XV. 1 ; "And Israel saw the great act
(lit. hand) which Jehovah had done
against Egypt, and the people feared
Jehovah, and they believed on Jehovah
and his servant Moses. Then sang Moses
and the children of Israel this song."
Both the faith and the song are men
tioned, not in praise of their conduct,
but only as still further proof that what
ever impressions were produced, whether
by God's judgments or his mercies, were
but temporary and on the surface. The
goodness of Israel was like the dew,
early gone.
13-33. The confession of Israel's sins
in the wilderness. On the first of these,
the lusting for food, comp. Ixxviii. 18,
29, and Ex. xv. 22-24 ; xvii. 2. See
also Ex. xvi. and Num. xi.
13. Vert soon ; lit. "they mada

252

PSALM CVI.

14 But lusted for themselves a lust in the wilderness,
And tempted God in the waste.
15 And he gave them their request.
And sent leanness (withal) into their soul.
16 And they were jealous against Moses in the camp.
Against Aaron, the holy one of Jehovah.
17 (Then) the earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,
And covered the congregation of Abiram ;
18 And a fire was kindled in their congregation,
A flame burned up the wicked.
19 They made a calf in Horeb,
And bowed themselves before the molten image,

haste, they forgat." Waited not ;
they were not content to exercise a
patient dependence upon God, leaving
it to him to fulfil his own purposes in
his own way, but would rather rule him
than submit themselves to his rule.
14. Lusted FOR themselves A lust;
the expression is taken from Num. xi. 4.
15. He gave them their request.
See on Ixxviii. 21, 29.
Leanness. Comp. Isa. x. 16 ; xvii. 4.
The LXX, irKTia-pioviiv, " satiety," and so
the Syr. and Vulg., but wrongly. This
leanness and sickness (phthisis) may
refer to the loathing of the food, followed
by great mortality (the " blow of God "),
Num. xi. 20, 33, the soul being here
used only in a physical sense of the life.
But the figurative sense is equally true,
and equally pertinent. The very heart
and spirit of a man, when bent only or
supremely on the satisfaction of its
earthly desires and appetites, is always
dried up and withered. It becomes a
lean, shrunk, miserable thing, always
craving more food, yet drawing thence
no nourishment, " magnas inter opes
inops." 16-18. The second great sin in the
wilderness was the insurrection against
their divinely-appointed leaders. The
reference is to Num. xvi., xvii.
16. The holt one. Aaron is so
called on account of his priestly ofSce.

It was this, as an exclusive privilege,
which was assailed by Korah and his
company, on the ground that all the
congregation were " holy," i.e. set apart
and consecrated to God as his priests.
17. Opened. In Num. xvi. 30,32;
xxvi. 10, the fuller expression occurs,
" opened her mouth." Covered, as in
Num. xvi. 33. Dathan and Abiram
only are mentioned ; and this is in strict
agreenient with Num. xxvi. 11, where it
is said, " Notwithstanding the children of
Korah died not." And the same thing
is, at least, implied in Num. xvi. 27,
where it is said that, just before the
catastrophe took place, " Dathan and
Abiram " (there is no mention of Korah)
" came cut and stood in the door of their
tents." See this noticed and accounted
for in Blunt's Veracity of the Books of
Moses, Part i. § 20, p, 86, Am. ed.
18. The other punishment, the de
struction by fire, befell the two hundred
and fifty princes of the congregation,
who oflFered incense before the Lord
(Num. xvi. 2, 35).
The wicked, as in Num. xvi. 26,
" Get ye up frgm the tents of these
wicked men."
19. The third instance of transgres
sion, the worship of the calf; see Ex.
xxxiii. There is probably also a refer-
ence to Deut. ix. 8-12, where Moses
reminds the people of their sin, especiallj

PSALM CVI.

253

20 And they bartered their glory.
For the likeness of an ox that eateth grass.
21 They forgat God their Saviour,
Who had done great things in Egypt ;
22 Wondrous things in the land of Ham,
Fearful things by the Red Sea.
23 Then he said he would destroy them.
Had not Moses his chosen stood in the breach before him,
To turn away his fury from destroying (them).
24 And they rejected the desirable land,
They believed not his word.
25 And they murmured in their tents.
They hearkened not to the voice of Jehovah.
26 Then he lifted up his hand unto them.
That he would make them fall in the wilderness ;

as Horeb (which is the common name
in Deuteronomy), and not Sinai, is here
the name of the mountain.
20. Their GLORT, i.e. their God, who
had manifested himself to them in his
glory; glory, like light, being used iu
Scripture to denote the divine perfec
tions. Others understand by the ex
pression the God who was the source
and fountain of their glory, or that rev
elation of God to them which dis
tinguished them from all other nations.
Comp. Deut. iv. 7: " For what nation is
there so great, who hath God so nigh
nnto them, as the Lord our God is in
all things that we call upon him for t "
Jer. ii. 1 1 : " Hath a nation bartered their
gods, which are yet no gods ? But my
people have bartered their glory for that
which doth not profit."
Likeness ; properly " model " or
" figure." See the same word in Deut.
iv. 16, 17, 18.
21. Forgat God ; with reference,
perhaps, to the warning, Deut. vi. 12,
" beware lest thou forget Jehovah."
22. Land op Ham, as in cv. 23, 27.
Comp. Ixxviii. 51, "tents of Ham,"
peculiar to these historical Psalms.
23. Then he said ; lit. "And he said

(resolved, uttered his word), to destroy
them" (Deut. ix. 13). Comp. Ex. xxxii.
10 ; and for the construction, Ezek. xx.
8, 13, 21.
In the breach. The intercession
of Moses is compared to the act of a
brave leader, covering with his body the
breach made in the walls of his fortress.
Comp. Ezek. xxii. 30 : "And I sought
for a man among them that should
make up the hedge, and stand in the gap
(breach, as here) before me for the land,
that I should not destroy it."
24-27. A fourth act of sin, — the re
bellion which followed on the report of
the spies (Num. xiii., xiv.).
24. The desirable land, so called
also in Jer. iii. 19 ; Zech. vii. 14 (in E.V.
"pleasant land"). The other expres
sions in this and the next verse are from
the Pentateuch ; " they rejected " (Num.
xiv. 31); "murmured in their tents"
(Deut. i. 27) ; "lifted up his hand," as
in Ex. vi. 8; Deut. xxxii. 4; "make
them fall," as in Num. xiv. 29, 32. The
phrase, " to lift up the hand," refers to
the custom in the taking of an oath.
Comp. Gen. xiv. 22. The threat of exile
(ver. 27), of which nothing is said in
Num. xiv., is taken, doubtless, from Lev.

254

PSALM CVI.

27 And that he would make their seed fall among the nations,
And scatter them in the lands.
28 They were yoked also unto Baal-peor,
And ate the sacrifices of the dead.
29 And they gave provocation with their doings.
And a plague brake in upon them.
30 Then stood (up) Phinehas and did judgment,
And (so) the plague was stayed ;

xxvi. ; Deut. xxviii. Comp. the same
expression Ezek. xx. 23 : "I lifted up
mine hand unto them also in the wilder
ness, that I would scatter them among
the heathen, and disperse them through
the countries."
27. Make pall ; here projicere, in the
same sense almost as " scatter," in the
parallelism. 28. Thet were toked ; a fifth
transgression in the wilderness, recorded
in Num. xxv. The same verb is used
there, ver. 3, 5, with reference to the
prostitution which accompanied the
worship of Baal-peor, " the Moabite Pri-
apus." Comp. 1 Cor. vi. 1 6, 1 7, and with
the next clause ate the sacrifices,
1 Cor. X. 18-21, with Num. xxv. 2. The
LXX, for " they were yoked," have
iTi\4(r8riaav, " they were initiated." -
The dead. Two interpretations have
been given : (1) that idols are meant, as
opposed to " the living God." Comp.
Jer. X. 10, 11, and the contemptuous
expression "carcases of their kings"
(probably said of idols, as rivals of the
one true King qf Israel), in Ezek. xliii.
7, 9. Comp. Lev. xxvi. 30 ; Jer. xvi. 18.
(2) Usage, however, is rather in favor
of some allusion to necromantic rites, as
in Deut. xviii. 11, "one who seeketh to
the dead"; Isa. viii. 19, "should a
people seek to the dead (by the aid of
necromancers, consulting them as Saul
consulted the Witch of Endor), on behalf
of the living " ? So Selden, De Diis
Syris, i. 5, understands this place of
sacrifices oflFered Dis manibus. Hupfeld
objects that in Num. xxv. 2 the same
sacrifices are called " sacrifices of their

gods," and that sacrifices to the dead
would scarcely be accompanied by sac
rificial feasts. This last objection has
no force.
This twenty-eighth verse, as Delitzsch
remarks, is of historical importance, as
having given rise to the prohibition of
flesh oflFered in sacrifice to idols. In the
second section of the Avodah Zarah, in
a comment on the words of the Mishna,
" The flesh which is intended to be
oflFered to idols is allowed (to be partaken
of), but that which comes from the
temple is forbidden, because it is like
sacrifices of the dead," it is observed:
" R. Jehudah b. Bethera said, ' Whence
do I know that that which is offered to
idols pollutes like a dead body ¦? From
Ps. cvi. 28. As the dead pollutes every
thing which is with him under the same
roof, so also does all which is offered iu
sacrifice to idols.' " St. Paul teaches
that the pollution, when it exists, is not
in the meat which has been offered in
sacrifice, but in the conscience of the
eater (1 Cor. x. 28, 29).
29. Gave provocation. The verb
used absol., without a case, as other
verbs in ver. 7, 32, 43 ; a peculiarity of
the writer of this Psalm.
A PLAGUE. The word is used of a
divine judgment, more commonly of
sickness, but here, as in Num. xxv. 8,
9, 18, of the slaughter accomplished by
human instruments. Comp. Ex. xxxii.
35. Brake in, or " made a breach " (for
the verb is from the same root as the
noun in ver. 23). Comp. Ex. xix. 24.
30. Stood. See the similar expres.

PSALM CVI.

255

31 And it was counted unto him for righteousness.
Unto all generations for evermore.
32 They angered (God) also at the waters of Meribah,
And it went ill with Moses for their sakes.
33 For they rebelled against his Spirit,
And he spake unadvisedly with his lips.

sion. Num. xxv. 7, "And when Phine
has saw it, he rose up " ; and the same
verb as here (Num. xvi. 48 [xvii. 13]),
of Aaron's intercession. It is a picture
of the one zealous man rising up from
the midst of the inactive multitude, who
sit still and make no effort.
Did jnDG3iENT,not, asin the Prayer-
book version, following the Chald. and
Syr., "prayed" (i.e. interceded), a
meaning which the verb never has in
this conjugation (Piel), but only in the
Hithpael. The LXX give the sense
only, when they render i^ixdiraro (Vulg.
placavit). This righteous act of judg
ment, like the intercession of Aaron,
was propitiatory ; it appeased and turned
away the wrath of God ; "and the plague
was stayed"; words borrowed from Num.
xxv. 8; comp. Num. xvi. 48 [.xvii. 13].
The two figures, Aaron standing with
the incense, and with the true priestly
heart, between the dead and the living,
and making atonement, and Phinehas
as the minister of righteous vengeance
turning away wrath, form a striking and
instructive contrast. The one makes
atonement in saving life, the other in
destroying it.
31. It was COUNTED unto him for
righteousness ; it was looked upon as
arighteous act.and rewarded accordingly.
The same thing is said of the faith of
Abraham (Gen. xv. 6) ; a striking in
stance of the fearlessness of expression
which is to be found in the Scriptures,
as compared with the dogmatic forms of
modem controversial theology. This
verse has given occasion to whole dis
quisitions on the subject of justification,
with which it really has nothing to do,
though, at least, the language is in perfect
accordance with that of St. James (ii.
20-26). The reward of this righteous

ness was the perpetual continuance of
the priesthood in his family (Num. xxv.
12, 13).
Unto all generations, etc. ; lit.
" for generation and generation, to (all)
eternity," a remarkable instance of the
hyperbolic way in which this and similar
phrases are employed, and one which
is a warning against hastily building
doctrines upon mere words.
32. The sixth instance of transgression
— the rebellion against Moses and Aaron
at Meribah, in the fortieth year of the
wandering (Num. xx. 2-13).
It went ill with. This must be
the meaning here (though elsewhere the
same phrase means " it grieved, or dis
pleased," as in Neh. ii. 10 ; xiii. 8 ; Jon.
iv. 1). Comp. Deut. i. 57 ; iii. 26, "also
Jehovah was angry with me for your
sakes." The reason why Moses was for
bidden to enter the promised land is
here stated more distinctly than in the
narrative. It was the exasperation into
which he suffered himself to be betrayed
in uttering the words in Num. x.x. 10;
though the impatient spirit was shown
also in striking the rock twice.
33. Thet rebelled against his
Spirit. Three explanations of this line
have been given. (1) By "his spirit"
has been understood the spirit of Moses,
and, accordingly, the line has been ren
dered in the E.V. " they provoked his
spirit." This, however, is to give a
meaning to the verb which it never has.
Hence DeWette, " they strove against
his spirit." (2) The words have been
understood of disobedience against God :
"they rebelled against his( God's) Spirit."
Comp. Isa. Ixiii. 10, " But they rebelled
and vexed his Holy Spirit," with Ps.
Ixxviii. 40. But (3), retaining this last
explanation, it is still a question what

256 PSALM CVL
34 They did not destroy the peoples,
As Jehovah had said unto them ;
35 But they mixed themselves with the nations,
And learned their works ;
36 And they served their idols.
And they became unto them a snare :
37 And they sacrificed their sons and their daughters to
false gods ;
38 And they shed innocent blood,
The blood of their sons and their daughters.
Which they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan ;
And the land was polluted with bloodshed.
39 And they were defiled with their works.
And went a-whoring with their doings.
40 Then the anger of Jehovah was kindled against his people.
And he abhorred his own inheritance.
41 And he gave them into the hand of the nations.
And their haters ruled over them.
42 And their enemies oppressed them.
And they were bowed down under their hand.
is the subject of the verb. It may be was an offering to false gods (Heb.
said of Moses and Aaron, that they re- Shedim) ; lit. " lords," like Baalim,
belled (see Num. x.x. 24; xxvii. 14) ; but 'Adonim, and then applied to gods (as
it is better to assume that the people are the forms Shaddai,' Adonai, were confined
the subject, the two clauses of ver. 33 to Jehovah) ; see the same word Deut.
thus answering to tho two of ver. 32. xxxii. 17, for which in Judges ii. 11,
34. Disobedience in the land of Ca- Baalim. The LXX render Saipioviois,
naan itself, especially in not rooting out and Jerome daemonibus, whence the E.V.
the nations, as enjoined (E.x. xxiii. 32, has " devils."
33), and often repeated (Josh, xxiii. 12, 38. Polluted. The strongest word,
13), and the adoption of their idolatrous taken from Num. xxxv. 33; comp. Isa.
worship. xxiv. 5. The land, the very soil itself.
As Jehovah had SAID, the construe- was polluted and accursed, as well as
tion may be either (1) "Which thing the inhabitants (ver. 39).
Jehovah had said unto them"; or (2) 40-43. The terrible and repeated judg-
" Concerning whom Jehovah had com- ments of God.
manded them," as in the E.V. 42. Thet were bowed down, else-
36. A SNARE, as the warning ran, Ex. where said of the enemies of Israel
xxiii. 33; xxxiv. 12; Deut. vii. 16. Of (Judges iii. 30 ; iv. 23; viii. 28; xi. 33).
the abominations of the heathen, that of 43. In their counsel, as in Ixxxi.
human sacrifices, as in the worship of 12 [13] ; Jer. vii. 24, emphatically op-
Moloch, is especially dwelt upon. This posed to the counsel and purpose of God.

PSALM CVI. 257
43 Many a time did he deliver them.
But they rebelled (against him) in their counsel.
And were brought low through their iniquity.
44 But he looked upon their distress.
When he heard their cry.
45 And he remembered for them his covenant.
And pitied them according to the greatness of his loving-
kindness.
46 And he made them to find compassion
In the presence of all who carried them captive.
47 Save us, 0 Jehovah our God,
And gather us from the nations.
That we may give thanks unto thy holy name ;
That we may glory in thy praise.
48 Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel,
From everlasting even to everlasting.
And let all the people say. Amen !
Hallelujah!
Were brought low. Lev. xxvi. 39. the first caravan, on behalf of his brethren
44. The Psalmist turns now to the who were still dispersed.
other side of God's dealings with his Glory in tht praise, or "deem
people. It was not all anger. If they ourselves happy in that we can praise
forgot his covenant, he remembered it. thee." The verb is the reflexive form
Even in the land of their captivity, he (Hithpael), which occurs only in this
softened the hearts of their captors. Psalm.
Their cry. The word which is often 48. The last verse is merely a doxol-
used of the song of joy, here, as in ogy added at a time subsequent to the
I Kings viii. 28, of theory of distress. composition of the Psalm, to mark the
45. Pitied them, or " repented," as close of the Book. The first line varies
in xc. 13. but slightly from that at the end of Ixxii.,
46. Made them to pind, etc. ; lit. " Blessed be Jehovah God, the God of
" Made them for (an object of) com- Israel." The chronicler who quotes this
passions, or tender mercies." There is verse (see introduction to this Psalm
a reference to Solomon's prayer (1 Kings and cv.), changes the wish " Let all the
viii. 50). Comp. Neh. i. 1 1 ; Dan. i. 9. people say. Amen," into the historic
For the construction, see Gen. xhii. 14. sense, "And all the people said Amen,
47. Tho grace of God, already shown and praised Jehovah " (1 Chron. xvi. 36).
to his people, leads to the prayer of this The fact that he has incorporated this
verse — a supplication for which the verse as well as the preceding in his
whole Psalm has prepared the way. The Psalm, is a proof that already in his
language would seem to indicate that time the Psalter was divided, as at pres-
the Psalm was written in exile, though ent, into books ; the doxology being
the same prayer might also have been regarded as an integral portion of the
uttered by one of those who returned in Psalm.
vol. II. 33

THE P S ALMS.

BOOK y.
PSALMS CVII-CL.

259

PSALM CVII.
Is has already been observed in the General Introduction to this
work (Vol. i. p. 59), that there is no obvious reason why, in the
division of the Psalter into five books, the doxology marking the close
of the fourth book should have been placed at the end of the one
hundred and sixth Psalm. On the contrary, the one hundred and
sixth and one hundred and seventh Psalms seem to have certain links
of connection, and many critics have supposed that they are the work
of the same author.
Not only are the opening words of the two Psalms identical, but
what is the subject of prayer in the one is the subject of thanksgiving
in the other. In cvi. 47 the Psalmist prays that God would gather
Israel from the heathen ; in cvii. 3 he bids Israel give thanks to him
who has brought them back from their captivity.*
Some expositors have even gone so far as to maintain that the four
Psalms (civ.-cvii.) were designed to constitute a complete tetralogy
arranged in chronological order, beginning with the narrative of crea
tion (Ps. civ.), going on to the history of the patriarchs and the early
history of Israel (Ps. cvi.), pursuing the fortunes of the nation in the
Promised Land, and even down to the time of the captivity (Ps. cvi.),
and finally celebrating the deliverance from Babylon, and the return
of the exiles (Ps. cvii.). But the connection between Ps. civ. and
those which follow it is by no means so close as that between the three
Psalms, cv.-cvii.
" These three anonymous Psalms," says Delitzsch, " form a trilogy
in the strictest sense, and are in all probability a tripartite whole from
the hand of one author." Phillipson takes the same view, remarking
that the poet has shown consummate art in the form which he has
given to the whole, and the disposition and grouping of his materials.
He thus traces the connection : " In the first part (Ps. cv.) the poet
has set forth the benefits of God, and the effect produced by them ;
in the second (Ps. cvi.), only the sins of Israel, and the loss and suffer
ing thereby incurred; in the third (Ps. cvii.), the dehverance, into
1 On these grounds both Ewald and Hengstenberg regard these two Psalms aa
closely connected. 261

262 PSALM cvn.
the picture of which he has skilfully introduced both the sufferings of
his people and also then- return to their God. The first part is bright
with praise and thanksgiving ; the second, gloomy and terrifying ; the
third, full of exhortation and encouragement. And how skilful is the
transition from one part to another ! At the close of the first division
(cv. 45) an intimation is given that Israel had not accomplished the
purpose for which Canaan had been given him as an inheritance ; at
the close of the second (cvi. 45) we already see the dawn of approach
ing redemption."
Delitzsch, who traces the connection in a similar way, points to the
three following passages as confirming it : " He gave them the lands
of the heathen " (cv. 44) ; " He threatened to cast forth their seed
among the heathen, and to scatter them in the lands " (cvi. 27) ; " And
he hath gathered them /rom the lands, from the East and the West," etc.
(cvii. 3). Other expressions, he observes, occur which link the three
Psalms together. Egypt is called in them " the land of Ham," cv. 23,
27 ; cvi. 22, and Israel " the chosen of Jehovah," cv. 6, 43 ; cvi. 5
(comp. 23). In cv. 19 and cvii. 20 there is an approach to the hypostatic
sense of the " word " of God.* In cvi. 14 and cvii. 4 y" shimon is the
word used to describe the waste, the wilderness. To these character
istics may be added the use of the Hithpael conjugation in all the
Psalms, cv. 3 ; cvi. 5, 47 ; cvii. 27. In aU alike there is the same absence
of strophical arrangement.^ In all there is evidence of a partiality for
the later chapters of Isaiah (xl.-lxvi.) and the Book of Job. This is
more especially noticeable in the one hundred and seventh Psalm,
where the poet is more at liberty, as he is no longer recapitulating the
history of his nation.
But ingenious as all this is, it rests on the assumption that the
one hundred and seventh Psalm, like the other two, is historical, and
is designed chiefly to celebrate the return from the Babylonish captivity.
The second and third verses of the Psalm are supposed to mark the
occasion for which it was written, and the rest of the Psalm is held to
exhibit, by means of certain examples of peril and dehverance, either
in a figure the miseries of the exile, or literally the various incidents
of the homeward journey.
Such an interpretation, however, can scarcely be maintained. It is
1 See, however, the notes on those passages.
2 This can hardly be maintained with regard to Ps. cvii. At least to the end of
ver. 32 the strophical arrangement is clearly marked by the double refrain, " Then
they cried unto Jehovah," etc., and " Let them thank Jehovah for his loving-
kindness," etc.

PSALM cvn. 263
unnatural to regard these various examples, taken from every-day ex
perience, as a figurative description of the exile ; it is quite impossible,
in particular, that the picture of the seafarers should represent the
sufferings of captivity, though it certainly might form one part of the
story of the return ; for the exiles are here described, not merely as
coming back from Babylon, but from all the countries of their disper
sion (comp. Jer. xvi. 15 ; xl. 12 ; Dan. ix. 7).
It is obvious that this Psalm is not historical. It describes various
incidents of human life, it tells of the perils which befall men, and the
goodness of God in delivering them, and calls upon all who have
experienced his care and protection gratefully to acknowledge them ;
and it is perfectly general in its character. The four or five groups, or
pictures, are so many samples taken from the broad and varied record
of human experience.
Such a Psalm would have been admirably adapted to be sung in
the temple worship, at the offering of the thank-offerings.
But, whatever may have been the circumstances under which the
Psalm was written, or the particular occasion for which it was intended,
there can be no doubt as to the great lesson which it inculcates. It
teaches us not only that God's providence watches over men, but that
his ear is open to their prayers. It teaches us that prayer may be put
up for temporal deliverance, and that such prayer is answered. It
teaches us that it is right to acknowledge with thanksgiving such
answers to our petitions. This was the simple faith of the Hebrew
poet. It is needless to say how readily such a faith is shaken now. First
there is the old and obvious objection that all such prayers, even when
offered by men of devout mind, are not answered. Calvin notices the
diflSculty, quoting the story of the wit, who, when he entered the
' temple, and observed the votive tablets suspended there by merchants.
recording their escape from shipwreck by the favor of the gods, sar
castically remarked, " I see no record of those who perished in the sea,
and yet the number of them must be immense." Calvin replies, as
might be expected, that though a hundred-fold more are lost than
escape, still God's goodness is not obscured ; that he exercises judgment
as well as mercy ; that all deserve destruction, and that therefore his
sovereign mercy ought to be acknowledged in every instance where it
is displayed. It would have been better, surely, to have replied, that
answers to prayer are not all of one kind ; and that God as really
answers his children's supplication when he gives them strength and
resignation in prison or in sickness, as when he " breaks in pieces tha

264 PSALM CVII.
bars of iron," or « sends his word and heals them " ; when he suffers
them to sink beneath the raging waters, with heaven open to their
eyes, as when he " brings them to their desired haven." Closely akin
to this, there arises another question. Does God ever answer prayer
by direct action upon the material world ? Are not the laws of the
universe the expression of his will? Are they not, therefore, un
changeable ? And is it not both presumptuous and selfish to ask him
to change the phenomena, which are the result of those laws ; presump
tuous, because we thus dictate to him what is best for us; selfish,
because the blessing we crave may be at the expense of injury and
loss to others ? I conceive it may be replied, that it is not for the
most part by immediate action in the material world that God grants
our petitions. Even if we were forced to concede that now, since
the age of miracles is past, God never so acts, still this should not
trouble us, seeing how wide the region is in which indirectly our prayers
even for temporal blessing may be answered. "Thus, for instance"
(I venture to repeat what I have said elsewhere*), " we pray that the
cholera or the murrain may be stayed. God does not with his own hand
take away the plague ; but he puts it into the heart of some physician
to find the remedy which wUl remove it. He does not hush the storm
in a moment ; but he gives the mariner courage and skill to steer before
it till be reach the haven. He does not shower bread from heaven in
a famine ; but be teaches the statesman how, with wise forethought and
patient endeavors, at least to mitigate the calamity. How often we
speak of happy inspirations, little knowing what we mean when we
speak thus ! And how unable we are to trace the chain ! We cannot
see God's Spirit prompting the prayer, or suggesting the remedy which
shall be the answer to the prayer. But the antecedent and the con
sequent are as really there, the links of the chain are as essential as
they are in any of the phenomena of the material world, which present
themselves to our bodily senses. And thus the answer comes not by
direct interference with the laws of nature, but in accordance with the
laws of the spiritual world — by the divine action on the heart of man."
If so, then the answer may be acknowledged with devout thanksgiving,
and men may praise the Lord for his goodness.
The Psalm consists of sis groups, with a preface (ver. 1-3) and a
conclusion (ver. 43). The preface and the conclusion alike give tha
1 The Feast of Harvest. A Sermon preached in St. Peter's Church, Carmarthen,
p. 19. [I have discussed the subject still more fully in a Sermon on Prayer and
Natural Law, in a volume of sermons recently published by Isbister and Company,
1874].

PSALM CVU.

265

theme or key-note of the Psalm. The first four groups are marked by
the double refrain ; the two last have but a slight connection with the
others (see note on ver. 33). The grammatical structure is peculiar.
In the first part of the Psalm the strophes, except the first, begin with
a particle or adjective of the subject ; the predicate being virtually con
tained in the verb of the refrain : Let them give thanks.
1 " 0 GIVE thanks unto Jehovah, for he is good,
For his loving-kindness (endureth) forever,"
2 Let the ransomed of Jehovah say (so).
Whom he hath ransomed from the hand of the adversary,
3 And gathered them out of the lands.
Prom the East and from the West,
From the North and from the South."
4 They wandered in the wilderness, in a pathless waste;*
A city where men dwell they found not :

1. The Psalm opens with the same
doxological formula as cvi., only here it
is put into the mouth of the exiles re
turned from Babylon. Por a similar
opening see cxviii. 1^. In earlier Psalms
where phrases of the kind occur, they do
not stand at the beginning of the Psalm,
and the verb " say " precedes the doxol
ogy, instead of following it ; see xxxv.
27; xl. 16 [17]. It is the old hturgical
doxology which, as in Jer. xxxiii. 11,
is to be heard in the mouth of the cap
tives restored to their own land.
2. Ransomed of Jehovah ; as in
Isa. Ixii. 1 2 ( whence it may be borrowed ) ;
Ixiii. 4 ; comp. xxxv. 9, 10.
The adversaet, the oppressor in
Babylon ; or the word may mean, as in
ver. 6, "distress." "From the hand of
distress " might be said in Hebrew, in
the same way as " from the hand of the
dog" (xxii. 20).
3. Gathered them, as in cvi. 47,
and generally in the prophets (comp. Isa.
xi. 12 ; Ivi. 8, and often) of the return
from the captivity. For the same picture
see Isa. xliii. 5, 6 ; xlix. 12. The exiles,
free to return, are seen flocking, not
from Babylon only, but from all lands,
"like doves to their windows."

The south; lit. "the sea "(if the
text is correct), which everywhere else
means the West (the Mediterranean Sea),
but must obviously here denote the
South. Hence the Chald. understands
by " the Sea," the Arabian Gulf; others
again, the Southern (Indian) Ocean;
but as these explanations are contrary
to usage, there is reason to question the
correctness of the text. See more iu
Critical Note.
4. The first example : the caravan
which has lost its way in the desert.
The interpretation of the verse will vary
according to the view we take of its
connection with the preceding, (i.) We
may take " the ransomed of Jehovah "
(ver. 2) as the subject of the verb ; and
then (a), by those who adopt the his
torical interpretation of the Psalm, the
picture which follows has been held to
be a description either (I ) of what befell
the Jews who (Jer. xliii.) fled into the
wilderness to escape the Chaldeans, after
the taking of Jerusalem; or (2) of the
perils encountered by the caravans of
exiles as they crossed long tracts of
sandy desert on their return ; or (3) in
tended to set forth iu a figure the miseries
of the exile itself. Or (6) " the ransomed

34

266

PSALM cvn.

5 Hungry and thirsty.
Their soul fainted in them :
6 Then they cried unto Jehovah in their trouble ;
And he delivered them out of their distresses :
7 He led them by a straight way.
That they might go to a city where men dwell.
8 Let them give thanks to Jehovah for his loving-kindness,
And for his wonders to the children of men :

of Jehovah " may be taken in a vrider
sense, as lenoting, not the captives at
Babylon, but all Jews exposed to the
risks and hardships of foreign travel.
So Calvin : " Et prime ad gratitudinem
hortatur qui ex longinqua et difBcili
peregrinatione, adeoque ex servitute et
vinculis, domum ineolumes reversi sunt.
Tales autem vocat redemptos Dei, quia
perdeserta ct invias solitudines vagando
saepius a reditu exclusi essent, nisi Deus,
quasi porrecta manu, ducem se illis
praebuisset." (ii. ) The subject of the
verb may be changed, and this, either
because (a) the Psalmist, having begun
to speak of God's goodness to the exiles,
restored by his hand to the land of their
fathers, goes on to speak of other instances
in which his goodness has been m.ani-
fested. Or (j3), because the first three
verses were a liturgical addition, framed
with particular reference to the return
from Babylon, and prefixed to a poem
originally designed to have a wider scope.
Thet wandered. The subject of
the verb (see last note) may be "men "
generally. The incident described was
doubtless not uncommon. The usual
track of the caravan is lost — obliterated,
perhaps, by the sand-storm.
A CITY where men dwell ; lit. " a
city of habitation " (as E.V.). No par
ticular city is meant, as Prayer-book
version, " the city where they dwelt,"
much less is Jerusalem intended, but
any inhabited city, as opposed to the
uninhabited wilderness.
5. Fainted ; lit. " covered itself," as
with darkness, sorrow, and the like, as
in Ixxvii. 3 [4] ; cxlii. 3 [4]; cxliii. 4;
Jon. ii. 7 [8].

6. Then thet cried. So it ever is ;
only the pressure of a great need forces
men to seek God. Prayer is not only
the resource of good men, but of all men,
in trouble. It is a natural instinct even
of wicked men to turn to God at such
times : " Si graviori in discrimine ver-
sentur, etiam sine certa meditatione,
ad Deum invocandum natura duce et
magistra impelli." — Calvin.
Jehovah. Hengstenberg alleges the
use of this name, instead of the more
general one, Elohim, God, in proof that
the Psalmist is speaking not of men at
large, but only of Jews (and that hence
the Psalm refers to the return from the
captivity at Babylon). The heathen,
he objects, would not be said to call
upon Jehovah. But surely a Jew, even
when speaking of the general providence
of God, would have Jews chiefly before
his mind as embraced in that providence,
and as naturally would use the name of
God which was dearest to him as a Jew.
The distinction between Jew and Gentile
would be lost sight of altogether.
8. Others render, "Let them praise
his loving-kindness before Jehovah, and
his wonders before the children of men,"
i.e. let them confess his goodness before
God and man. The parallelism may,
perhaps, be more accurately preserved
by this rendering, but grammatically it
is not necessary. It is also doubtful
whether we have here the expression of
a wish, "Let them give thanks " ; or the
statement of a past fact, " they gave
thanks." In support of the latter ren
dering may be alleged the frequent use
of the same tense in the Psalm as a past
("a relative preterite," Hupfeld); see

FSALM cvn. 267
9 For he satisfieth the longing soul.
And filleth the hungry soul with good.
10 They that sat in darkness and the shadow of death.
Being bound in affliction and iron,
11 Because they rebelled against the words of God,
And despised the counsel of the Most High,
12 And he brought down their heart with labor.
They stumbled, and there was none to help :
13 Then they cried unto Jehovah in their trouble.
He saved them out of their distresses ;
14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
And brake their bonds asunder.
15 Let them give thanks to Jehovah for his loving-kindness,
And for his wonders to the children of men :
16 For he brake the doors of brass.
And cut the bars of iron in sunder.
17 Foolish men, because of the way of their transgression.
And because of their iniquities, bring affliction upon
themselves.
on xviii., note". But the analogy of ver. instruction given by inner revelation
2, which is clearly optative, makes the (comp. xvi. 7) need not be excluded.
former the more probable. So the verb thet despised is used both
9. There is a reference to ver. 5 ; in the theocratic sense of blasphemy
" longing " answers to "thirsty," as in (Num. xiv. 11, 23 ; xvi. 30; Deut. xxxi.
Isa. xxix. 8. 20), and also in a more general sense,
10-16. The second example — that of as in the rejection of the counsels of
prisoners. wisdom (Prov. i. 30; v. 12 ; xv. 5).
10. Darkness, etc. The same ex- 15. The construction of the whole
pression occurs Isa. xlii. 7; xlix. 9; Mic. passage, beginning with ver. 10, is only
vii. 8, of the gloom of the prison-house, completed here. The participial subject,
Comp. Virgil. Aen. vi. 734, " Neque " they that sat, or sit," etc., finds here
auras Eespiciunt, clausae tenebris et its verb. Theintervening verses, 11-14,
carcere caeco." are, to a certain extent, parenthetical,
Affliction and iron. Comp. the ver. 11, 12, giving the reason, and ver.
fuller phrase Job xxxvi. 8, "bound in 13, 14 the consequences, of the chastise-
fetters, and holden in cords of affliction." ment. The verbs in ver. 10, 13, 14
11. Words . . . counsel. The com- might all be rendered as presents.
mandments of God as given in the law, 16. The expressions are apparently
and his counsel as declared by his taken from Isa. xlv. 2.
prophets, are chiefly meant; for through- 17-22. Third example: sick persons
out the passage language is employed brought by their sickness to the edge of
which implies the theocratic position of the grave.
Israel. But the reference may be wider. 17. Foolish men, so called because
The law written in the conscience, the of the moral infatuation which marks

268

PSALM cvn.

18 Their soul abhorreth all manner of food.
And they draw near to the gates of death :
19 Then they cry unto Jehovah in their trouble.
He saveth them out of their distresses :
20 He sendeth his word, and healeth them.
And rescueth them from their graves.
21 Let them give thanks to Jehovah for his loving-kindness,
And for his wonders to the children of men :
22 And let them sacrifice sacrifices of thanksgiving.
And tell of his works with a song of joy.

their conduct, as in xiv. 1, where see
notes ; men of earthly, sensual, selfish
minds, who turn a deaf ear to warning,
and despise counsel (comp. Prov. i. 7 ;
xii. 15; xiv. 3, 9 ; xv. 5; xxvii. 22),
and who can only be brought to reason
by chastisement. The expression seems
quite to exclude the notion that the
allusion is to "a party of sick exiles,
enfeebled probably by labors, or by un
congenial climates, so that their soul
abhorred all manner of meat, and they
were hard at death's door." — Liddon.
Such persons would not be described as
" foolish," but rather as objects of pity.
The noun "foolishness," xxxviii. 5 [6],
is from the same root, and is used in the
same ethical sense. See note there.
The WAT of their transgression.
The expression is used to denote the
course of conduct, the habit of the life,
and is not merely pleonastic.
Bring affliction upon them
selves. The proper reflexive significa
tion of the conjugation is by all means
to be retained. It most expressively
marks how entirely a man brings upon
himself his own punishment. The same
form of the verb is used, but with a
somewhat different shade of meaning,
in 1 Kings ii. 26. There it rather de
notes the involuntary submission to
suffering. [Delitzsch would give this
sense here, and in 1 Kings ii. 26 explains
the Hithp., " geflissentlich leiden." He
is quite right in adding, "reines Pas-
sivum affligebantuT ist es nicht."] I have
here, and in what follows, after the ex

ample of our translators, preferred the
present tense to the past. This change
of tense exists in the Hebrew, and the
rendering gives more force and animation
to the picture ; though it would certainly
be possible to continue the use of the
past tense throughout. See on xviii.,
note ¦=.
18. Comp. the similar passage, Job
xxxiii. 20-22.
20. He sendeth his word. The
same expression occurs in cxlvii. 15, 18 ;
comp. Isa. Iv. 11. We detect in such
passages the flrst glimmering of St.
John's doctrine of the agency of the
personal Word. The Word by which
the heavens were made (xxxiii. 6) is
seen to be not merely the expression of
God's will, but his messenger mediating
between himself and his creatures. It
is interesting to compare with this the
language of Elihu in the parallel pas
sage of Job xxxiii. 23, where what is
here ascribed to the agency of the Word
is ascribed to that of the " mediating
angel, or messenger." Theodorct ob
serves : 'O 0e6s Ad-yoj ivav8pwTri\(Tas Kol
aTroffToAels is &v0p(oiros ra iraVToSatra Tuv
ypvxuv iduraro rpavpLara, Kal robs Sia(l>8a-
pfvras i.v4pp(a(re Koyurixods. Too much'
stress, however, must not be laid on the
use of the verb " sendeth." Comp. cxi.
9, " He sent redemption unto his people."
Graves. The word may be taken in
this sense, in allusion to their nearness
to death, ver. 18, or it may mean "pits "
metaphorically, the pit of suffering into
which they have sunk.

PSALM cvn.

269

28 They that go down to the sea in ships,
That do business in great waters,
24 These men have seen the works of Jehovah,
And his wonders in the deep.
25 For he commandeth and raiseth a stormy wind.
Which lifteth up the waves thereof.
26 They mount up to the heaven.
They go down (again) to the depths ;
Their soul melteth away because of (the) trouble.
27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man.
And are at their wits' end :

23-32. Fourth example : seafarers
tossed and driven by the tempest, and
brought at last safe into port. The de
scription may be compared with the
language of Jonah i., ii. It is the most
highly flnished, the most thoroughly
poetical of each of the four pictures of
human peril and deliverance. It is
painted as a landsman would paint it,
but yet only as one who bad himself
been in "perils of waters " could paint
the storm — the waves running mountains
high, on which the tiny craft seemed a
plaything, the helplessness of human
skill, the gladness of the calm, the safe
refuge in the haven. Addison remarks
that he prefers this description of a ship
in a storm before any others he had ever
met with, and for the same reason for
which "Longinus recommends one in
Homer, because the poet has not amused
himself with little fancies upon the oc
casion, as authors of an inferior genius,
whom he mentions, had done, but be
cause he has gathered together those
circumstances which are the most apt to
terrify the imagination, and which really
happened in the raging of a tempest."
By the way, he adds, " how much more
comfortable, as well as rational, is this
system of the Psalmist, than the pagan
scheme in Virgil and other poets, where
one deity is represented as raising a
storm, and another as laying it ! Were
we only to consider the sublime in this
piece of poetry, what can be nobler than
the idea it gives us of the Supreme Being

thusraisinga tumult among the elements,
and recovering them out of their con
fusion ; thus troubling and becalming
nature ? " — Spectator, No. 489.
23. Go down to the sea, as in Isa.
xlii. 10; Jon. i. 3.
Business. There is no need to restrict
this to the management of craft by sea
men. It includes the occupations of fish
ermen, traders, persons on a voyage, etc.
24. The works of Jehovah, and
his wonders, i.e. his rule of the ele
ments : how at his word the storm raises
the billows high as heaven ; how at his
word it sinks down hushed and gentle
as the soft breath of summer.
25. For he commandeth ; lit. "and
he said"; the phrase which occurs so
often in Gen. i. to describe God's crea
tive fiat. Compare the use of the same
word in cv. 31, 34.
The waves thereof, i.e. of the sea,
the pronominal suffix referring to the
remote noun in ver. 23, as is not uncom
monly the case in Hebrew. (See for a
still more remarkable instance of this,
cxi. 10, where the plural pronoun " them"
can only refer to the word " statutes "
in ver. 7.) In sense it may also refer
to the noun " deep " in ver. 24, but not
in grammar, this noun being feminine.
26. Thet mount up, i.e. not "the
waves," but " the seafarers." The same
expression occurs, but in a different
sense, in civ. 8, where see note.
27. Reel to and fro, or, even more
exactly, " spin round and round."

270 PSALM cvn.
28 Then they cry unto Jehovah in their trouble,
And he bringeth them out of their distresses.
29 He husheth the storm to a gentle air.
So that the waves thereof are still.
30 Then are they glad because they be quiet.
And he leadeth them to their desired haven.
31 Let them give thanks to Jehovah for his loving-kindness,
And for his wonders to the children of men.
32 Let them exalt him also in the assembly of the people.
And praise him in the seat of the elders.
33 He turneth rivers into a wilderness.
And water-springs into a thirsty ground ;
34 A fruitful land into a salt-marsh.
Because of the wickedness of them that dwell therein.

Aee at their wits' end ; lit. " all are tossed, and which threaten to engulf
their wisdom (skill, resources, etc.) swal- them.
loweth itself up," or, " cometh of itself 30. Be quiet. A word used of the
to nought." 1 (Comp. Isa. xix. 3 : " I quiet of the sea after a storm (Jon. i. 11,
will bring his counsel to nought.") The 12), and only once besides (Prov. xxvi.
Hithpael occurs only here. Possibly 20), of the ceasing of contention.
the figure may have been taken from Haven. This is probably the mean-
the Syrtes, or a whirlpool. ing of the word, but it occurs nowhere
29. A gentle aib. This, and not else. The Rabbinical interpreters render
absolute " stillness," "calm" (Symm. it " shore," " coast."
70X^x7)), seems to be the meaning of the 32. Seat, or " assembly," con«esst« ;
word. Comp. 1 Kings xix. 12, and so See note on i. 1.
theLXX and Aq. aipa. J. D. Micbaleis 33. ThecharacterofthePsalmchanges
quotes Virgil's aequatae spirant aurae. at this point. We have no longer dis-
The waves thereof ; lit. "their tinct pictures, as before; the beautiful
waves"; but the plural sufBx must refer double refrain is dropped, the language
to the sea, and may, perhaps, have been is harsher and more abrupt. Instead
occasioned by the plural " great waters" of fresh examples of deliverance from
in ver. 23. See note on ver. 25. Others peril, and thanksgiving for God's mercies,
refer the plural pronoun to the seafarers : we have now instances of God's provi-
" iAeiV waves," i.e. those on which they dential government of the world ex-
1 The whole description up to this point finds a striking parallel in Ovid,
Trist. i. 2 : " Me miserum quanti montes volvuntur aquarum :
Jamjam tacturos sidera summa putes.
Quantae diducto subsidunt aequore valles :
Jamjam tacturos Tartara nigra putes.
Rector in incerto est, nee quid fugiatve petatve
Invenit : ambignis ars stupet ipsa malis."

PSALM CVIL

271

35 He turneth a wilderness into a pool of water,
And a dry land into water-springs.
36 And there he maketh the hungry to dwell.
And they build a city to dwell in ;
37 And sow fields, and plant vineyards.
Which may yield the fruit of (yearly) produce.
38 And he blesseth them so that they multiply greatly.
And he suffereth not their cattle to be minished.
39 And again they are minished and brought low
Through oppression, evil, and sorrow.

hibited in two series of contrasts. The
first of these is contained in ver. 33-39,
and expresses a double change — the
fruitful, well-watered land smitten, like
the rich plain of Sodom, with desolation,
and changed into a salt-marsh (LXX, els
Sxiiifv; Jerome, inscdsuginem) ; and anon,
the wilderness crowned with cities, like
Tadmor (of which Pliny says, vasto
ambitu arenis includit agros), and made
fertile to produce corn and wine; the
second is contained in ver. 40, 41, and
expresses the changes in the fortunes
of men (as the last series did those of
countries), viz. how the poor and the
humble are raised and the rich and the
proud overthrown.
35. He turneth, etc. The language
is borrowed from Isa. xli. 18, 19, and
hence it has been supposed that the allu
sion here is to historical events; that
ver. 33 depicts the desolation of the land
whilst the Jews were captives in Babylon,
ver. 35 the change which took place on
their return (comp. with this the lan
guage of cxxvi. 4 : " Turn again our
captivity, as the streams in the south").
But the passages in Isaiah (comp. be
sides that already quoted, xxxv. 6, 7 ;
xlii. 15, 16 ; xliii. 19, 20 ; xliv. 27 ; 1. 2)
refer not to the Holy Land, bnt to the
deserts through which the exiles would
pass on their return ; and further, the
language employed is far too general to
be thus limited to one event. It describes
what frequently has occurred. The his
tories of Mexico and of Holland might
famish examples of such a contrast.

37. Which mat yield (lit. "and
they yield"). This rendering is in ac
cordance with the common usage of the
verb and noun. Others, however, render :
" and they (men) get their fruit of
increase," or the like. So Mendelss.,
" Jahrlich Frucht sammeln."
39. It is possible that this verse and
ver. 40 stand to one another in the re
lation of protasis and apodosis : "When
they are minished, etc. ... he poureth
contempt, etc." Another reverse is de
scribed as befallen those who had just
risen into prosperity. It may have hap
pened, says the poet, that the prosperity
of this race, living at peace amid its
herds and flocks, and the labors of its
hands, has provoked the envy and the
cupidity of some neighboring tyrant.
He destroys their harvest, and burns
their homestead, and drives off their
flocks; but God pours contempt upon
him, leads him astray in the wilderness
to perish, and restores the victims of
his tyranny to more than their former
fortune. But it is more probable that
as ver. 33, 34 present one picture of
which the contrast is given in ver. 35-37,
so ver. 38 and 39 are in opposition to
each other, and again ver. 40 and 41.
We thus have three successive contrasts,
the second (ver. 38, 39) being in the
reverse order to the other two. The
play on the word " minished " in ver.
38 and 39 indicates a close connection
between the two. On the other hand,
here, as in ver. 4, the subject may not
be found directly in what precedes, but

272 PSALM cvm.
40 " He poureth contempt upon princes.
And maketh them to wander in the waste (where there
is no) way."
41 And he setteth the poor on high out of affliction.
And maketh families like a flock.
42 The upright see (it) and are glad.
And all iniquity hath shut her mouth.
43 Who is wise that he should observe these things.
And that they should understand the loving-kindnesses
of Jehovah ?
may be general : " They, i.e. men, who- 42. The impression produced by these
ever they may be, are minished," etc. acts of Divine Providence. Comp. Job
40. This verse is a quotation from v. 16.
Job xii. 21 where it stands in a series 43. The conclusion, in the form of a
of participial sentences describing the question, such as that with which Hosea
method of God's government. Here it concludes his prophecy (xiv. 10). This
is introduced not only as forming a verse might, however, also be rendered,
direct antithesis to the following verse, either ( 1 ) " Who is wise and will observe
bnt as suggesting also an antithesis to these things ? Let them understand,"
ver. 36. etc., or (2) " Whoso is wise will observe,"
41 . Like A flock ; a flgure expres- etc., " and they shall understand," etc.
sive of large increase, as iu Job xxi. 1 1 .
" bn everywhere else (unless possibly in Isa. xhx. 12, where it is
opposed to Iiss) means the West, the " Sea " being the Mediterranean.
That evidently cannot be the meaning here, where another word is
already used for West. Perhaps, therefore, we ought to read 1"'ajo
(Kost.) or 'jo'^na , as in Isa. xliii. 5.
* "^yz lia'Uli'i . It seems unnecessary, with Olsh. and others, to read
'T\'yi Kb , as in ver. 40. The negative is implied in the word 'iio"'iBi .
The noun " way " is the accus. of nearer definition, as it is called
(Gesen. § 118, 3), "Waste as to way" = "a region where there is no
way," " a pathless desert." The LXX join 'r^'n'n with what follows, " a
way to a city of habitation," etc. Others would join it with ISPi (errarunt
a via), which, however, is too remote.

PSALM CVIII.

This Psalm consists of portions of two others ; the first half of it
being taken from the fifty-seventh Psalm, verses 7-11 [8-12], and
the latter half from the sixtieth, verses 5-12 [7-14]. It bears the

PSALM CVIU. 273
name of David, because the original passages both occur in Psalms
ascribed to him as their author. But there is no reason for concluding
that these fragments were thus united by David himself. Some later
poet probably adapted them to circumstances of his own time ; possibly
vdshed thus to commemorate some victory over Edom or Philistia.
The change in the tenth verse, as compared with the corresponding
passage in the sixtieth Psalm, may be held to favor this view. There
are a few other not very important variations of the text which will
be pointed out in the notes.
For the interpretation at large, the notes on the other two Psalms
may be consulted. [A Song. A Psalm of David.]
1 Mt heart is steadfast, 0 God,
I will sing and play, yea, even my glory.
2 Awake, lute and harp,
I will wake the morning-dawn.
3 I will give thanks unto thee, among the peoples, 0 Jehovah,
And I will play unto thee among the nations.
4 For great above the heavens is thy loving-kindness.
And thy truth (reacheth) unto the skies.
5 Be thou exalted above the heavens, 0 God,
And thy glory above all the earth.
6 That thy beloved may be delivered.
Save with thy right hand, and answer me.
7 God hath spoken in his holiness :
Let me exult, let me portion out Shechem,
And the valley of Succoth let me measure.
1. Mt heart is steadfast. In 4. Above; comp. cxiii. 4. In xxxvi.
Ivii. 7 [8] this is repeated. In the next 5 [6] the form of expression is somewhat
member of the verse, mt glort has different ; " in the heavens . . . unto the
been made a second subject, " I, (even) clouds " ; see also Jer. Ii. 9.
my glory," instead of being joined with 6-13. These verses are taken from
the following imperative, asin Ivii. 8 [9]. Ps. Ix. The passage consists of two
Mt glort, i.e. " my soul," with all lines of the first strophe of that Psalm,
those powers and faculties which belong and the second and third strophes com-
to the rational being, as created in the plete.
image of God. See Gen. xlix. 6. 6. The construction of this verse is
3. Jehovah. In Ivii. "Adonai" different from that in Ix. 5 [7]. Here it
(Lord). forms a complete sentence in itself, tha
VOL. II. 85

274 PSALM CIX.
8 Mine is Gilead, mine Manasseh,
Ephraim also is the defence of my head ;
Judah ii) my sceptre :
9 Moab is my washpot ;
Upon Edom will I cast my shoe ;
Over Philistia will I shout (in triumph).
10 Who will conduct me into the fenced city ?
Who hath led me unto Edom ?
11 Hast not thou, 0 God, cast us off ?
And wilt not go forth, 0 God, with our hosts ?
12 0 give us help from the adversary,
For vain is the salvation of man.
13 Through God we shall do valiantly.
And HE shall tread down our adversaries.
first clause depending on the second, cry aloud," the principal variation in
The verse was evidehtly necessary to the Psalm, see note on Ix. 8.
soften the abruptness of the transition 10. Fenced. The more common
from the former passage to this. word mivtsar is used instead of mdtsor
Answer me ; here in the text, and in Ix. The omission of the copula iu
not the Masoretic correction, as in Ix. ver. 9a, and of the pronoun iu ver. 11,
9. On the change in this verse, in- are the only other variations of any
stead of "Because of me, 0 Philistia, note.

PSALM CIX.

This is the last of the Psalms of imprecation, and completes the
terrible climax. The remarks already made in the note on xxxv. 22,
in the introduction to Ixix., and the note on verse 22, and in the Gen
eral Introduction to Vol. i. pp. 50-52, may be consulted here.
This Psalm differs from the ninety-sixth in being levelled against
one enemy chiefly, not against many. This circumstance may partly
account for the even more intensely-wrought and detailed character
of the curse. In the awfulness of its anathemas the Psalm surpasses
everything of the kind in the Old Testament. Who the person was
who was thus singled out for execration it is in vain to conjecture.
Those who hold, in accordance with the inscription, that the Psalm
was written by David, suppose that Doeg or Gush, Shimei or Ahitho-
phel, is the object of execration.

PSALM CIX. 275
In Acts i. 20, St. Peter combines a part of the eighth verse of this
Psalm, " his ofiice let another take,'' with words slightly altered from
the 25th [Heb. 26th] verse of the sixty-ninth Psalm, and applies them
to Judas Iscariot. Hence the Psalm has been regarded by the majority
of expositors, ancient and modern, as a prophetic and Messianic Psalm.
The language has been justified not as the language of David, but as
the language of Christ, exercising his office of Judge, or, in so far as
he had laid aside that office during his earthly life, calling upon his
Father to accomplish the curse. It has been alleged that this is the
prophetic foreshadowing of the solemn words, " Woe unto that man
by whom the Son of man is betrayed ; it were good for that man if
he had not been born" (Matt. xxvi. 24). The curse, in the words of
Chrysostom, " is a prophecy in form of a curse " (Trpocprp-iia iv ttSet
ctpas). The strain which such a view compels us to put on much of the
language of the Psalm ought to have led long since to its abandonment.
Not even the woes denounced by our Lord against the Pharisees can
really be compared to the anathemas which are here strung together.
Much less is there any pretence for saying that those words, so full of
deep and holy sorrow, addressed to the traitor in the Gospels, are
merely another expression of the appalling denunciations of the Psalm.
But terrible as these undoubtedly are, — to be accounted for by the
spirit of the old dispensation, not to be defended by that.of the new, —
still let us learn to estimate them aright. This is the natural voice
of righteousness persecuted. These are the accents of the martyr, not
smarting only with a sense of personal suffering, but feeling acutely,
and hating nobly, the triumph of wickedness.*
The strains of this Psalm are strains which have lingered even in
the Christian church, not softened by " the meekness and gentleness
of Christ." Let any one read the closing passage of Tertullian's treatise
De Spectaculis, in which he does not hesitate to speak of the joy and
1 Calvin defends the imprecations on this ground partly, but goes further :
" Tenendum est," he says, " Davidem quoties diras istas vel maledictionis vota
concepit, nee immodieo cartiis affcctu fuisse commotum, nee privatam causam
egisse, nee zelo inconsiderato fuisse accensum. Haec tria diligentcr notanda
sunt." He then warns us not to allege the example of David when wc are hur
ried away by our own passions, — for Christ's answer to his disciples will apply to
us, " Ye know not of what spirit ye are," — and severely comments on the sacri
lege of the monks, and particularly the Franciscans, who could be hired to recite
this Psalm as a curse against an enemy. He mentions as a fact coming within
his own knowledge, that a lady of quality in France had hired some Franciscans
to curse her only son in the words of this Psalm.

276 PSALM CIX.
exultation with which, at the day of judgment, he shall look upon the
agonies of the damned, of the delight with which he shall see the kings
of the earth, and the rulers who persecuted the name of the Lord, melt
ing in flames fiercer than those which they lighted for the Christians,
philosophers burning with their disciples, tragic actors shrieking with
real pain, the charioteer red upon his fiery wheel, and the wrestler
tossing in the flames, till the fierce invective ends in a perfect shout of
triumph as he thinks of the grandeur of the spectacle — let any one, I
say, read passages such as this, let him remember how long it was held
a sacred duty by Christian fathers and bishops to persecute, and then
let him pause before he passes a too sweeping judgment on " the fierce
vindictiveness " of the Jew.
[A mode of interpretation has, however, sometimes been advocated
which would get rid of the difficulty connected with the imprecations,
by supposing them not to be uttered by the Psalmist, but to be merely
cited by him as the words of his enemies directed against himself.
We have only at the end of verse 5 to apply the word " saying " which
is so commonly omitted in Hebrew before quotations (see, for instance,
ii. 2 ; xcv: 7, 10), and all that follows to the end of verse 19 may be
regarded as the malediction of the Psalmist's enemies. This is the
view of Kennicott and of Mendelssohn, and it has been recently revived
by Mr. Taylor ( Gospel in the Law, p. 244, etc.), who has also attempted
to apply the same method in explaining Ps. Ixix. (ibid. p. 225, etc.),
though I cannot think successfully. For not to mention that other
passages of vindictive and imprecatory character remain, of which no
such solution is possible, he is obliged to give an interpretation of verse
20 of this Psalm which to say the least of it is strained and improbable
(see note on the verse). It is, moreover, somewhat difficult to under
stand how the imprecations of the Psalmisfs enemies could be cited by
St. Peter, Acts i. 20, as prophetically descriptive of the fate of Judas.
Would not this almost imply that the Psalmist himself was a kind of
Old Testament Judas ? Moreover, if we could account for every im
precation in the Psalms on the principle advocated by Mr. Taylor, what
are we to say of such passages as the closing verses of Ps. Iviii., or
cxxxix. 19, or cxlix. 5-9 ?]
[Per the Precentor. A Psalm of David.]
1 0 God of my praise, be not silent !
1. GoD OF MT PRAISE, i.e. the object The God whom the Psalmist has hith-
of my praise (Jer. xvii. 14). "The erto found reason to praise will now also
name contains the ground of the prayer, give him fresh reason for praise. In

PSALM CIX.

277

2 For a wicked mouth and a deceitful mouth have they
opened against me ;
They have spoken against me with a false tongue.
3 Tea with words of hatred have they compassed me about.
And fought against me without a cause.
4 For my love they are adversaries unto me.
But I (give myself unto) prayer.
6 They have requited me also evil for good,
And hatred for my love.
6 Set thou a wicked man over him.
And let an adversary stand at his right hand.

this faith he offers the prayer : ' Be not
silent ' (comp. jcxviii. 1 ; xxxv. 22).
God speaks when he interferes to judge
and to save." — Delitzsch.
2. A WICKED MOUTH, ctc. ; lit. " a
mouth of the wicked, and a mouth of
deceit." Por the first, some would read,
by a slight change of the vowels, " a
mouth of wickedness," so as to bring
the two clauses into harmony. Stier,
however, thinks that the expression
" mouth of the wicked " may have been
purposely employed with reference to
the wicked man against whom the
Psalmist prays. Hence, too, the play
upon the word in ver. 6.
4. Thet are adversaries unto
ME, or " withstand me," (as in xxxviii.
20 [21] ) ; the verb is from the same root
as the noun in ver. 6, " an adversary,"
" a Satan " ; see also ver. 20, 29. It is
used like $iai3iiA\(u, SiiPoKos, of malicious
accusation. I (give mtself unto) prater; lit.
"I (am) prayer," i.e. one who prays,
having recourse to no other means of
defence. So in cxx. 7, "I am peace";
ex. 3, " Thy people are freewillingness."
To su pply " for them," as if the prayer
were for his enemies, as the Syriac
translator and others do (influenced
probably by the language of xxxv. 13),
is against the tenor of the Psalm. The
sense is, rather, " I find refuge in prayer,
committing myself and my cause to
thee." Comp. Ixix. 12, 13.

5. For the sentiment comp. xxxv. 12 ;
xxxviii. 20 [21].
6. Leaving the mass of his enemies,
the Psalmist suddenly singles out one,
on whom he pours forth the terrible
curse which follows. See a similar
transition in Iv. 12 [13j. Ver. 1-5 do
not give the whole grounds for the curse;
they are resumed in ver. 16-18.
Set, i.e. in an official capacity (comp.
the use of the noun from the same root,
" ofiice," in ver. 8). Here, " appoint as
judge," or " set over him with power
and authority to punish." For the con
struction, comp. Lev. x.xvi. 16.
An adversart, or, " Satan," (the
LXX, 8k£;3oAos ; Jerome, Satan). Let
him have not only an unrighteous judge,
but a malicious accuser. On the whole,
I prefer the more general word " adver
sary," which is that of the margin of
the E.V., especially as the same root
occurs several times in the Psalm ; see
note on ver. 4. It is not, indeed, certain
from the language of ver. 7 that the
process is supposed to take place before
a human tribunal ; for the " prayer "
there spoken of is prayer to God, not
supplication to the human judge. But,
on the other hand, " a wicked man " in
the parallelism, and the general tenor
of what follows, are rather in favor of
the rendering "adversary." In Zech.
iii. 1, where there is the same form of
expression, — "and he showed me Joshua
the high-priest standing before the angel

278

PSALM CIX.

7 When he is judged let him go forth condemned.
And let his prayer be turned into sin.
8 Let his days be few ;
His ojBice let another take.
9 Let his children be orphans,
And his wife a widow.
10 Let his children also be continually vagabonds and beg :
(Driven) from their ruined houses" let them seek (their
bread).
11 Let the extortioner lay snares for all that he hath ;
And let strangers spoil his labor.

of Jehovah, and the adversary (or, the
Satan) standing at his right hand to be
an adversary unto him," Satan himself
is doubtless meant, for the whole scene
is that of a vision, as also in Job i. 6-13.
This last passage shows how compara
tively early the name occurred as a
proper name. There is no pretence,
therefore, for saying that the use of the
name as that of the evil spirit is later
than this Psalm.
7. When he is JUDGED, etc. When
his case is tried let him go forth, leave
the court, with sentence pronounced
against him (lit. " guilty," comp. the
verb from the same root " to condemn,
to pronounce guilty," xxxviii. 33).
His prater, not addressed to the
human judge for mitigation of the sen
tence, but here, as always, prayer to
God. The criminal looking in vain for
pity or justice at the bands of man, turns
in his extremity to God ; but even there,
at the very fount of mercy, let mercy
fail him, let his prayer aggravate his
guilt. The utterance of such a wish is
the most awful part of the imprecation.
That prayer may thus draw down not
forgiveness but wrath, see Isa. i. 15;
Prov. xxviii. 9 (" He that turneth away
his ear from hearing the law, even his
prayer shall be abomination") ; xv. 8;
xxi. 27. But it is one thing to recog
nize this as a fact in the divine govern
ment of man ; it is another thing to im
precate it.

8. His office, implying that tha
person held a position of some impor
tance. The LXX, imoKoirii, whence in
Acts i. 20 the passage is applied to Judas.
In this verse a double loss is imprecated,
the loss of life, " let his days be few,"
and the loss of honor, " let another take
his office " ; in ver. 11a third is added,
the loss of property.
9. The curse passes in accordance
with the Mosaic law ("visiting the
iniquity of the fathers upon the children")
to the family of the offender. This has
occasioned considerable perplexity to
those who take the whole Psalm as pro
phetic, and aimed throughout at Judas
Iscariot. It is painful to see an expos
itor like Stier driven to maintain that
from this point the curse is directed
against the Jews at large, rather than
against Judas Iscariot, and that "wife"
and " mother " are used figuratively to
denote city, land, etc. Others have in
ferred from the passage that Judas must
have left a wife and children.
10. Beg. The form of the verb is
intensive or frequentative. The object,
" bread " (comp. xxxvii. 25 ; Prov. xx. 4),
must be supplied here, and with the verb
" seek " in the next member.
From their ruined houses ; lit.
" from, out of, their ruins."
11. Extortioner; lit. "creditor,"
LXX, SoveiffT^s. But Symm. has the
stronger word irpdKTdip. Lat snares
for, admirably descriptive of the arts

PSALM CIX.

279

12 Let there be none to continue kindness unto him ;
Neither let his fatherless children have any to favor
(them)."
13 Let his posterity be cut off ;
In the next generation let their name be blotted out.
14 Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with Jehovah,
And let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.
15 Let them always be before Jehovah,
That he may cut off the memory of them from the earth.
16 Because he remembered not to show kindness.
But persecuted the afflicted man and the poor.
And the broken in heart, to put (them) to death ;
17 And he loved cursing, and it came unto him.
And he had no delight in blessing, and it was far from
him;

of the usurer, never resting till he has
robbed his victim of " all that he hath."
12. Continue kindness to himself
in distress, or to his children. See the
same phrase xxxvi. 10 [11].
14, 15. The curse goes backward as
well as forward. The whole race of
the man is involved in it ; root and
branch he is accursed. Not the guilt of
the individual only, but the guilt of all
his guilty ancestors, is to be remembered
and visited ou his posterity. For the
great law, comp. Matt, xxiii. 32-36.
Hupfeld objects that the curse on " the
fathers " is pointless, as it could no
longer reach them ; but if I see rightly,
the object is to heighten the effect of the
curse as it falls upon the children men
tioned in ver. 13. So in our Litany:
"Remember not our offences, nor the
offences of our forefathers."
16. He remembered not : therefore
" let his iniquity be remembered," ver. 14.
To put to death. The intensive
form of the verb (Poel instead of Hiphil)
denotes the eagerness, the relentless
cruelty of the persecutors. The con
struction of this and the three following
verses admits of some question.
(i.) Ver. 16 may be connected with

ver. 15, as giving the reason for the
prayer of that verse, "Let them always
be," etc., " because he remembered not,"
etc. Then ver. 17, 18 stand alone de
scribing the man's wickedness and the
retribution it brought upon him. The
man's own curse, aimed at others, has
fallen back upon himself. What he has
sown, that he has also reaped. Thus
the figures " as with a garment," " like
water," " like oil," would denote the
penetrating, clinging nature of the curse,
or, as Stier expresses it : "As the man
has sinned through and through his
whole being, so is his whole being cursed
through and through." But there are
two objections to this explanation, (a)
The figures in a Hebniw writer would
more naturally denote ¦« hat is refreshing
than what is hurtful (comp. Job xv, 16,
xxxiv. 7, Prov. iii. 7, 8, and xvii. 22).
(i) The change to the expression of a
wish, when the figures employed are so
much weaker, has almost the effect of an
anti-climax. This is only partially ob
viated, even if, with Delitzsch, we make
the verb " covereth" emphatic, = " en
velope th."
(ii.) We may take ver. 16-18 as the
protasis, and ver. 1 9 as the apodosis .

280

PSALM CIX.

18 Yea, he clothed himself with cursing as with his raiment,
And it came like water into his bowels.
And like oil into his bones ;
19 Let it be unto him as the garment (wherewith) he covereth
himself.
And as the girdle that he is always girded withal.
20 This is the reward of mine adversaries from Jehovah,
And of them that speak evil against my soul.
21 But THOU, 0 Jehovah Lord, deal with me for thy name's
sake;
For thy loving-kindness is good : deliver thou me.
22 For I am afflicted and poor.
And my heart is wounded within me.
23 As a shadow, when it lengtheneth, am I gone hence,
I have been driven away as the locust.

"Because he persecuted the poor, be
cause cursing was as water to his thirsty
soul, as marrow and fatness to his bones,
let it be unto him as a garment, let it
wrap him round, and envelop him, cov
ering him from head to foot, and cling
ing to him like a girdle which never
leaves his loins." The verbs cannot be
rendered in ver. 17, 18, as in the E.V.,
as optatives. The tenses are past tenses,
and have been rightly so rendered by
the LXX.
20. Two explanations of this verse
are possible, according to the view we
take of the former part of the Psalm.
(1) It may mean, "My enemies may
curse me thus, but, after all, this cursing
retnrns upon themselves. This is the
reward they themselves receive from the
hand of the righteous Judge " (comp.
vii. 15, 16 [16„ 17]). (2) Those who
take the passage ver. 6-1 9,. not as the
words of the Psalmist, but as the words
of his enemies, suppose the genitive here
to be subjective : " This is mine adver
saries' award unto me ; this the sentence
they would procure against me from
Jehovah, when they pray. Set thou a
wicked man over him," etc. So Mr.

Taylor explains ( Gospel in the Law, p.
249), and illustrates this use of the gen
itive by such expressions as " the wages
ofsm," i.e. the wages sin gives. (Rom.
vi. 23); "children are an heritage of
the Lord," i.e. which the Lord bestows
(Ps. cxxvii. 3) ; "My reward is with
me" (Rev. xxii. 12). But the addition
"from Jehovah" renders the first ex
planation far the more probable : " This
is the reward which my adversaries re
ceive from Jehovah." The sentence is
clear and intelligible. But on the other
interpretation we should have expected,
not " from Jehovah " meaning " sup
plicated from Jehovah," but rather the
personal pronoun which can hardly be
omitted, " This is mine adversaries,
reward unto me."
21. But THOU. He turns from his
adversaries to God, from their curses to
his loving-kindness. The emphatic pro
noun, and the double name of God, both
mark the earnestness of the appeal. See
the use of these two names in Ixviii. 20
[21]; cxi. 7 [8]; cxli. 8; Hab. iii. 19.
The second member of the verse might
be rendered, " Deliver me, because thy
loving-kindness is good " ; or, again,

PSALM CIX. 281
24 My knees are become weak through fasting.
And my flesh hath failed * of fatness.
25 As for me, — I am become a reproach unto them ;
When they see me, they shake their head.
26 Help me, 0 Jehovah my God,
Save me according to thy loving-kindness.
27 And let them know that this is thy hand ;
Thou, Jehovah, hast done it.
28 Though they curse, yet thou blessest ;
They arose and were put to shame.
But thy servant rejoiceth.
29 Mine adversaries are clothed with confusion :
They cover themselves with their own shame (as with)
a mantle.
30 I will greatly give thanks unto Jehovah with my mouth.
And in the midst of a multitude will I praise him.
31 For he standeth at the right hand of the poor.
To save (him) from them that judge his soul.
the imperative, " Deliver me," might be and a return is made to the plural
transferred to the beginning of ver. 22. number, as in ver. 2-5.
23. As A shadow, etc. ; comp. cii. 28. The emphatic position of the pro-
12. noun before the second verb makes the
Am I GONE HENCE, Or, morc literally, rendering as given in the text more
" am I made to go hence." This passive probable than the optative rendering of
form (which only occurs here) denotes the E.V., "Let them curse," etc.
external compulsion. 30, 31. The Psalm closes with the
I HAVE BEEN DRIVEN AWAT ; lit. "I Confident and joyful anticipation that
have been shaken out," as from a cloth, the prayer in ver. 26, 27 is heard and
or mantle, or the deep folds of an East- answered. There is, further, a remark-
ern robe. See the use of the verb in able contrast between these verses and
Neh. V. 13, where the shaking out of the verses 6, 7. There, the adversary stands
upper part of the robe is symbolical of at the right hand of the wicked man to
the divine judgment. accuse him; here, Jehovah, at the right
As the LOCUST, as easily terrified hand of the poor, defenceless victim, to
and driven away. Comp. Job xxxix. protect him. There, the persecutor
20; Ex. X. 19. finds no mercy at the hands of the hu-
25. Shake their head. See on man judge, into whose hands he has
xxii. 7. fallen ; here, the Great Judge of all
27. At the close of the Psalm the rescues " the poor " from " those that
individual persecutor drops out of sight, judge his soul."
' ''y^Tm , "from, i.e. out of, away from, their ruins, i.e. the ruins of
their homes." The LXX have iK^XyjOrjTwcrav ck tSuv olKotriSuiv avriov,
VOL. II. 36

282 PSALM ex.
whence it has been conjectured that they read 1125'is (as in Ex. xii.
39 ; Job xxx. 5) instead of TO'i'n .
^ "jrin , a benefactor. This is the form everywhere, except in Prov.
xiv. 21, where it is isina. Like the verb, it is always construed with
the accus. of the person, consequently 'mh is not governed by "iiin, but
belongs to Tji .
" 'nb ini_. On this periphrastic future or optative, see on Lxii.,
note ^.
¦• Ujna (Kal. only here, elsewhere Piel), lit. hath lied or become
faithless, i.e. is changed (as LXX and Symm. rjXXomOr]) from fatness,
so as no longer to be fat. Or it may be rendered hath fallen away
(hath become faithless) from fat. ]'qvi here, as in Isa. v. 1 ; xxviii. 1,
fat not oil. The LXX, Sc' eXaiov ; Symm., aTro avaXeixj/ia's, " my flesh
has changed, grown lean for (want of) oil " ; but wrongly.

PSALM ex.
This Psalm claims emphatically to be the fruit and record of a
divine revelation. The words of the poet, though shaped in the poet's
heart, come to him from the very sanctuary of the Most High. It is
an oracle, an utterance of Jehovah which he has heard, and which he
is to declare to others. It is an oracle which concerns a king who
reigns in Zion ; it is addressed to one to whom the poet does homage,
calling him " Lord " ; it assures him of the high favor of Jehovah, who
lifts him to a share in his own regal dignity, giving him the victory
over all his enemies. The poet then pictures the king going forth to
battle, surrounded by his youthful warriors, bright and numberless as
the dew-drops on a summer's morn, willing to shed their heart's blood
in his service, each one robed as a priest, each one a soldier of God.
As he gazes on the vision which has been called up by the first
word from heaven, another divine word sounds in his ear, — the word
confirmed by the oath of Jehovah, that the king shall also be " a priest
forever after the order of Melchizedek."
Then he follows the king in imagination to the war, sees him win
ning victory after victory with great slaughter, aided by God himself
in the fight, and securing the fruits of his victories by a pursuit of his
enemies which knows no check even in the burning heat of an Eastern
6un. If we were at liberty to adopt in this Psalm the same principles of

PSALM ex. 283
interpretation which we have already adopted with regard to all the
other Messianic Psalms, it would present no special difficulty. We
might suppose it to have been written by some poet of David's time,
who would naturally speak of David himself as his lord. In the first
and lowest sense his words would apply to David as the theocratic
king ; in their ultimate and highest sense they would be fulfilled in
David's great descendant, in him who was both David's son and
David's Lord. But we seem to be precluded from this method of in
terpretation here by the argument which, according to all the evan
gelists, our Lord, in disputing with the Pharisees, builds upon the first
verse of the Psalm. " When the Pharisees were gathered together,"
St. Matthew tells us, " Jesus asked them, saying. What think ye of
Christ ? whose son is he ? They say unto him, the son of David.
He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord,
saying. The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand till I
make thine enemies thy footstool ? If David then call him Lord, how
is he his son?" (xxii. 41—45). In St. Mark's Gospel still more
emphatically : " And Jesus answered and said, while he taught in the
temple. How say the scribes that Christ is the son of David ? (For)
David himself ssiid by the Holy Ghost, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit
thou on my right hand, tUl I make thine enemies thy footstool. David
(therefore) himself calleth him Lord, and whence is he his son ? " (xii.
35-37). In St. Luke the quotation is introduced by " David himself
saith in the Book of Psalms," but there is no other variation of any
importance. Now in this argument all turns on these two points : first, that David
himself wrote the Psalm, and the next, that in writing he was moved
by the Holy Ghost. David himself, in a confessedly Messianic Psalm,
is speaking not of himself, but of his great descendant, and, so speak
ing, calls him his lord. David was able to do this, was able in faith
to recognize the true divine greatness of One who, according to the
flesh, would be his son, because he spake as the organ of a divine
revelation, as " he was moved by the Holy Ghost." This is clearly
the scope of our Lord's argument. And if so, then it is plain that
there can be no lower reference of the Psalm to David or any other
Jewish monarch. It is a prediction, and a prediction of the Christ as
the true King, as the everlasting Priest after the order of INIelchizedek.
Nor is there anything to startle us in such a conclusion, unless we are
prepared to deny altogether the possibility of a revelation of the
future. The real diflBculty is this, that, taking this view of the Psalm,
it differs from all the other prophetic Psalms, which, in their first

284 PSALM ex.
intention at least, refer to David or Solomon, or some other Jewish
monarch. And further, the language of the latter part of the Psalm
is such as to be only fairly applicable to an earthly king literally
reigning in Zion, and literally engaged in fierce and bloody war with
his enemies ; and therefore it becomes the more difficult to understand
on what principle the former part of the Psalm can be detached from
a primary reference to some reigning monarch.
Attempts have consequently been made to reconcile a primarj
reference in the Psalm with our Lord's argument as given by the
evangelists. It has been said, for instance, that the Psalm may have
been written, not by David, but by Nathan, or some other poet, in
honor of David, without either impugning our Lord's veracity or
affecting his argument. We are reminded that our Lord in his human
nature does not claim omniscience, and that in so trifling a matter as
the authorship of a particular poem there is no reason why any super
natural illumination should have been vouchsafed him. In matters
of literature and criticism his knowledge was the knowledge of his
time.^ It is conceivable, therefore, that he might have adopted, as
man, the popular view respecting the authorship of the books of Holy
Scripture. Or, as Neander puts it : " If Christ really named David
as the author of the Psalm, we are not reduced to the alternative of
detracting from his infallibility and unconditional truthfulness, or else
of admitting that David really wrote it. The question of the author
ship was immaterial to his purpose ; it was no part of his divine calling
to enter into such investigations." (Life of Christ, Bohn's ed., p. 403.)
But whilst we may freely admit that our blessed Lord's human
knowledge was subject to limitation, since this is implied in the Gospel
narrative, and we have his own express declaration to the same effect,
it does not follow that we are justified in deciding for ourselves where
the line is to be drawn — when it is that he speaks only as a man,
when it is that his divine nature operates. Surely on so mysterious a
subject it is wiser and more reverent to abstain from speculation ; wiser
and more reverent, to say the least, not lightly to charge him with
error to whom we look as the source and fountain of truth. But apart
from this, how does the argument hold, if the Psalm was not written
by David, but by some one else? Neander contends that it is not
invalidated. " Its principal point," he says, " is precisely that of the
Psalm; the idea of the theocratic king — king and priest at once — raised
up to God, and looking with calm assurance for the end of the conflict
with his foes, and the triumphant estabhshment of his kingdom. This
I So Meyer, Evang. des MatthSus, kap. xxii. 43.

PSALM ex. 285
idea could never be realized in any man ; it was a prophecy of Christ,
and in him it was fulfilled. This idea went forth necessarily from the
spirit of the old dispensation, and from the organic connection of events
in the old theocracy ; it was the blossom of a history and a religion
that were in their very essence prophetical. In this regard it is a mat
ter of no moment whether David uttered the Psalm or not. History
and interpretation, perhaps, may show that he did not. But whether
it was a conscious prediction of the royal poet, or whether some other,
in poetic but holy inspiration, seized upon this idea — the natural blossom
and offshoot of Judaism — and assigned it to an earthly monarch, although
in its true sense it could never take form and shape in such an one,
BtUl it was the idea by which the Spirit — of which the inspired seer,
whoever he may have been, was but the organ — pointed to Jesus." All
very true, except that it does not show how it is possible for our
Lord's argument to stand if we reject the Davidic authorship of the
Psalm. If we hold ourselves at liberty to assume that our Lord was
mistaken on this point, then his argument might certainly still be of
force as against the Pharisees, who, like himself, held the Psalm to
be David's, but has no force whatever for ourselves. For the very
hinge of the argument turns on the circumstance that David wrote
the Psalm. " The Messiah, you admit, is David's son. How, then,
doth David in spirit call him Lord ? " Suppose the prophet Nathan,
or some poet of David's time, to have written the Psalm in honor of
David, and the argument falls to the ground.^
It has been suggested by others, in order to escape from the em
barrassment in which the argument involves them, that our Lord's
object, in this instance, was not to establish any particular doctrine,
as he had before established against the Sadducees the doctrine of
a resurrection, but only to silence his adversaries. It was quite un
necessary for him, therefore, to do more than argue from the premises
admitted by the Pharisees, that the Psalm was a Messianic Psalm,
and that it was written by David. But this distinction is too subtile.
As in his conflict with the Sadducees he proved the doctrine of the
resurrection from the Pentateuch, so in his conflict with the Pharisees
he showed from the Psalms that the Messiah must be not only the
Son of Man, but the Son of God. His object was, in each case, to
establish a truth which had been gainsaid by his opponents.
It seems to me, then, that we are shut up to the conclusion, that in
this lofty and mysterious Psalm, David, speaking by the Holy Ghost
1 But see the remarks of the Bishop of St. David's, quoted in the note at the
end of the Psalm, p. 299.

286 PSALM ex.
(e'l' dyioi TTvevpari), Was carried beyond himself, and did see In pro
phetic vision that his son would also be his lord. Nor is it altogether
strange, altogether inconsistent with the course of God's providence,
that such a vision should be vouchsafed to one to whom so clear a
promise was given that the Messiah should come of his seed, and who
in his " last words '' pictured in such glowing terms the Righteous
Ruler and the blessings of his righteous reign.'
Whilst, however, we maintain what our Lord's argument compels
us to maintain, that the Psalm is a prediction, we cannot tell to what
extent it was a conscious prediction. We do not know how far
David himself needed an interpretation of the vision in which he saw
the majestic figure of the priestly king. His words may have been
higher than his thoughts : they may have been pregnant with a mean
ing which he did not see. Unless we deny all inspiration, we must
be prepared to admit this. At the same time he is not wholly lifted
out of his own age and time. If he speaks of a Messiah to come,
and so far sees something of his greatness as to call him " lord," he
is still suffered to conceive of him, partially at least, as an earthly
monarch, fighting bloody battles with his enemies. The Psalm thus
sinks down towards its close into — must we not say ? — a lower key.
The image which it presents to us is an image partly of fine gold, but
partly of clay. We may, indeed, think ourselves at liberty to take the
earthly words as symbols of spiritual truths. We may understand the
victories of the Messiah as won in the kingdom of the mind and heart,
not as won with sword and spear. But we cannot suppose that it
was with any such meaning that David wrote " He shall judge among
the nations, filling them with corpses." To his eye the struggle was
one of flesh and blood, the victory such as he had himself obtained,
the triumph that of an earthly conqueror.
Again as we may allow that the prediction was, partially at least,
unconscious, or that the vision was obscure, so we may also admit
that it was vouchsafed in connection with circumstances and events
1 It is impossible not to feel how not only our Lord's argument, but also that
of the Epistle to the Hebrews fails, if we suppose the Psalm to have a first refer
ence to David. If the writer of the Epistle had supposed that David himself was
a priest after the order of Melchizedek, what would have become of his argument
that the abrogation of the Levitical priesthood was signified by the fact that the
priesthood of Christ was after the order of Melchizedek ? For if David, who
raised the Levitical priesthood to a pitch of importance and splendor which it had
never before possessed, was a priest after the order of Melchizedek, it is not clear
how the priesthood of Christ was a proof that the Levitical priesthood had come
to an end, or that the one positively excluded the other.

PSALM ex. 287
to which it would stand in some definite relation. Prophecy — and
the inspired songs of Psalmists are often prophecies — never seems
wholly to forsake the ground of history. However extended the vista
which stretches before him, that vista begins at the prophet's feet.
The present is his home and his starting-point, though he may make
" all the ages " his own. So we must look to some occurrence in
David's life for the secret impulse of his song; and none seems so
naturally and obviously to associate itself with the language of the
Psalm, as that marked occurrence to which, in all probability, many
other Psalms are due, the bringing up of the ark of God into the tab
ernacle which he had prepared for it in Zion. David on that occasion
danced before the ark, girded with a linen ephod, offered burnt-offer
ings and peace-offerings, and blessed the people in the name of the
Lord of hosts ; ' and thus, though but in a passing and temporary
manner, prefigured in his own person the union of the kingly and
priestly offices. Zion had become, by the removal of the ark thither,
the seat of Jehovah's visible presence. The king, therefore, who made
Zion his abode, was himself in some sense the assessor of Jehovah on
his throne. Jerusalem, tradition said, was the ancient Salem, the cap
ital of Melchizedek, and the memories which thus lingered about it,
and hallowed it, may have helped David to understand how the true
Ruler, Priest as well as King, should be Priest, not after the ancient
and venerable order of Aaron, but after the order, still more ancient
and more venerable, of Melchizedek. It may, however, have been
wisely ordered not only with a view to the future Antitype, but with
regard to the present relation between the king and the priesthood,
that no hint should be given of any unwarranted assumption on the
part of the one of the duties belonging to the other. David did not
interefere with the Levitical priesthood as existing in his own day ;
he pointed to a time when that priesthood would be superseded by a
higher. It may throw still further light on some of the expressions in the
Psalm, if we recollect in what a spirit and with what resolves David
had begun his reign, how jealously he desired to maintain the purity
1 See 2 Sam. vi. 14-18. I own I cannot see any evidence in this passage that
" David was recognized as the head of the priesthood," or that " the union of
priesthood and kingship in David was more complete than in any other sovereign
in Judah." We read of no repetition of such acts as those here recorded ; the
occasion itself was peculiar ; and certainly no stress can be laid upon the expres
sion " he offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before the Lord," for the same
might be said of any one who brought the victims to the priests to sacrifice, e.g.
Solomon and all the congregation (1 Kings viii. 5).

288 PSALM ex.
of his household and of his court (see Psalm ci.), how firm his deter
mination was to have recognized under his sway the great ideal to
which Israel was called : " Ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests
and a holy nation." For the people of the king in the Psalm who
offer themselves willingly to fight his battle are priestly soldiers. If
the king is henceforth to be a priest on his throne, he is so as embody
ing in his own person the priestly character of the people. He is not
only the military chief, he is the religious head of the nation, the rep
resentative both of church and state.
It has been said that it is of importance for the right understanding
of the Psalm, and especially of the fourth verse of the Psalm, to bear
in mind the military character of the Hebrew priesthood. It is per
haps of more importance to bear in mind that the whole nation was at
once a nation of soldiers and a nation of priests. They were the sol
diers of God, pledged to a crusade, a holy war ; pledged to the exter
mination of all idolatry and all wickedness, wherever existing. The
character of the war marked the character of the soldiers. They were
God's " sanctified ones." They were set apart as priests for his service.
That zeal for God should have manifested itself chiefly in the priest
hood, and that they should not have hesitated to draw the sword, is
readily accounted for by the fact that in them the ideal of the nation
culminated ; they were in every sense its representatives.
The Psalm is not only quoted by our Lord as Messianic in the pas
sages already referred to ; it is more frequently cited by the New Tes
tament writers than any other single portion of the ancient Scriptures.
Comp., besides those passages in the Gospels, Acts ii. 34, 35 ; 1 Cor.
XV. 25 ; Heb. i. 13 ; v. 6; vii. 17, 21 ; x. 13.
In later Jewish writings nearly every verse of the Psalm is quoted
as referring to the Messiah.
Ver. 1. In the Talmud (Sanhedrin, f. 108, 2) it is said: "God
placed king Messiah at his right hand, according to Ps. ex. 2, and
Abraham at his left. But the face of the latter grew pale, and he said :
' The son of my son sitteth at thy right hand, but I at thy left.' And
God appeased him, saying : ' The son of thy son is at my right hand,
but I (according to ver. 5) am at thy right hand.' " In the Midrash
Tehillim on this passage, it is said, " God spake thus to the Messiah ; "
and on Ps. ii. 7 the same explanation is given ; in the same Midrash
on Ps. xviii. 36 we read (fol. 14, 3) : " R. Judah in the name of R.
Channa, the son of Chanina, says : ' In the age to come [i.e. the new
Messianic dispensation] will the Holy One — blessed be he ! — set the
Messiah at his right hand (as it is written in Psalm ex.), and Abraham

PSALM ex. 289
at his left.' " In the book Zohar (Genes, fol. 35, tol. 139) it is said:
" The higher degree spake unto the lower, ' Sit thou at my right
hand.' " And again (Numb. fol. 99, col. 394), " The righteous (Jacob)
spake to the Messiah, the son of Joseph, ' Sit thou at my right hand.' "
According to the same authority (Genes, fol. 35, col. 139), R. Simeon
explains the words, " Jehovah said unto my Lord," of the union of the
Jews and the heathen in one kingdom by the Messiah. R. Saadia
Gaon, commenting on Dan. vii. 13, " And behold there came with the
clouds of heaven one like unto the Son of Man,'' writes : " This is the
Messiah, our righteousness, as it is written in the one hundred and
tenth Psalm, 'Jehovah said unto my lord,' etc. And in Dan. v. 14,
' And he gave unto him power,' etc. As it is written in Psalm ii. 6, 7,
' But I have set my king,' etc."
Ver. 2. According to Bereshith Rabba (sect. 85, fol. 83, 4), on Gen.
xxxviii. 18, the sceptre of the kingdom which the Lord sends out of
Zion is the king Messiah, of whom Isaiah (xi. 1) speaks : " There shall
go forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse." So according to Bammidbar
Rabba (sect. 18, near the end), "The rod of Aaron is preserved, that
it may be in the hand of king Messiah, which is the meaning of ' the
rod of thy strength.' " And according to Tanchuma ( Yalkut Shimeoni,
ii. fol. 124, 3), the Messiah will smite the nations with the same rod or
sceptre. Ver. 3. The words " From the womb of the morning," etc., are
applied in Bereshith Rabba to the Messiah, as follows : " R. Barachias
says, God spake to the Israelites : ' Ye say unto me. We are orphans
and have no father (Lam. iv. 3). The Redeemer (Goel) likewise,
whom I shall raise up for you, hath no father,' and it is said in Zech.
vi. 12, -Behold a man whose name is the Branch (Zemach), and he
shall branch out of his place.' And so saith Isaiah (liii. 2) : ' He
groweth up before him as a shoot.' It is of the same also that David
speaks in Ps. ex. 3, ' From the womb of the morning thou hast the
dew of thy youth ' ; and in Ps. ii. 7, ' The Lord hath said unto me,
Thou art my Son.' "
Ver. 4. In Bereshith Rabba, on Gen. xiv. 18, it is remarked of
Melchizedek, king of Salam, "This is what the Scripture says, Ps.
ex. 4, ' The Lord hath sworn and will not repent. Thou art a priest
for ever after the order of Melchizedek.' And who is this ? It is the
King Messiah, as in Zech. ix. 9, ' Behold thy King cometh to thee :
He is righteous, and bringing salvation.' But what did he? He
brought forth bread and wine, as in Ps. Ixxii. 16, ' There shall be
abundance of corn in the land ' ; and this it is which is written, ' He
VOL. II. 3^

290 PSALM ex.
was a priest of the Most High God.' The Targum on this verse runs :
" For thou hast been appointed Prince of the age to come, and that for
thy merit's sake, because thou art a righteous King."
Ver. 6. On the words, " He will judge among the nations," it is said
in the book Zohar (Genes, fol. 29, col. 113), " The Holy One — blessed
be he! — hath determined to clothe the King Messiah with purple,
that he may judge the nations, as the Psalm saith, ' He shall judge.' "
Ver. 7. The Midrash Tehillim on " He shall drink of the brook m
the way " is, " In the time to come [the age of the Messiah], streams
of blood shall flow from the wicked, and the birds shall come to drink
of the stream of blood, as it is written, ' He shall drink.' " See the
authorities in Raym. Martini, Pugio Fidei ; Schottgen, De Messid,
p. 246.
It is not surprising, however, to find that by many of the Rabbles this
line of interpretation was abandoned. So long as the Psalm was
admitted to be a Messianic Psalm, the argument based upon it by our
Lord and his apostles was irresistible. Accordingly, we find as early
as the second century that the interpretation common among the Jews
was that which explained the Psalm of Hezekiah. Both Justin Martyr
in his Dialogue with Trypho (§ 33, 83), and Tertullian in his Treatise
against Marcion (lib. v. cap. 9), set themselves to meet this as the then
current Jewish application. The Rabbles of Justin's days interpreted
the words " sit thou on my right hand " as a command to Hezekiah to
sit on the right side of the temple, safe under the divine protection,
when the messengers of the king of Assyria came to him with the
threat of their master's vengeance.^ Chrysostom tells us that the Jews
of his time held that these words were addressed, not to the Messiah,
but to Abraham, or Zerubbabel, or David. The Rabbies of the middle
ages all agree in repudiating the Messianic interpretation. Rabbi
Solomon Isaki (Rashi) mentions that some of the earlier Rabbies ex
pounded the Psalm of Abraham, whom in Gen. xxiii. the children of
Heth called " my lord." He himself attempts to carry out this expo
sition in the most extraordinary way ; interprets the " enemies '' of
verse 2 of the four kings mentioned Gen. xiv. (because of their con
nection with the history of Melchizedek), and finds an allusion in the
" corpses," verse 6, first to the carcasses of the animals which Abraham
divided. Gen. xv., and then to the dead bodies of the Egyptians at the
1 Conf. Tertullian {ut supra): "Dicunt denique (Judaei) hunc Psalmum in
Ezechiam cecinisse, quia is sederit ad dextram templi, et hostes ejus averterit
Deus ct absumpserit ; Propter ea igitur, etc. ante luciferum ex utero generavi te, in
Ezechiam convenire. et in Ezechiae nativitatem."

PSALM ex.

291

Red Sea, Ex. xiv. Immediately after he suggests another applica
tion of the Psalm to David, and on verse 6 yet another to Hezekiah
and the destruction of the Assyrians. Aben-Ezra and Kimchi argue
that David is the subject of the Psalm, explaining the inscription to
mean not " of David," but "for or concerning David." The former
sees a reference to the war with the Philistines, 2 Sam. xxi. 15-17,
when David, having nearly lost his life, his men sware unto him, say
ing, " Thou shalt not go forth with us any more to battle, that thou
quench not the light of Israel." In accordance with this, Aben-Ezra
explains the address in the first verse of the Psalm to mean, " Remain
safe in thy stronghold of Zion, trusting in my help ; go not forth to
battle ; I will subdue thine enemies for thee, even when thou art not
present in the battle." [Psalm of David.]
1 The oracle " of Jehovah unto my lord :
" Sit thou at my right hand.
Until I make thine enemies thy footstool."

1. Sit thou at mt right hand, i.e.
on my throne. The expression denotes
that the person thus honored occupied
the second place in the kingdom, taking
rank immediately after the king, and
also sharing as viceroy in the govern
ment. The custom was a common one
in antiquity. AVe find allusion to it
both amongst the Arabs and the Greeks.
The viceroys of the ancient Arab kings
sat on the right hand of the king. Ibn
Cotaiba says : " The Ridafat is the dig
nity of sitting next to the king. But
the Radaf(he who holds rank after the
king) sits on his ri^^ht hand, and if the
king drinks, the Radaf drinks next, be
fore all others, and if the king goes out
upon an expedition, the Eadaf sits on
his seat and acts in his room till he
returns, and if the king's army goes
forth to war, the Radaf receives a fourth
part of the booty." — Eichhorn, Monum.
Antiquiss. Hist. Arabuni, p. 220.
Similarly the Greek poets spoke of
their gods as avvi^poi, icdpeSpoi avvBpovot
with Zeus. So Pindar {Fragm. Ed.
Schneider, p. 55) speaks of Minerva as
associated with Zeus in his sovereignty.

and receiving his commands for the
other gods : Seliai/ Karh. X^'^P^ rov irarphs
Kade^o/ievTjv, tAs ivTuK^s rots 6eo7s airo-
Sexeadai, on which Aristides observes
that Minerva was ayyeXov fiei(aiv, and
that she tuv a.yy4\(t)V &\\ols ^AXo iwi-
rdrTei, irpdrr} vapcL rov irarphs Trapa\afl-
$dvov(Ta. And Callimachus {Hymn, in
Apoll. ver. 28) says that Apollo is able
to reward the chorus, if they sing to
please him, because he sits at the right
hand of Zeus. Svvarai ydp, iirsl Ait
Se^ihs ?icrTat. In both these passages it
is clear that this session at the right
hand of Zeus indicates not merely a
mark of honor conferred, but actual par
ticipation in the royal dignity and power.
It is true that we have no exactly par
allel instance in the Old Testament.
When Solomon placed Bathsheba on
his throne, and gave her a seat at his
right hand (1 Kings ii. 19), this was
done as a mark of honor, not as asso
ciating her with himself in the govern
ment. So also in Ps. xlv. 9 [10], the
queen consort stands at the right hand
of the king as the place of honor —
though possibly there the expression

292

PSALM ex.

2 The sceptre of thy strength shall Jehovah stretch forth out
of Zion (saying) :
" Rule thou in the midst of thine enemies."

may denote more than this, may signify
her joint sovereignty, for the Tyrians
are said to entreat her favor with gifts,
ver. 12 [13]. The same mark of honor
was conferred by the king of Syria on
Jonathan (1 Mace. ii. 19). There is a
more nearly parallel passage in Matt.
XX. 20, etc. (comp. Mark x. 35, etc.),
where the mother of Zebedee's children
asks for her two sons that they may sit
one on the right hand and the other on
the left of our Lord in his kingdom.
Ewald, indeed, supposes that the king
is represented as sitting in the war-
chariot, at the right hand of Jehovah.
This, no doubt, agrees with the martial
character of the Psalm, but it does not
agree so well with the language of ver. 2.
It is evident that in the Psalm not an
occasional honor, but a permanent dig
nity is meant, for Jehovah is to aid the
king in effecting the subjugation of his
enemies : he is to sit at Jehovah's right
hand till that subjugation is eflected.
If, then, this be the meaning, if the
solemn address " Sit thou at my right
hand " is equivalent to saying, " Be thou
associated with me in my kingly dignity,
in my power and universal dominion,"
then the best comment on the passage
is to be found, as even some of the
Jewish interpreters have seen, in Dan.
vii. 13, 14, where "one like the Son of
Man comes with the clouds of heaven,
and is brought unto the Ancient of Days,
and there is given him dominion, and
glory, and a kingdom, that all people,
nations, and languages should serve
him." The two passages, the one from
the Psalm and the other from Daniel,
are, in fact, combined by our Lord him
self, when standing before the high-
priest he says, " Hereafter ye shall see
the Son of Man sitting on the right
hand of God, and coming in the clouds
of heaven." The same interpretation
is given by St. Peter, Acts ii. 34-36.
Comp. Eph. i. 20-22; Heb. i. 13, 14.
Until. St. Paul, in 1 Cor. xv. 24-28,

gives a limitation to the meaning of the
passage which does not lie on the surface.
He argues from the words of this verse
that Christ must reign until (i.e. only
until) he has put all enemies under his
feet, and that then his mediatorial reign
will cease, and he will give np the
kingdom to God, even the Father. But
this sense is not necessarily conveyed
by the use of the conjunction "until."
It does not follow that what takes place
until a certain limit is reached must
cease immediately afterwards. Thus,
for instance, in cxii. 8, " He shall not
be afraid until he see his desire upon his
enemies" ; Gen. xxviii. 15, " I will not
leave thee until I have done that which
I have spoken to thee of" ; Deut. vii. 24,
" There shall no man be able to stand
before thee, until thou have destroyed
them," — the "until "is clearly not to
be pressed as if it were equivalent to
"only until, not afterwards." The con
text must determine in each case whether
the " until " is inclusive or exclusive of
a time subsequent to the limit mentioned,
and here the general tenor of the Psalm
does not seem to favor a restriction to
previous time. This is accordingly one
of those instances in which a peculiar
turn is given in the New Testament to the
language of the Old. See the remarks
of Calvin quoted in the notes on xcv.
11; civ. 3.
Tht footstool; lit. "a stool for
thy feet," an emblem of complete sub
jection'; comp. viii. 6 [7] ; xviii. 38 [39],
The allusion is probably to the custom
of conquerors placing their feet on the
necks of the conquered. See Josh. x.
24, 25.
2. Having announced the oracle which
he has received by divine revelation, the
poet turns to address the king, and de
clares by what means he is to conquer,
viz. by the help of God, and the wUling
courage and self-sacrifice of his own
people. The Son of David has his royal
seat in Zion, the city of David. Thence,

PSALM ex.

293

3 Thy people *• offer themselves willingly in the day that thou
warrest.

by the grace of God, he shall give laws
to the world, for Jehovah himself, whose
vicegerent he is, in whose strength he
rules, holds and sways his sceptre. So
the throne of even the earthly king is
in like manner called the throne of
Jehovah (1 Chron. xxviii. 5 ; xxix. 23).
The sceptre op tht might, i.e. of
" thy kingly majesty," as in Jer. xlviii.
17; Ezek. xix. 14. Chrysostom plays
upon the word j>d^Sos (LXX) as a rod
of strength and consolation, as in xxiii.
4 ; a rod of chastisement, as in ii. 9 ;
1 Cor. iv. 21 ; a symbol of kingly rule,
as in Isa. xi. 1 ; Ps. xlv. 6 [7]. It was
by this rod, he says, that the disciples
wrought when they subdued the world
in obedience to the command, " Go and
make disciples of all nations " ; a rod
far more powerful than that of Moses,
"for that divided rivers, this brake in
pieces the ungodliness of the world."
And then with profound truth he adds,
" Nor would one err who should call the
cross the rod of power ; for this rod
converted sea and land, and filled them
with a vast power. Armed with this
rod, the apostles went forth throughout
the world, and accomplished all that
they did, beginning at Jerusalem." The
cross, which to men seemed the very
emblem of shame and weakness, was, in
truth, the power of God.
Rule thou, or, " have dominion,"
the same word as in Ixxii. 8. The im
perative contains in itself a prediction
or promise of fulfilment. See for the
same useof the imperat. xxxvii. 3 ; Gen.
XX. 7. These words are probably (as
many of the best commentators sup
pose) addressed by Jehovah to the king.
Others think that the poet himself thus
speaks. In the midst of thine enemies.
Rosenmiiller well explains : " Hostes
tuos non quidem protinus delebit Jova,
sed tuae potentiae metu injecto continebit.
Qui Davidem hac oda cani existimant,
illi vicinos Palaestinae populos indicari
volunt, hoc sensu ; imperabis, quamvis

circum circa hostes, Philistaei, Am-
monitae, Moabitae, alii, sint ; coll. 2 Sam.
iii. 18. In medio i.e. medios inter hostes,
ut sensus sit ; quamvis terrarum orbis
hostibus tuis repletus sit, non tamen hi
impedire poterunt, quominus regnum
tuum in eorum medio propagetur."
3. Tht people. In the midst of his
enemies, the King has his own faithful
adherents. God, who holds the sceptre
of his Anointed, and assures him of vic
tory, has also given him a willing people,
working in their- hearts by his Spirit
joyfulness and courage, and ready self-
sacrifice. Comp. Isa. xxviii. 5, 6, " In
that day shall the Lord of hosts be for
a crown of glory . . . and for strength to
them that turn the battle to the gate."
Offer themselves willingly ; lit.
"are free-will offerings," i.e. give, de
vote themselves as a willing sacrifice.
Comp. for the form of expression cix. 4,
" I am prayer," and for the sacrificial
sense of the word Ex. xxxv. 29 ; Lev.
xxii. 18, 21, 23; Amos iv. 5. This in
terpretation harmonizes best with the
priestly character assigned both to the
warriors and to their leader. Otherwise
the word often loses its sacrificial mean
ing ; and so here many render, " thy
people are most willing " ; lit. " are
willingnesses," (plur. for sing, as more
emphatic, comprising every possible as
pect of the idea contained in the word,
alacrity, readiness, devotion in every
form). They are no hireling soldiery ;
they servenot of constraint nor for filthy
lucre. Por this sense of the word, see
the notes on Ii. 12 [14] ; liv. 6 [8], and
comp. Hos. xiv. 4 [5], " I will love them
fi-eely." The reflexive form of the verb
from the same root is used in like man
ner in Judges v. 2, 9, of the people " will
ingly offering themselves " for the war
against Jabin and Sisera.
In the day that thou warrest ;
lit. " in the day of thy host," i.e. in the
day thou musterest thy host to the battle ;
or we may render, " in the day of thy
power," for the word occurs in both sig-

294

PSALM ex.

In holy attire ;
(As) from the womb of the morning.
Thou hast the dew of thy youth.

nifications ; for the former, see for in
stance, Ex. xiv. 28 ; Deut. xi. 4 ; 2 Kings
vi. 15 ; for the latter, Ps. xviii. 32 [33],
39 [40].
In holt attire. Comp. xxix. 2 ;
xcvi. 9. The youthful warriors who
flock to the standard of the king are
clad in holy attire, combatants in a holy
war. Comp. Isa. xiii. 3, 4, " I have
commanded my sanctified ones, I have
also called my mighty ones for mine
anger. . . . The Lord of hosts mustereth
the host of the battle." ( See also 1 Sam.
xxv. 28 ; Jer. vi. 4, " Sanctify ye war
against her " ; Ii. 27, " Raise a standard
blow a trumpet among the nations,
sanctify the nations against her.") But
more is implied perhaps than this. The
" holy garments " are priestly garments.
They who wear them are priestly war
riors, in the train of a priestly leader.
If so, the imagery is the same as in Rev.
xix. 14, where it is said that " the armies
in heaven followed him (whose name is
called the Word of God) upon white
horses, clothed in flne linen, white and
clean." The garments of Aaron and
the priests were of linen (Ex. xxviii. 39.
42; Lev. vi. 10 [3] ; xvi. 4), and they
were called " holy garments " (Ex.
xxviii. 4 ; Lev. xvi. 4. The Hebrew
word there rendered garments is diflferent
from that employed in this, and the two
parallel passages in the Psalms, but ap
parently the same thing is intended.
Some have supposed that the allusion
is to a solemn religious service held be
fore going out to battle, but we have no
evidence of the existence of any such
custom. Instead of " in holy attire,"
another reading found in several mss.
is " on the holy mountains." This
reading, which only involves the slightest
possible change in a single letter, is as
old as Jerome, who has in montibus Sanctis.
It would describe the armed host as
going forth to the battle from the
mountain ridge on which Zion lay (see

on Ixxvi. 4), and from which Jehovah
stretches out the sceptre of his Anointed.
From the womb of the morning.
According to the Masoretic punctuation,
these words belong to the preceding
member, " In holy attire, from the
womb of the morning," the principal
accent being after " thou warrest," and
the next chief accent after " morning."
It is clear, however, that they belong to
the figure of the dew, and the only
question is, whether the words " in holy
attire " should be connected with the
previous noun, " thy people," or with
the following, "thy young men," — a
question of little importance. Another
rendering of the words is possible. A
comparison may be implied, "More than
the dew from the womb," etc., the con
struction being the same as in iv. 7 [8],
where see note.
Dew of tht touth, or, " thy youth
ful dew." Elsewhere the word {yalduth)
means the time of youth, as in Eccl. xi. 9,
10 ; and so it has been understood here,
the object being thus to mark the vigor
and prowess of the leader, as the dew
denotes fresh and early beauty. But
the parallelism requires us to take " thy
youth " here in a collective sense, =" thy
young men," "thy youthful warriors."
Aben-Ezra makes the parallelism yet
more complete by rendering n'ddvoth
" willingnesses " ver. 3, as if it were
geshem n'ddvoth, " a bountiful rain "
(Ixviii. 9 [10]), and explains "If thou
needest to make war, thy people shall
go forth to thee as plentiful showers."
[It would be quite possible to render the
line " thy youth is (or, cometh) to thee
as the dew."] This has been adopted
by Mendelssohn, who observes: "The
force of the figure is, that they shall flow
to him, and hasten to serve him, as
fruitful showers do the field. The mean
ing is repeated in the next hemistich,
which is as if the Psalmist had said, ' In
the day of thy battle thy young men are

PSALM ex.

295

4 Jjhovah hath sworn, and will not repent ;
" Thou art a priest forever
After the order" of Melchizedek."

to thee (as) dew from the womb of the
morning.' And how beautiful is the
figure which likens the act of men who
make to the battle to drops of rain, and
the act of young men who are anxious
to try their strength in battle to drops
of dew, which are smaller and finer
than rain." The dew which, especially
in the East, falls so copiously, is most
probably employed here as a figure de
noting inflnite multitude. Comp. the use
of the figure in 2 Sam. xvii. 11, 12,
" Therefore I counsel that all Israel be
gathered to thee . . . as the sand that is
by the sea for multitude . . . and we will
light upon him as the dew falleth on the
ground," etc. Others find the point of
comparison here in the brightness and
freshness of the dew ; and this may be
suggested by the figure as well as mul
titude. In Micah v. 7 [6] the point of
comparison seems to be different : "And
the remnant of Jacob shall be in the
midst of many people as a dew from
Jehovah, as showers upon the grass,
that turneth not for man nor waiteth for
the sons of men." Here the point is,
that the dew, like the rain, is a wonderful
gift of God, with which man has no
concern. The Greek and Latin Fathers,
following the rendering of the LXX and
Vulg. (See Critical Note), build on this
verse the doctrine of the eternal genera^
tion of the Son, and his oneness of nature
with the Father.
4. This verse contains the great cen
tral revelation of the Psalm. How
weighty it is, and of how vast import,
may be inferred from the solemnity of
the introduction " Jehovah hath sworn "
(see on the divine oath, Heb. vi. 13, 17,
18), and this is carried to the very high
est pitch by the addition of the words
"And will not repent," i.e. the decree
is absolutely immutable (for God him
self is said to have repented, Gen. vi. 6).
It is the solemn inauguration of the
Messiah in time to the priestly office.

It is the first intimation of the union of
the kingly and priestly functions in his
person. See the latter typical represen
tation of the same truth in Zech. vi. 12,
13. The writer of the Epistle to the
Hebrews dwells on the significance of
each expression in this verse : " with an
oath " — " forever " — " after the order
of Melchizedek." (1 ) He lays stress on
the fact that this solemn inauguration
into the priestly office was by an oath,
which was not the case with the institu
tion of the Levitical priest. This, he
observes, is a proof that Christ is medi
ator of a better covenant than that of
Moses (Heb. vii. 20-22). (2) He argues
that as the priesthood rests on an un
changeable foundation, so it is in its
nature unchangeable ; a priest forever.
" He, because he abideth forever, hath
his priesthood unchangeable" (vii. 23,
28). (3) He enlarges upon all those
points in which Melchizedek, rather than
Aaron, was the most fitting type of
Christ ; passing over, however, in entire
silence that which in the Patristic and
Romish expositors holds a prominent
place, the bringing forth of bread and
wine. Another and essential feature of
the type which is implied in Heb. vii. is
too often overlooked, viz. that the priest
hood of Melchizedek was not only be
fore the law, but was a Gentile priest
hood, and therefore the most fitting type
of a universal priesthood.
5-7. The martial strain of ver. 2-4 is
resumed. There the might of the king
and his army were described, here the
conflict and the victory. It is remark
able how these earthly images, this war
like tone, predominates, considering the
language of ver. 4. The priestly char
acter of the monarch, the very name of
Melchizedek, who was not only king of
righteousness, but king of Salem, that
is, king of peace (Heb. vii.), would have
led us to expect anything but the picture
of a battle-field covered with corpses

296

PSALM ex.

5 The Lord at thy right hand
Hath smitten through kings in the day of his wrath.

and a leader in full pursuit of his enemies.
Still it must not be forgotten that we
have a parallel example in the New
Testament. See Rev. xix. 11-16.
5. The Lord ('Adonai). This form
of the plural is never used except as a
divine name. The Targum gives as the
equivalent here " the Shechinah of Je
hovah." Is this name here applied to
Jehovah or to the King ¦? Many exposi
tors argue that the King must be meant ;
for ( 1 ) it is hardly probable that in so
short a Psalm the King should first be
said (ver. 1) to be at the right hand of
Jehovah, and then that in ver. 5 Je
hovah, on the contrary, should be said
to be at the right hand of the King.
(2) There is, apparently, no change of
subject to the end of the Psalm, and in
the seventh verse it is quite clear that
the King is the subject ; it is he, and
not Jehovah, who drinks of the brook
in the way. Hence it has been inferred
that as the Messiah is called 'Adonai,
we have here a testimony to his divine
nature. On the other side it has been
argued that (1) the name 'Adonai is
never elsewhere given to the Messiah,
or to any but God ; (2) that the expres
sion " in the day of his wrath " is more
naturally to be interpreted of God than
of the Messiah; see ii. 12, where that is
threatened which is here fulfilled ; (3)
that when, in ver. 1, the King sits at the
right hand of Jehovah, this is a session
on the throne, indicating equal rank and
honor ; whereas in ver. 5 Jehovah is
said to stand at the right hand of the
King, a different phrase altogether, and
one denoting help, succor, and the like,
both phrases being legitimately em
ployed to express a distinct meaning;
(4) that the change of subject (in ver. 6
or 7), though abrupt, is only what is
found in other Psalms, and is charac
teristic of Hebrew poetry. Where the
arguments are so nearly balanced, it is
difficult to decide, although most of the
recent expositors — even those who hold
to the Messianic interpretation — under

stand by 'Adonai, ver. 5, not the Mes
siah, but Jehovah. It should be ob
served, however, that there is no reason
why the King who is called 'Elohim
(God) in Ps. xlv., should not be called
'Adonai (Lord) in this Psalm. On the
other hand, to assume a change of sub
ject, whether that change is to be intro
duced at the beginning of ver. 6 or ver.
7 (see below), is perfectly justifiable;
and it is more justifiable in this instance,
because Jehovah and the King are so
closely associated, that what the one
does the other may be said to do. It is
Jehovah's throne on which the King
sits, it is Jehovah's hand which wields
the King's sceptre ; Jehovah discomfits
the King's enemies, and the King pur
sues them in their flight. It may be
remarked, further, that throughout the
Psalm the address is directed to the
King and Priest, and that in cix. 31,
Jehovah " stands at the right hand " of
the poor to succor and defend him, as
here at the right hand of the King.
Taking this view, however, it is still
difficult to say whether the King is the
subject of both verses 6 and 7, or only
of ver. 7. Hupfeld, Bunsen, and Ewald
think that the King is not introduced
till ver. 7, which they regard as a single
scene taken from the war. But I con
fess Reinke's objection to this view ap
pears to me to be weighty, viz. that such
a scene standing by itself has no meaning,
We must first see the warrior in the
battle, or we cannot understand why he
should drink of the brook in the way.
I prefer, therefore, regarding the King
as the subject of ver. 6.
Kings. There may, perhaps, be an
allusion to the glorious victories of old,
such as that of Moses (Num. xxi.) ; of
Joshua (Josh, x.) ; of Deborah (Judges
V. 3, 19) ; of Gideon (Judges viii.),
Comp. Ps. Ixviii. 12 [13]. If so, this
would account for the use of the past
tense "hath smitten through," all God's
judgments having been judgments ex
ecuted on behalf of his Anointed. But

PSALM ex. 297
6 He shall judge among the nations.
He hath filled (them) with corpses,"*
He hath smitten through the heads over wide lands."
7 Of the brook shall he drink in the way ;
Therefore shall he lift up (his) head.
as the future tenses are interchanged as Mendelssohn and Delitzsch, render
with the past in the next two verses, it " over the land of Rabbah," supposing
seems better to regard the former as that David's war with Ammon was the
indicating that the victory is yet future, historical occasion of the Psalm. But
while the latter imply that it is repre- the land of Ammon would no more be
sented so vividly to the poet's eye that called the land of Rabbah, than the land
he can conceive of it as already ac- of Judaea would be called the land of
complished. Jerusalem.
6. The heads. The word is singular, 7. Of the brook, or, "torrent."
butused apparently in a collective sense. The victorious leader, who has made so
either literally as in Ixviii. 21 [22], or terrible a slfiughter that the field of
metaphorically of nders, primes. See battle is covered with corpses, is now
the same ambiguity in Hab. iii. 14. seen pursuing his enemies. Wearied
The older expositors, adhering to the with the battle and the pursuit, he stops
singular, "the head over the wide earth," for a moment on his way to refresh him-
suppose Satan to be meant, who is called self by drinking of the torrent rushing
" the god of this world," others, " over by, and then " lifts up his head," derives
a great country." On the construction, new vigor to continue the pursuit.
see in Critical Note. Some interpreters,
' BK3 . The word is used in almost every instance of the immediate
utterance of God himself, more rarely of that of the prophet or in
spired organ of the divine revelations, as of Balaam, Num. xxiv. 3,
15 ; 01 David, 2 Sam. xxiii. 1. Once only is the word used apparently
in a caiachrestic sense of the evil inspirations of the wicked man, xxxvi.
1 [21, where see note °.
'¦ This verse has been altogether misinterpreted by the LXX. They
render : IMera (tov r) ap-^r] iv rjpiptx. rrj's Svvdpedt's crov, iv rats Xaprrporrja-i
TUiV ay'uov crov iK yaurpos wpo iw(T<f>6pov iyivvrjcrd ere. They must have
read r\iss for ^a? , ^¦'n'^!?^ as iu ii. 7, for r\r\'^)>'2 , ^rura for ^n'i^-a , and
;]^i2Jip for iZJ^lp. The words hv Tjb they have passed over altogether.
In rendering nia"!? by apxq, rule, dominion, they connected it with
y^i) , a prince. Etymologically this is defensible, for the two ideas of
nobleness and freedom are readily and naturally connected. But the
noun m'313 can only mean either willingness (plur. and sing.) or free
will offerings. The Vulg. carried the blunder further by translating
dpxq, principium : " Tecum principium in die virtutis tuae in splen-
doribus sanctorum: ex utero ante luciferum genui te." The Syr.
confounding T=a with nba, the young of an animal (1 Sam. vii. 9), a

298 PSALM ex.
young child, Isi. Ixv. 25, has : " In the splendor of holiness have 1
begotten thee as a child (son) from the womb of old " (reading ike the
LXX, ^niEB , and interpreting it as:^D'iB'?)- All these renderings
point to the eternal generation of the Messiah as the Son of God, and
have so been explained by the Greek and Latin Fathers. Jerome
follows Symmachus (iv opecnv dyi'ot?) in adopting the reading 'p "^y/ns ,
which has the support of many mss. and some editions (the interchange
of ¦! and 1 being very common), and is preferred by some of the ablest
critics, though I think, on hardly sufficient grounds. He renders :
" Populi tui spontanei erunt in die fortitudinis tuae : in montibus Sanctis
quasi de vulva orietur tibi ros adolescentiae tuae." The latter part of
the verse is rendered by Aquila : drro p-qrpa^ i^iapOpurpivr)^ \_i^ dopBptxr-
jutrou] o-oi Spdtros TratSioTijTos crov ; Symm., (is Kar opOpov aoi Spocros fj
vcoTijs <rov ; Tholuck, ck pigrpas awo irpiM (crot Spdo'os) veoTrjTo^ crov.
S . €K ya(rTp6'; l^rjTrjcrovai (re, Sp6cro% veaviKOTrjTOi crov, which seems to
anticipate the more recent interpretations.
" in'nn^-bs , the old form of the stat. constr. with the connecting
vowel, for n'^a^i bs, which occurs in Eccl. iii. 18; vii. 14; viii. 2; and
in the Cliald. of Dan. ii. 30; iv. 14, instead of the earlier and more
usual "iZ'i by . For the termination of the stat. constr. in t, see on cxiii.
note '- In the other passages where it occurs, the phrase 'i 's means
because of, a meaning which Hupfeld would retain here, " because of
Melchizedek," i.e. so far as the tj'pe is the ground of the antitype.
Others (as Herder) and Geiger, Urschrift, etc., p. 29) take final i as
a suffix : " Thou art a priest forever — I swear it by my word — a
(second) Melchizedek." It is, however, far simpler and more natural,
although no other instance of like usage can be adduced, to take 'l 's
in the sense of the LXX, Kara rrpr rd^iv. So the Syr. and so Jerome,
Secundum ordinem. Except in this phrase and in the passages above
quoted, fi~2^ only occurs once. Job v. 8.
* 'j n)>v . The second accus. is understood, ark. " He hath filled
them (i.e. the nations) with corpses," the verb being transitive, as often.
Others make of nhv an adjective governing ni'"'?, " (it, i.e. the field of
battle, or the land, is) full of corpses, as in Ixv. 10, n^a 'a, "full of
water." ^ "n's hs . The prep, may either depend on the verb, " He hath
smitten over a wide extent of country," etc., or it may depend on 125X1,
" head over, i.e. prince over a wide territory," like is lis: , etc., but
here the former is clearly to be preferred.

PSALM ex. 299
A. I subjoin the following paraphrase of the Psalm :
" Thus saith Jehovah, — it is his revelation that I hear, it is his
word addressed to one who, though he be my son, is yet my Lord —
' I give thee honor and dignity equal to my own, I associate thee with
myself in kingly rule and dominion, until I have subdued every enemy
who shall dare to lift himself against thee.' "
Then turning to the King who has thus been solemnly placed on
the throne of Jehovah, and who rules as his vicegerent in Zion, the
Psalmist says : " From Zion, thy royal seat, shall Jehovah himself, on
whose throne thou sittest, stretch out the sceptre of thy dominion.
So close shall be the fellowship between him and thee. Thou shalt
sit on his throne, he shall wield thy sceptre ; his might shall be thy
might, his kingdom shall be thy kingdom, and thou shalt not only
subdue thine enemies, but before they are yet vanquished thou shalt
rule in the midst of them. When thou goest forth to war, thine own
people shall flock with glad and willing hearts to thy standard. They
shall come clad, not in armor, but in holy vestments as ministering
priests, for thou hast consecrated them to be thy priestly soldiers.
They shall come, a youthful host, in numbers numberless as the dew,
bright and fresh as the dew from the womb of the morning.
" Yet another solemn word concerning thee have I heard. It is a
word confirmed by an oath, the oath of the Most High, which cannot
be broken. By that oath he hath made thee Priest as well as King ;
King thou art. Priest thou shalt be henceforth ; Priest not after the
law of a carnal commandment, or by descent through the Levitical
priesthood, but after the order of Melchizedek, — Priest, therefore,
not of the Jew only, but of the Gentile also, — Priest not for a time,
but forever."
Then, looking on the leader, the host, the conflict, the poet exclaims :
" The Lord, the God of hosts who is with thee, O King, who is at thy
right hand to succor and give thee the victory in the battle, hath
already crushed the rival monarchs that dispute thy sway. Thou shalt
be a judge and ruler among the nations whom he has given thee as
thine inheritance. The vast battle-field is strewn with the corpses of
thy foes. Far and wide hast thou extended thy conquests, vanquish
ing one leader after another ; and thou shalt reap the fruit of thy
victories, like a warrior who, pressing hotly on the rear of his enemies
as they flee before him, scarcely pauses for a moment to snatch a
hasty draught from the wayside brook, and then with renewed ardor,
with head erect and kindling eye, continues the pursuit. Thus shall
victory be crowned, and not a foe remain."

300 PSALM ex
B. The Bishop of St. David's has favored me with the following
valuable remarks on this Psalm, which he has kindly allowed me tc
publish :
'' I think it will be convenient first to consider the Psalm by itself,
just as if no reference had been made to it in the New Testament,
and then to see how our conclusions about it must be modified by
our Lord's language.
" (i.) I think there can be no doubt that, whoever was the author,
it must be considered as a Messianic Psalm, a picture of a state of
things which had not been fully realized either in the literal or the
spiritual sense, before the coming of Christ. This character of the
Psalm, as manifested by its contents, would not be more strongly
marked if it is considered as the work of David ; and the only question
is whether, without some special revelation, beyond what would have
been required for any other author, he could have spoken of the
person described in it as his ' Lord.' I will only say that it does not
appear to me inconceivable, but quite natural, that he should so style
one who answered to the description given of the future victorious
King. Only I am not sure that there is anything in that description
that might not be accounted for without any peculiarly distinct con
sciousness — some consciousness the writer must have had, whoever he
was — in David's mind, partly by the promises which he had received
(2 Sam. vii.), and partly by traditional expectations of the coming
Great One.
" (ii.) How, then, is the case altered by our Lord's reference to
the Psalm ? Here we find ourselves in the presence of two opposite
theories as to our Lord's ordinary intellectual state. According to
that which invests him with the fulness of divine as well as human
knowledge, there is of course no room for doubt about the authorship
of the Psalm. You, however, seem willing to admit that of Neander,
Meyer, and others (among the rest, Pressense, Vie de Jesus), that our
Lord was not habitually conscious of facts, such as ' matters of literary
criticism,' which did not fall within the range of his human knowledge.
But then arises the question whether, even on this theory, we are not
compelled to suppose that he would not have argued as he does with
the Pharisees ou the Psalm, if a certain knowledge of its real author
ship had not been supernaturally infused into him for the special
occasion. This leads us to inquire what his argument was. And
here it is to be observed that, strictly speaking, it was no argument
at all. Still less was it an argument proving that the Christ was
foreseen by David to be the Son of God. As far as our Lord's words

PSALM ex. 301
go, they are simply questions, and questions which might have been
put by one who wished to suggest to the Pharisees that they were mis
taken in believing that David was the author of the Psalm. Nothing
of course could be farther than that from our Lord's intention (though
I see from Alford that De Wette actually thought so). But if he did
not take, but stand on, the same intellectual level, in this respect, with
the Pharisees, can it be said that his question, if David was not really
the author of the Psalm, tended to mislead them, and therefore that
this was a case in which, if he had needed a supernatural revelation
of the truth, he must have received one ? I must own, that is not
at all clear to me. But that which most perplexes me is the difficulty
I find in understanding the precise drift of our Lord's questions, or
why they should have had the effect of putting the Pharisees to silence.
One would think that they could have been at no loss for an answer,
according to the current Messianic notions of the day. They knew
that Messiah was to be of the lineage of David. They also believed
that he was to be a greater than David, though the precise degree of
his superiority might be open to doubt. But this might suffice to
remove the appearance of inconsistency between David's language and
his relation to the expected Messiah. Nor does it appear elsewhere
that the question between our Lord and his opponents was, who and
what the Messiah was to be, but whether he was the Messiah. If the
Pharisees had not believed that the Psalm related to the Messiah, the
question would have been futile. The argument, whatever it may
have been, turns upon that, quite as much as it does upon David's
authorship, and though the title of Lord implied a dignity higher than
David's, it can hardly be said to carry so much as the sitting on Jeho
vah's right hand, or even than the everlasting priesthood. But if so,
the alleged occasion for a supernatural infusion of superhuman knowl
edge seems to lose almost all its importance, as the only result would
be the addition of a title, which could have no such meaning except in
the mouth of David, but which is thrown into the shade by other
attributes which do not depend on the supposition of his authorship.
" On the whole, the conclusion to which I am led, as far as the
great obscurity and imperfection of the data permit me to draw any,
is that we are left very much in the same position with regard to the
Psalm as if our Lord had not asked those questions about it ; and
that though we may be at liberty, we are not ' compelled ' to attach
any greater weight to it than it would have if it was not written by
David. All that ' falls to the ground ' m our Lord's ' argument ' is a
particular which does not seem to have any bearing upon doctrine, and
to be, indeed, immateriak"

302 PSALM CXI.

PSALM CXI.
This Psalm and the next are framed exactly on the same modeL
They are both alphabetical Psalms. In both, the letters of the alpha
bet mark not only the beginning of verses, as in other Psalms, but the
beginning of each several clause of the verses. In both, there are
exactly twenty-two lines, each line consisting usually of three words,
and in both the order of the alphabet is strictly preserved, which is
not the case in other alphabetical Psalms (see, for instance, xxv.,
xxxiv., xxxvii.). Finally, so exactly does the structure of the two
Psalms correspond, that the first eight verses in both consist each of
two lines, and the last two verses of three lines.
But the Psalms answer to one another not only in structure, but iu
thought. The same significant phrases occur in both, and occur iu
such a way as to mark the mutual relation of the two poems. In the
one hundred and eleventh the mighty deeds, the glory, the righteous
ness of Jehovah are celebrated in the assembly of the upright. In the
one hundred and twelfth the righteousness, the goodness, the blessed
ness of the upright themselves is described and enlarged upon. The
one sets forth God, his work and his attributes ; the other tells us
what are the work and character of those who fear and honor God.
Thus in cxi. 3 it is said of Jehovah that " His righteousness standeth
fast forever " ; in cxii. 3 the same thing is affirmed of the man that
feareth Jehovah. In cxi. 4 it is declared of Jehovah that " He is
gracious and of tender compassion " ; in cxii. 4 the same character is
given of the upright. In the one hundred and eleventh Psalm the
faithfulness of Jehovah to bis covenant is magnified (ver. 5, 9), in the
one hundred and twelfth the faithfulness of the righteous man, his
trust in Jehovah is exhibited (ver. 7, 8).
In spite of the acrostic arrangement by which the writer has chosen
to fetter himself, this Psalm is more than a mere string of gnomic
sentences. The thoughts have a real inner connection. The Psalmist
begins by declaring that with his whole heart he will give thanks to
God, and because to keep his thankfulness and his ascription of praise
to himself would be to rob God of half his honor, therefore will he
give utterance to his feelings, and give utterance to them in the fitting
place, " in the congregation of the upright." Abundant subject for
such praise is to be found in the works of God ; the more these are
studied, the more will their marvellous and unsearchable character be
seen, and the greater the delight which will be experienced in the

PSALM CXL 3Q3
study. Everywhere the glory of God will be traced, everywhere wUl
the footsteps of his unchangeable righteousness be discovered. At all
times his works testify of him, rebuking the apathy and forgetfulness
of men, and calling them to him who is " gracious and of tender com
passion." He has shown his goodness in never failing to supply the need of
his people : he gave them manna in the wilderness, he gave them the
spoil of the heathen in Canaan ; he thus kept with them the covenant
which he made of old with their fathers. Not unmindful of other
nations, it is to his people that' he has specially revealed himself ; he
has given them their promised inheritance. As in his works so in his
commandments, as in his providence so in his word, the same truth
and faithfulness are visible. Therefore his commandments cannot
fail ; they remain the sure, everlasting pillars of his kingdom. The
great seal of all is the redemption which he accomplished for his
people : He who brought them out of Egypt will never suffer his
covenant to fail.
Is it not the highest wisdom to fear such a God as this, so great in
his works, so true in his word, so faithful to his covenant? To fear
God and to keep his commandments is the whole duty of man ; to
praise him man's highest employment both now and forever.*
1 Hallelujah !
N I will give thanks unto Jehovah with (my) whole heart,
a In the council of the upright and in the congregation.
2 i Great are the works of Jehovah,
1 Sought out* of all them that have delight therein.

1. Council. See on xxv. note^. A anddevoutmeditation and study, studied
narrower and more intimate circle is that they may be known, studied that
implied than in the word " congrega- they may be lived. The same law holds
tion" which follows. In xxv. 14 [15] of God's revelation in his word as of his
the word occurs in the senseof" secret," revelation in nature. They only who
i.e. "secret converse," and in Iv. 14 in search diligently, and who have a delight
a similar sense. See note on this last therein, can discover his wonders either
passage. in the one or the other. For if what
2. The works op Jehovah, i.e. Origen says of the final revelation is
specially his mighty deeds on behalf of true, iiTip.(p8ri yap av fovov 'Iva yvaxrBy,
his people. These are said to be — aW' 'Iva Kal xdSri { Contr. Cels. ii. 67), it
Sought out, the objects of earnest is no less true, \av0dvet 'Iva yvai(r0f.
1 With this Psalm begins another series of Hallelujah Psalms, cxi.-cxiii., cxv.-
cxvii.

304

PSALM CXL

3 n His doing is honor and majesty,
1 And his righteousness standeth fast forever.
4 T He hath made a memorial for his wonderful works ;
n Gracious and of tender compassion is Jehovah.
5 t3 He hath given meat to them that fear him,
¦• He remembereth his covenant forever.
6 3 The power of his works hath he shewed to his people,
b To give them the heritage of the nations.
7 73 The works of his hand are truth and judgment ;
a Faithful are all his statutes ;
8 0 They are upheld forever and-ever,
s They are done in truth and uprightness.

3. His righteousness standeth
FAST forever. Comp. cxii. 3, where
the same is said of the righteousness of
the man who fears Jehovah, and hath
delight in his commandments. See also
xix. 9.
4. A memorial. Comp. Num. xvi.
40 [xvii. 5] ; Josh. iv. 6, 7.
Por (or "belonging to") his won
derful works. By means of all that
he has so marvellously wrought on be
half of Israel, he has reared, so to speak,
a monument to his glory.
5. Meat, or perhaps rather " prey"
or "booty." "'The use of this word,"
says Mr. Grove, " especially when taken
in connection with the words rendered
'good understanding' in ver. 10, which
should rather be as in the margin, ' good
success," throws a new and unexpected
light over the familiar phrases of this
beautiful Psalm. It seems to show how
inextinguishable was the warlike preda
tory spirit in the mind of the writer,
good Israelite and devout worshipper of
Jehovah as he was. Late as he lived in
the history of his nation, he cannot
forget ' the power ' of Jehevah's ' works '
by which his forefathers acquired the
' heritage of the heathen ' ; and to him,
as to his ancestors when conquering the
country, it is still a firm article of belief
that those who fear Jehovah shall obtain
most of the spoil of his enemies — those
who obey his commandments shall have

the best success in the field." — Diet, of
the Bible, Art. "Meat." To the above
may be added the probable allusion to
the deliverance from Egypt, and the oc
cupation of Canaan, in vor. 9. It is
doubtful, however, whether the render
ing " good success " in ver. 10 is correct.
Delitzsch, on the other hand, supposes
that by the " memorial " is meant the
festivals, which were instituted to keep
alive the remembrance of God's mighty
works in the days of Moses, and by the
" food," the meal accompanying the
sacrifices, and the paschal feast. [It is
with reference to this verse, doubtless,
that Luther calls the Psalm " au Easter
or Paschal Psalm."] Theodorct, Au
gustine, and others understand by this
"food" in the New Test, sense, the
Eucharist, and the Psalm has been ac
cordingly used as a Eucharistic Psalm.
It is a curious instance of the way in
which a word may draw to itself a whole
train of thought with which it has really
no connection.
6. To give, or, the infin. may be
used gerundially, as often, " giving."
8. Upheld, not however by any ex
ternal prop but by their own inherent
power : comp. the use of the word cxii.
8 ; Isa. xxvi. 3 (where the E.V. has
" stayed ").
Uprightness. The neuter adj. used
thus in connection with a noun preced
ing is peculiar (see cvii. 20).

PSALM CXL 305
9 B He hath sent redemption to his people ;
is He hath commanded his covenant forever ;
p Holy and fearful is his name.
10 n The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of wisdom,
123 A good understanding have all they that do them :
n His praise endureth forever.
9. He hath sent. There is probably cupisce sapientiam ; sed Initium sapi-
an allusion to the redemption from entiae timor Domini. Delcctabit ilia, et
Egypt, and in the next member to the ineffabiliterproculdubio delcctabit castis
Sinaitic covenant. Then Jehovah re- atque aetcrnis veritatis amplexibus : sed
vealed himself as the holy and the awful prius tibi donanda sunt debita, quam
God. But here, and throughout the praemia flagitanda. Initium ergo sapi-
Psalm, I have rendered the past tenses entiae," etc.
as perfects, because the reference is A good understanding, or perhaps
evidently not exclusively to the past, rather " understanding of, insight into,
but also to the still present results of that which is good." Comp. Prov. iii.
the "redemption" and the " covenant." 4; xiii. 15; 2 Chron. xxx. 22.
He hath commanded. The verb is Thet that do them. The refer-
Qsed, as in cv. 8, in its original sense of ence of the plur. pron. " them '' can
appointing, establishing. only be to the " statutes '' mentioned
10. The beginning, or, " chief part, in ver. 7, 8. See the note on cvii. 25.
principal thing." Comp. Job xxviii. 28 ; The Pr.ayer-book version, " thereafter."
Prov. i. 7 ; ix. 10. Augustine beauti- Augustine lays stress on this "doing."
'•illy says: " Pro deliciis autem omnibus "Bonus est intellectus," he says; "quis
nujus saeculi, quales vel expertus es, negat? Sed intelligere et non facere
velaugereaemultiplicareaugendopotes, periculosum est. Bonus ergo facienti-
immortalium deliciarum matrem con- bus."
» D"'ir!)"fl , pass. part, only here ; not merely worthy of being sought
out, as in other passive forms, like i^ns , "iran , sought, but the subject
of dihgent investigation, earnest pursuit, etc. nri'^SEri-bsi , not " accord
ing to all their desires" (as the sing. 1 Kings ix. 11), i.e. so that they
find in it their highest satisfaction ; for the plur. of |'Sn does not mean
wishes, desires, hut precious things (Prov. iii. 15 ; viii. 11), and h after
a pass, can only point out the author or subject. Hence this is plur.
of ysn . It is true this appears elsewhere in the form '"'Ssn , as xxxv.
27 ; xl. 15 ; but that is really an incorrect form of the stat. constr.,
with the vowel retained, contrary to the rule (Gesen. § 133, Eem. 1, 2).
In like manner we have "'n'^t', Isa. xxiv. 7, and "'noil), Ps. xxxv. 26.
There is, indeed, no parallel case where the first radical takes Segol.
Usually a guttural first radical has Pathach or short Chirek, as "'Bjn ,
ipoS , etc., but this is of no importance, as the guttural in other forms
IS found with a Segol. Besides, though the long vowel might be
retained in the stat. constr., it would naturally fall away before the
grave suffix Dfi". The rendering given in the text is supported by the
Syr., Chald., Jerome, Kimchi, Luther, Calvin, Gesen., etc.
VOL. II. 39

306

PSALM cxn.

PSALM CXII.
On this Psalm see the Introduction to Psalm cxi. In its general
character it resembles Psalms i. and xxxvii. In the Vulgate the title
is " Conversio Aggaei et Zachariae."
I Hallelujah !
N Happy is the man that feareth Jehovah,
S That delighteth greatly in his commandments.
2 a His seed shall become mighty in the earth,
T The generation of -the upright shall be blessed.
3 n Wealth and riches are in his house,
1 And his righteousness standeth fast forever.
4 t There ariseth a light in the darkness for the upright ;
n (He is) gracious, and of tender compassion, and righteous.
5 t3 Well " is it with the man who dealeth graciously and
lendeth,
"^ He shall maintain his cause in (the) judgment ;
right." In the next clause of the verse

1. Comp. i. 1,2.
2. Mighty. The word is commonly
used of warlike strength and prowess,
but sometimes also in a more general
sense of wealth, substance, etc. So
Boaz is called " a mighty man of wealth "
(Ruth ii. 1 ) ; and Kish ( 1 Sam. ix. 1 ) ;
see also 2 Kings xv. 20.
3. Wealth and riches. So in the
Proverbs these are said to be the gift of
Wisdom to them that love her. See iii.
16; viii. 18; xxii. 4. So even in the
New Testament : see Mark x. 29, 30.
His righteousness, etc. It seems
a bold thing to say this of anything
human, and yet it is true ; for all human
righteousness has its root in the rights
eousness of God. It is not merely man
striving to copy God. It is God's gift
and God's work. There is a living con
nection between the righteousness of
God and the righteousness of man, and
therefore the impcrishableness of the
one appertains to the other also. Hence
the same thing is afBrmed here of the
human righteousness which, in cxi. 3,
is afBrmed of the divine.
4. A light for the upright. Cf.
xcvii. 11, "Light is sown for the up-

the three adjectives occasion some dif
ficulty. Although they are in the sin
gular number, whilst "the upright" in
the preceding line' is plural, it seems
most natural to take them as intended
further to describe the character of the
upright. The first two epithets, else
where applied only to Jehovah, are so
applied in cxi. 3, and the relation of the
two Psalms makes it almost certain,
therefore, that they are here applied to
his servants. See also Matt. v. 45, 48 ;
Isa. Iviii. 7. The change from the
plural to the singular is certainly un
usually harsh, as the three epithets are
loosely strung together, without any
thing to mark their reference ; but this
may be accounted for in some measure
by the requirement of the alphabetical
arrangement. Others take the three
attributes as in apposition with the noun
" light " in the preceding clause, God
himself being the "Light " (as in xxvii.
1; comp. Isa. X. 17; Ix. 1-3; Mai. iv. 2.
[iii. 20] ) : " There hath arisen a light,
viz. he who is gracious," etc.
5. Lendeth, see xxxvii. 21, 26. He
SHALL MAINTAIN', ctc. . mentioned as

PSALM cxn. 307
6 3 For he shall not be moved forever ;
b The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance.
7 73 Because of evil tidings he shall not fear ;
a His heart is established trusting in Jehovah.
8 0 His heart is upheld, he cannot fear,
9 Until he see (his desire) upon his adversaries.
9 B He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor,
s His righteousness standeth fast forever ;
p His horn shall be exalted with glory.
10 1 The wicked shall see (it) and be grieved,
Vi He shall gnash his teeth and melt away ; '
n The desire of the wicked shall perish.
an instance of his happiness, which is The two last are combined also in Isa.
then confirmed by what follows, ver. 6, xxvi. 3.
cxxxiii. 5, in the courts of judgment, 9. He hath dispersed. The verb
cxliii. 2 ; Prov. xvi. 10. occurs in Prov. xi. 24 in the same way,
6. In everlasting remembrance of the free and active exercise of charity.
(comp. Prov. x. 7), or, "shall have an This verse is quoted by St. Paul when
everlasting memorial," see cxi. 3. exhorting the Corinthians to liberal
7. Purther evidence of the happiness contributions on behalf of the poor
of such a man — a clear conscience and (2 Cor. ix. 9).
a heart that trusts not in itself, but in His horn. See on Ixxv. 5 [6].
God, and thus is raised above all fear. 10. Be grieved, filled with vexation.
The epithets "established," " trusting," irritated. Shall gnash his teeth,
"upheld," are all strikingly descriptive as in xxxv. 16; xxxvii. 12.
of the true attitude of faith, as that Melt awat, i.e. through jealousy
which leans upon and is supported by God. and annoyance.
^ ai'B , here not in a moral sense good, but rather in a physical sense
fortunate, happy, as in Isa. iii. 10 ; Jer. xliv. 17 ; Eccl. viii. 12, 13.
It is not necessary, however, to make it a noun, as Kimchi does (as in
xxv. 13). The expression 'x 'is is exactly equivalent to 'x "'tJ'^'*) ver.
1, and the article is absent before llJ'^iJ, in both cases, because it is
defined by the attributes which follow.
^ Di:3, 3 pret. Niph. pausal form (as in Ex. xvi. 21) of orD or tnsi.
Usually the pausal substitute for Tsere is Pathach ; here we have
Kametz, probably as lengthened from the form DS3 , as in the plur.
!|BC3 . Comp. also the use of the suffixes n— and O-^ , instead of Q- ,
cxviii. 10.

308 PSALM exm.

PSALM CXIII.
With this Psalm begins " the Hallel," which was sung at the three
Great Feasts, at the Feast of Dedication, and at the New Moons.
At the Feast of the Passover it was divided into two parts, the first of
which, consisting of Psalms cxiii., cxiv., was sung before the meal, that
is, before the second cup was passed round ; and the second, consisting
of Psalms cxv.-cxviii., after the meal, when the fourth cup had been
filled. This last, probably, was " the hymn " which our Lord and his
apostles are said to have sung (vpvrjcravTe';, Matt. xxvi. 30 ; Mark xiv.
26), after his last Passover.
Paulus Burgensis styles Psalms cxiii.-cxviii. Alleluia Judaeorum
magnum, and this has been a very usual designation. But according
to the ancient Jewish tradition this series of Psalms is called simply
" the Hallel," or sometimes " the Egyptian Hallel," whereas the name
" Great Hallel " is given to Psalm cxxxvi. (See Delitzsch, from whom
the above is taken.)
The Psalm may be said to be a connecting link between the Song
of Hannah and the Magnificat of the Virgin.
It may be viewed as consisting of three strophes.
1. The first exhorts to the praise of Jehovah as the one great object
of praise (ver. 1-3).
2. The second sets forth his greatness (ver. 4-6).
3. The third magnifies his condescension (ver. 7-9).
The second and third of these divisions, however, are closely con
nected, and, in fact, run into one another.
1 Hallelujah!
Praise, 0 ye servants of Jehovah,
Praise the name of Jehovah.
2 Blessed be the name of Jehovah
From this time forth and for evermore.
3 Prom the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same
The name of Jehovah be praised.
1. Servants op Jehovah ; all 3. Be praised. This rendering
Israel as a nation consecrated to his seems preferable in the context, though
service ; comp. Ixix. 36 [37] ; cxxxv. 1 we might render " is worthy to be
(where this same verse is found, but praised," as in xviii. 3 [4] ; xlviii. 1,
with the clause transposed), cxxxvi. "greatly to be praised," but here the
22. The rhythm of this verse is that of participle depends on the verb in the
xxix. 1. jussive or simply "is praised."

PSALM exm.

309

4 Jehovah is lifted up above all nations,
His glory is above the heavens.
5 Who is like Jehovah our God
Who setteth his throne on high,*
6 Who stoopeth down to see
(What is) done in the heaven and in the earth ?
7 He raiseth the miserable from the dust,
(And) lifteth up the poor from (the) dunghill,
8 That he may set (him) with princes,
(Even) with the princes of his people.
9 Who maketh the barren woman to keep house.
As a joyful mother of children."
Hallelujah !

4. Above the heavens. DeWette
remarks that this goes beyond what we
find elsewhere in describing the exalta
tion of Jehovah ; that in Ps. xviii., for
instance, he inhabits the lower atmos
pheric heaven, and in Ps. Ixviii. he is
throned in Zion, whereas here he is
lifted high above the sphere of creation.
But he must have forgotten such pas
sages as viii.l [2], and lvii.5[Cl,ll [12].
5. Setteth his throne on high;
lit. " maketh high to sit " ; as in the
next verse, "maketh low to see." The
same antithesis occurs cxxxviii. 6. It
denotes not merely the omniscience of
God, but his greatness and his conde
scension. Comp. viii. 4 [5], and the
striking expansion of the same thought
Isa. Ivii. 15.
6. Stoopeth down to see, etc.
This verse might also be rendered,
" Who looketh low down — vaileth or
lowereth his regard — upon the heavens
and the earth," the construction of the
verb and prep. (3 UStl) being the same
as in Gen. xxxiv. 1 ; Judges xvi. 27.
Some commentators would connect the
second hemistich of this verse with the
first clause of ver. 5 : " Who is like
Jehovah our God in the heaven and in

the earth" ? (as in Deut. iii. 24), taking
the two intervening clauses as paren
thetical ; but this is quite unnecessary.
The rendering given above may be
adopted, or the ellipsis may be supplied
as it is in the E.V.
7. This and the next verse are almost
word for word from the Song of Hannah
(1 Sam. ii. 8).
9. The curse of barrenness was so
bitter a thing in Jewish eyes, that its
removal was hailed as a special mark of
divine favor. The allusion to it here
was suggested, doubtless, by Hannah's
history, and by the strain of Hannah's
song already quoted ; see 1 Sara. ii. 5.
Maketh tub barren woman, etc. :
lit. "maketh her who is barren of (in)
the house to dwell," i.e. maketh her
who through barrenness has no family
to have a family, and so a fixed, settled
habitation in the land. A barren wo
man might be divorced ; but, having
children, her position in the house is
sure. The use of the phrase in Ixviii.
6 [7] is somewhat diftercnt, as there the
word "house" means the place of abode;
here, the family. Compare the expres
sion "to make a house" Ex. i. 21;
2 Sam. vii. 11.

» ¦'n-'asan . The final Chirek, Tod or Chirek compaginis as it is
called, or long connecting vowel, in this and the two following parti-

310 PSALM CXIV.
ciples, and also in the Hiph. infin. ^a'^Binb (ver. 8), is the vowel
originally employed to mark the relation of the genitive. The old
form of the stat. constr. had for its termination either Cholem, as in
Tj'J '^^y^ ) Gen. i. 24, or Chirek, as in the compound names pns-''S^a ,
Ijs-'^N, and many others, in the participle "jB.jb I'^bN, Gen. xlix. 11,
^'^?''? ¦'^''V?'3) ib- 12, and in some prepositions, as '"Fiba, Tibll, iM
(poet.). The termination t is found (a) with the first of two nouns in the
stat. constr., whether masc, as in Deut. xxxiii. 16; Zech. xi. 17, or
fem., as in Gen. xxxi. 39 ; Ps. ex. 4. It is found also (b) when the
stat. constr. is resolved by means of a prep, prefixed to the second noun,
as in the passage already quoted, Gen. xlix. 1 1 ; in Ex. xv. 6 ; Obad.
3; Hos. X. 11 ; Lam. i. 1; Ps. cxxiii. 1; and in the K'thibh, Jer.
xxii. 23 ; Ii. 13 ; Ezek. xxvii. 3. It occurs (c) even where a word
intervenes between the two which stand in the genitival relation, as in
ci. 5 ; Isa. xxii. 16 ; Mic. vii. 14. The fact that this long vowel draws
to it the accent shows that it is no mere euphonic (paragogic) addition,
but that it is really a connecting vowel marking the relation of the
gen. case. Hence it may be regarded as a connecting link between the
Semitic and Indo-Germanic languages.
In this and other late Psalms (see for instance cxxiii. 1 ; cxiv. 8,
where we have both the Chirek and the Cholem, and perhaps cxvi. 1)
an attempt seems to have been made to bring back the old termination,
but without regard always to its original signification. Thus in ver. 8
of this Psalm it is appended even to the Hiph. infin., a form which
occurs nowhere else.
*¦ c^pari . Hupfeld and Olsh. condemn the article as incorrect.
Delitzsch says : " The poet brings the matter so vividly before him,
that he points, as it were, with his finger to the children with which
God blesses her."
According to Aben-Ezra, rT^R? in the first hemistich is not in con
struction, but absolute. If so, we may render : " Who setteth the
barren woman in a house."

PSALM CXIV.

This is perhaps the most beautiful of all the Psalms which touch
on the early history of Israel. It is certainly the most graphic and
the most striking in the boldness of its outlines. The following re
marks may perhaps illustrate the conception and plan of the poem.

PSALM CXIV. 311
1. In structure it is singularly perfect. This rests upon the common
principle of pairs of verses, and thus we have four strophes, each con
sisting of two verses ; each of these verses, again, consists of two lines,
in which the parallelism is carefully preserved.
2. The effect is produced, as in Psalm xxix., not by minute tracing
of details, but by the boldness with which certain great features of the
history are presented.
3. A singular animation and an almost dramatic force are given to
the poem by the beautiful apostrophe in verses 5, 6, and the effect of
this is heightened in a remarkable degree by the use of the present
tenses. The awe and the trembling of nature are a spectacle on which
the poet is looking. The parted sea through which Israel walks as
on dry land, the rushing Jordan arrested in its course, the granite
cliffs of Sinai shaken to their base — he sees it all, and asks in wonder
what it means ?
4. Then it is that the truth bursts upon his mind, and the impression
of this upon the reader is very finely managed. The name of God,
which has been entirely concealed up to this point in the poem (even
the possessive pronoun being left without its substantive, " Judah was
his sanctuary, Israel was his dominion "), is now only introduced after
the apostrophe in verses 5, 6.
" The reason seems evident, and the conduct necessary, for if God
had appeared before, there could be no wonder why the mountains
should leap and the sea retire ; therefore, that this convulsion of
nature may be brought in with due surprise, his name is not mentioned
tUl afterward ; and then, with a very agreeable turn of thought, God
is introduced all at once in all his majesty" (Spectator, No. 461).
We have no clue to guide us to the age of the Psalm, or the occa
sion for which it was written, except that perhaps the forms in verse
8, which are found in other late Psalms, may be taken to indicate a
date after the exile.
1 When Israel went forth out of Egypt,
The house of Jacob from a people of strange language,
2 Judah became " his sanctuary,
Israel his dominion.
1, 2. The introduction sets forth at took place in the wilderness before the
once both the great redemptive act and law was given : " Ye shall be unto me
also the end of the redemption ; viz. a kingdom of priests and a holy nation "
that God himself might dwell among (Ex. xix. 6).
and rule his people. This sanctifying A people of strange language ;
of the nation, as a nation to himself, lit. "a stammering (i.e. an unintelligible)

312 PSALM CXIV.
3 The sea saw and fled,
Jordan turned backwards ;
4 The mountains skipped like rams.
The hills like young sheep.
5 What aileth thee, 0 thou sea, that thou fleest ;
Thou Jordan, that thou turnest backwards ?
6 Ye mountains, that ye skip like rams ;
Ye hills, like young sheep ?
7 Before the Lord tremble, 0 earth.
Before God (the God of) Jacob.
8 Who changed " the rock into a pool of water.
The flint-stone into a fountain of waters.

people." Comp. Deut. xxvii. 49 ; Isa. terrors which accompanied the giving
xxviii.ll; xxxiii. 19; Jer.v.l5 ; LXX, of the law on Sinai (Ex. xix. 18, "and
AaoC Pap0dpov. the whole mount quaked greatly"),
2. His sanctuaet. Comp. Ex. xv. although these convulsions of nature
17, where the promised land is called form a part of every Theophany, or
" the sanctuary, 0 Lord, which thy manifestation of God. Comp. xviii. 7
hands have establi,shed." [8] ; Ixxvii. 18 [19] ; Hab. iii. ; Isa. Ixiv.
His dominion or kingdom ; comp. 1-3. For the figure see Ps. xxix. 6.
Num. xxiii. 21. The noun is in the 8. The rock (teur), referring' to the
plural, which is here used poetically as miracle in Ex. xvii. 6. The flint-
a plural of amplification. Comp. xhii. stone (or perhaps "the steep cliff";
3; xlvi. 4 [5]; Ixviii. 35 [36] (where LXX, tV aicpiiTOjiio)') seems to be placed
see note). here poetically for the other character-
3. The sea saw, viz. God, whose istic word {sela'), which marks the scene
name and whose presence are still pur- of the miracle at Kadesh. See notes
posely concealed. Comp.lxxvii. 16 [17] ; on Ixxviii. 15, 16.
xcvii. 4; Hab. iii. 10. The passage of These miracles are selected as the
the Red Sea and of the Jordan are com- most striking proofs of " God's absolute
blued, not only as miracles of a similar creative omnipotence, and of the grace
character, but as marking the beginning which changes death into life." They
and the end of the great deliverance — are, moreover, parallel miracles, like the
the escape from Egypt, the entrance two mentioned in ver. 3, and thus the
into the Promised Land. poetical efiect is heightened.
4. The reference is probably to the
" fin'^ri "Judah" is here feminine, in accordance with the general
principle that lands and nations are feminine.
'' "SEn". On the termination see xciii. note.* The final Chirek,
however, in this instance, is not strictly that of the stat. constr., for the
participle here has the article prefixed, and therefore cannot be in con
struction. But it is one of the instances in which, as has been remarked

PSALM CXV. 313
in the note referred to, the later language adopted the termination
without regard to its original use.
In i:'^J'Bb , on the other hand, we have a genuine instance of the
old termination of the stat. constr. This final Cholem, however, is by
no means so widely used as the final Chirek. With the exception of
this place, and Num. xxiv. 3, 15, isa iD?, it is found only in the phrase
Y^^ in-^n (or n'lisn ''n), which first occurs Gen. i. 24.

PSALM CXV.

This is evidently one of the later liturgical Psalms. It was probably
composed for the service of the second temple, whilst yet the taunts
of their heathen adversaries were ringing in the ears of the returned
exiles, and whilst yet contempt for the idolatries which they had wit
nessed in Babylon was fresh in their hearts.
The Psalm opens with a confession of unworthiness, and a prayer
that God would vindicate his own honor against the scoff of the
heathen (ver. 1, 2).
It exalts him, the invisible, omnipotent, absolutely Supreme Ruler of
the universe, and pours contempt upon the idols and their worshippers
(ver. 3-8).
It bids all Israel, both priests and people, put their trust in him who
is alone worthy of trust, the help and shield of his people (ver. 9-12).
It promises that Jehovah shall give his blessing to them that thus
trust in him, and calls upon them in return to give him thanks forever
(12-18). Ewald's conjecture that the Psalm was intended to be sung whilst
the sacrifices were offered, and that at verse 12 the voice of the priest
declares God's gracious acceptance of the sacrifice, is not improbable.
He gives verses 1-11 to the congregation, verses 12-15 to the priest,
verses 16-18 to the congregation. But it seems more likely that the
change of voices comes in at verse 9, and that, as Tholuck supposes,
in each of the verses, 9, 10, 11, the first line was sung as a solo, per
haps by one of the Levites, and the second by the whole choir.
The LXX, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic have strangely enough, and
in defiance of all probability, joined this with the preceding Psalm,
and then have restored the balance by dividing Psalm cxvi. into two
parts. Even in some Hebrew mss. Psalms cxiv. and cxv. are found
written as one Psalm. But the very structure of Psalm cxiv., its
VOL. 11. -to

314

PSALM CXV.

beauty and completeness in itself, are sufiicient to make us wonder
what caprice could have led to such an arrangement.
(The Congregation.)
1 Not unto us, 0 Jehovah, not unto us.
But unto thy name, give glory,
Because of thy loving-kindness, because of thy truth.
2 Wherefore should the nations say :
" Where now is their God? "
3 But our God is in the heavens ;
He hath done whatsoever he pleased.
4 Their idols are silver and gold.
The work of men's hands.

1. Not unto us. The repetition of
the words expresses the more vividly
the deep sense of unworthiness, the un
feigned humility which claims nothing
for itself.
Loving-kindness . . . truth. The
two great characteristic attributes of
God, even in the Old Testament ; though
in contrast with the law as given by
Moses, St. John could say, r] xt^P" Koi ti
a.K'fideta Stct 'IrjiTOv Xpt(TTov iyevero, (John
i. 17). Both these attributes of God
would be assailed if the taunt of the
heathen should be allowed to pass un-
silenced. It is God's glory which is at
stake. " Deo itaque," says Calvin,
"gratiam suam objiciunt (fideles), delude
fidem, quarum utramque manebant
impiae calumniae, si populum quem
aeterno foedere sibi devinxerat, et quem
adoptaverat gratuita misericordia, frus-
tratus esset."
2. Now is not a particle of time, as
might be inferred from the rendering of
the E.V., but an interjection used in
taunt as well as in entreaty, etc.
3. But, or " and yet." See the same
use of the conjunction in ii. 6. The
answer to the taunt of the heathen, who,
seeing no image of Jehovah, mocked at
his existence. First, he is in heaven,
invisible indeed, yet thence ruling the
universe ; next, he doeth what lie will, in

fine contrast with the utter impotence
of the idols of the heathen. The last
expression denotes both God's almighty
power and his absolute freedom. "This,
truthfully accepted, does away with all
a priori objections to miracles.
4. Silver and gold, i.e. however
costly the material, this adds no real
value to the image ; it is, after all, man's
workmanship. This seems to be the
thought : otherwise the Psalmist would
have said "wood and stone" rather
than " silver and gold." This agrees
also with what follows. "Though they
may be of costly materials, they are but
of human workmanship ; though they
may have the form and members of
man, they are lifeless." DeWette re
marks that " the Jew, who was accus
tomed to see no image of the Deity, fell
into the error (often perhaps purposely)
of confounding the idols of the heathen
with the gods whom they represented,
and of which they were only the symbols.
The Israelite of the ten tribes, who had
his symbols of Jehovah himself, could
not have made such a mistake." But
it may be replied, in the first place, that
the Jew would not have admitted that
the gods had any real existence ; they
were as much the creatures of man's
imagination as the idols were of his art.
In the next place, the heathen worship

PSALM CXV.

315

5 A mouth have they, but they speak not ;
Eyes have they, but they do not see.
6 They have ears, but they hear not ;
A nose have they, but they do not smell.
7 They have hands, but they handle not ;
Feet have they, but they walk not ;
They do not utter any sound with their throat.
8 Like unto them are they that make them.
Every one who putteth his trust in them.

itself was not careful to maintain the
difference between the symbol and the
thing symbolized, and the great mass of
worshippers probably drew no distinction
between them. " Non habent Siculi
deos ad quos precentur," says Cicero.
On which Calvin remarks: "Barbare
hoc diceret, nisi haec infixa fuisset opinio
vulgi animis, deorum coelestium figuras
sibi ante oculos versari in acre, vel
argento, vel marmore." Even the re
fined teaching of the Church of Rome
does not save the ignorant and the
unlettered from absolute idolatry. Au
gustine has here some admirable remarks
on idol-worship, and the various attempts
made to distinguish between the image
and the deity it represented. But he
concedes the real existence of the gods
as demons : "Aliis itaque locis et contra
ista d ivinae Literae vigilant ne quisquam
dicat, cum irrisa fuerint simulacra, Non
hoc visibile coIo, sed numen quod illic
invisibiliter habitat. Ipsa ergo numina
in alio psalmo eadem Scriptura sic
damnat : Quoniam dii gentium, inquit,
daemonia; Dominus autem caelos fecit.
Dicit et Apostolus : Non quod idolum
sit aliquid, sed quimiam quae immolant
gentes, daemoniis immolant, et non Deo,"
etc. The whole passage is well worth
reading as a masterly analysis of idol-
worship. We have the same description
of these dumb and deaf and dead gods
in cxxxv. 1 5-1 8, probably borrowed from
this passage. Comp. Deut. iv. 28, and
tlie sarcastic picture in Isa. xliv, 9-20.
5. A MOUTH. The picture is of a
single image.

7. They have hands ; lit. "As for
their hands, they handle not (with
them) ; As for their feet, they do not
walk (therewith;)" or, "with their
hands they handle not; with their feet
they walk not." The construction is
changed, and we have nominative ab
solutes, followed by the conjunction
introducing the apodosis. See for the
same construction Gen. xxii. 24; Prov.
xxiii. 24 ; Job xxxvi. 26.
Utter any sound. The verb may
mean only to speak, as in xxxvii. 30 ;
Prov. viii. 7 ; but the rendering in the
text approaches more nearly to the root-
signification of the word, "do not utter
even an inarticulate sound." So Aben-
Ezra and Kimchi.
8. Like unto them. So true it is,
not only that as is man so is his god,
but the reverse also, as is the god so is
his worshipper. Comp. Isa. xliv. 19,
where what is elsewhere said of the idols
is said of the worshippers, that they are
"emptiness" {t6hu); and observe the
use of the verb " to become vain "
(2 Kings xvii. 15 ; Jer. ii. 5), applied in
like manner to idolaters. They who,
turning away from God's witness of
himself in the visible creation, wor
shipped the creature rather than the
Creator, received in themselves the sen
tence of -their own degradation, " Their
foolish heart became darkened." They
became blind and deaf and dumb and
dead, like the idols they set up to
worship. Are, or " become." By the LXX,
Jerome, and the Syriac the verb is ren-

316

PSALM CXV.

(Levites and Choir.')
9 0 Israel, trust in Jehovah !
He is their help and their shield.
10 0 house of Aaron, trust ye in Jehovah !
He is their help and their shield.
11 Ye that fear Jehovah, trust in Jehovah !
He is their help and their shield.
(The Priest.)
12 Jehovah (who) hath been mindful of us will bless-
He will bless the house of Israel,
He will bless the house of Aaron.
13 He will bless them that fear Jehovah,
Both small and great.
14 Jehovah increase you more and more.
You and your children !

I dered as an optative, " May they be-
I come," etc., which, however, is less
: forcible. 9. The change in the strain of the
Psalm here must unquestionably have
been accompanied by a change in the
music. And it appears highly probable,
as has been said, that the first line of
this and the two following verses was
sung as a solo — by some one of the
Levites, — and the second line, or re
frain, which occurs in each verse, " He
is their help and their shield," by the
choir. Trust in Jehovah, in contrast
with the " trust " of the previous verse.
Trust in Jehovah, for he is not like the
idols, he is the living God, " the help
and the shield" (comp. xxxiii. 20) of
them that trust in him Trust in Je
hovah, for he hath been mindful of us in
times past, he will bless us in time to
come (ver. 12). The threefold division
— Israel, house of Aaron, they that
fear Jehovah — is the same as in cxviii. 2,
3, 4. In cxxxv. the house of Levi is
added. 10. First the people at large are ex

horted to this trust, then the priests —
because to them was confided the worship
of Jehovah, with them it rested to keep
it pure, and they might naturally be
expected to lead the people in the path
of holy trust.
11. Ye that pear Jehovah. This
has been understood of proselytes of the
gate, in accordance with the later Jewish
and New Test, usage, as in the Acts,
(r€06p.evoi rhv ©€6v, or simply ae^6nivoi.
Comp. Acts xiii. 43, 50. But in other
places in the Psalms the phrase occurs
of all Israel; see xxii. 23 [24] ; ciii. 11,
13, 17.
12. (Who) hath been mindful . . .
WILL BLESS. So the LXX, pLrrtaBds,
and Jerome recordatus, and so Aben-
Ezra takes ^J^ST as a relative. The
past is the pledge of the future. Again
the same three classes are mentioned as
in the three preceding verses. It seems
probable that this blessing, thus prom
ised (ver. 12, 13) and thus supplicated
(ver. 14, 15), was sung, as Ewald con
jectures, by the priest. But see p. 313.
14. Increase tou. Comp. Gen.
xxx. 24; Deut. i. 11 ; 2 Sam. xxiv. 3.

PSALM CXVI. 317
15 Blessed be ye of Jehovah,
The Maker of heaven and earth.
(The Congregation.)
16 The heavens are Jehovah's heavens ;
But the earth he hath given to the children of men.
17 The dead praise not Jah,
Neither all they that go down into silence ;
18 But we will bless Jah
From henceforth even forever.
Hallelujah !
15. Maker op heavt:n and earth, the thought of another region, that un-
The title has reference to the impotent seen world below, where none can praise
idols before described. God as they do on this fair earth which
16. The words in this and in the next he has given to the children of men.
verse are simple enough, but their con- But what the dead cannot do, we will do,
nection with the rest of the Psalm is not — we to whom our God has given the
very clear. Perhaps it may be traced earth, we to whom he has been a help
thus : In ver. 15 Jehovah is said to have and a shield, we whom he has blessed
made heaven and earth. Then in ver. and will bless, we, with thankful hearts,
16 these are distributed: heaven is his will never cease to show forth his praise.
abode; earth is the abode of man. But 17. Comp. cxviii. 17; Isa. xxxviii.
the mentiouof heaven andearth suggests 18, 19.

PSALM CXVI.

In this Psalm one who has been in peril of death (ver. 3, 9, 15)
gives thanks to God with a full heart for the deliverance which has
been vouchsafed to him. Beginning with the expression of a love to
God called forth by his mercy, the Psalmist then passes in review all
God's goodness, till he feels that it surpasses infinitely not only all his
deserts, but all adequate power of acknowledgment (ver. 12) ; and he
concludes by declaring that, in the most public manner, before the
assembled congregation, he will confess how great the debt he owes,
and bind himself solemnly to the service of Jehovah.
The Psalm is evidence of the truth and depth of the religious life in
individuals after the return from the exile ; for there can be little
doubt that it must be assigned to that period. Many words and turns
of phrases remind us of earlier Psalms, and especially of the Psalms
of David. His words must have laid hold in no common degree of

818 PSALM CXVI.
the hearts of those who were heirs of his faith, and have sustained
them in times of sorrow and suffering ; and nothing would be more
natural than that later poets should echo his strains, and mingle his
words with their own when they poured forth their prayers and praises
before God.
1 I LOVE (him) because Jehovah heareth
My voice and my supplications,
2 Because he hath inclined his ear unto me.
Therefore as long as I live will I call (upon him).
3 The cords of death compassed me.
And the pains " of the unseen world gat hold upon me ;
I found distress and sorrow :
4 Then I called upon the name of Jehovah,
" 0 Jehovah, I beseech thee,'' deliver my soul."
5 Gracious is Jehovah and righteous ;
Yea, our God showeth tender compassion.
6 Jehovah preserveth the simple :
I was in misery and he saved " me.
1. I LOVE. The verb stands alone Still, as the LXX and Jerome evidently
without any expressed object, as if the had the reading, it is probably the true
full heart needed not to express it. The one, and we need not adopt any of the
object appears as subject in the next conjectural emendations which have
clause, from which it is readily supplied : been proposed.
" I love Jehovah, for he heareth," etc. 3. The later Psalmists would natu-
The writer is fond of this pregnant use rally often use David's words as the best
of the verb without an object expressed, expression of their own feelings, espec-
See ver. 2, "I call," and ver. 10, "I iaily in seasons of peril and sorrow.
believe." For the sentiment, comp. See xviii. 1-6 [2-7].
xviii. 1 [2], " Tenderly do I love thee." Gat hold upon; lit. "found," as in
The rendering, "I am well pleased that," cxix. 143.
etc. has no support in usage. On this 5. Instead of saying directly " Je-
first verse Augustine beautifully says : hovah answered me," he magnifies those
" Cantet hoc anima quae peregrinatur a attributes of God which from the days
Domino, cantet hoc ovis ilia quae er- of his wonderful self-revelation to Moses
raverat, cantet hoc filius ille qui mortuus (E.x. xxxiv. 6), had been the joy and con-
fuerat et revixit, perierat et inventus est ; solution of every tried and trusting heart.
cantet hoc anima nostra, fratres et filii See introduction to ciii. The epithet
carissimi." " righteous " is added here, as in cxii. 4.
2. As LONG AS I LIVE ; lit. " iu my 6. The simple. LXX, Ti i/^irio.
days." The phrase, " in my days will The very simplicity which lays them
I call," is certainly hard, and 2 Kings most readily open to attack is itself an
XX. 19 (Isa. xxxix. 8), to which De- appeal for protection to Him who "show
litzsch refers, is not a real parallel, eth tender compassion."

PSALM CXVI.

319

7 Return unto thy rest,* 0 my soul,
Por Jehovah hath dealt bountifully with thee.
8 Por thou hast delivered my soul from death.
Mine eye from tears.
My foot from stumbling.
9 I will walk before Jehovah
In the land of the living.
10 I believe ; — for I must speak :
I was greatly afflicted.
11 I said in my confusion,
"All men are liars."
12 How shall I repay unto Jehovah
All his bountiful dealings ' with me ?
13 I will take the cup of salvation.
And call on the name of Jehovah.

7. The deliverance vouchsafed in
answer to prayer stills the tumult of the
soul. The rest is the rest of confidence
in God.
9. The land of the living ; lit.
" the lands," but the plural may be only
poetic amplification. In xxvii. 13 (comp.
Ivi. 13 [14]), we have the singular.
10. The E.V., "I believed, therefore
have I spoken," follows the LXX, irrl-
(TTev(ra, Sih i\d\ri(ra, a rendering which
is also adopted by St. Paul (2 Cor. iv.
13), in illustration ot the truth that a
living faith in the heart will utter its
convictions with the mouth. But the
Hebrew will not admit of such a ren
dering. The following are possible in
terpretations : (1) "I believe when I
speak," i.e. when I break forth into the
complaint which follows in the next
clause. For this use of the verb speak,
comp. xxxix. 3 [4] (so Hupfeld). Or
(2), "I believe," — emphatic, i.e. I do
believe, I have learned trust in God by
painful experience — " for I must speak"
— I must confess it, "I even I (pron.
emphatic) was greatly afilicted ; I my
self (pron. emphatic as before) said,"
etc. The latter explanation seems, on
the whole, preferable, as it gives the due

prominence to the repeated pronoun,
and moreover a satisfactory sense is
obtained. Kay renders : " I believed in
that I spake." In all other instances
where the Hiph. of las is followed by
¦^3 the subject of the verb in the sub
ordinate clause is different from that of
the principal clause. The Psalmist de
clares that he stays himself upon God
("I believe"), for he had looked to
himself, and there had seen nothing but
weakness; he had looked to other men,
and found them all deceitful, treacherous
as a broken reed. Comp. Ix. 11 [13] ;
Ixii. 9 [10] ; cxviii. 8, 9. There is an
allusion to this passage in Rom. iii. 4.
11. The first member is the same as
in xxxi. 22 [23].
13. The cup. Many see in the word
an allusion to the "cup of blessing"
at the paschal meal (Matt. xxvi. 27),
and this would accord with the sacrificial
language of ver. 14, 17. It is true there
is no evidence of any such custom at
the celebration of the Passover in the
Old Test. ; but as the custom existed
in our Lord's time, the only question is
as to the time of its introduction. If it
was introduced shortly after the exile,
this Psalm may very well allude to it.

320 PSALM CXVL
14 My vows unto Jehovah will I pay.
Yea, in the presence of all his people let me (pay them).
15 Precious in the sight of Jehovah
Is the death of his beloved.
16 I beseech thee, 0 Jehovah — for I am thy servant,
I am thy servant, the son of thine handmaid ;
Thou hast loosed my bonds.^
17 I will sacrifice unto thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving.
And I will call upon the name of Jehovah.
18 My vows will I pay unto Jehovah,
Yea, in the presence of all his people let me (pay them),
19 In the courts of Jehovah's house.
In the midst of thee, 0 Jerusalem !
Hallelujah !
Others understand by " the cup," in a which is used in beseeching. It is a
figurative sense, the portion allotted to part of the same interjection which
man, whether of prosperity, as in xvi. occurs in ver. 4 and 16, and which is
5 [6] ; xxiii. 5, or of adversity, as in xi. there rendered " I beseech thee." A
6 [7] ; Ixxv. 8 [9]. So the Arabs speak fondness for these forms is characteristic
of " the cup of death," " the cup of of the Psalm.
love,'' etc. Then the meaning of the 15. Precious ... is the death, i.e.
verse will be, " I will accept thankfully it is no light thing in the sight of God
and with devout acknowledgment the that his servants should perish. The
blessings which God gives me as my more obvious form of expression occurs
portion." Ixxii. 14, "precious is their blood in
14. Let me (pat them). I have his eyes."
endeavored thus to render here, and in 16. Son of thine handmaid. Cf.
ver. 18 (the refrain), the interjection Ixxxvi. 16; 2 Tim. i. 5.
* ''';isa ; a later word, which occurs besides in the sing. "iSBti , cxviii.
5, and in the plur. Di^35an, Lam. i. 3. In these other passages it
means narrowness, straitness, as of a narrow place, whereas here an
abstract sense is required. The word does not also seem very suitable
to tiSia . In the original passage "^bnti is the word employed, and
hence Hupfeld would read here I'nsa , nets, as in .lob xix. 6 ; Eccl.
vii. 26.
'' re^ with n, as in five other places, instead of N, compounded of
Pix and n:. It is accentuated both Milel and MUra. Properly speak
ing, in beseeching it is and, Milra ; in asking questions, dnah Milel.
° soin';. For this form, with the n retained, see Ixxxi. 5 [6].
* "isinisa . The plur. masc. occurs only here, the plur. fem. in two
other places instead of the sing. The noun means primarily a resting-

PSALM CXVIL 321
place, and then rest (xxiii. 2). The plur. is used to denote rest in its
fulness. On the form of the fem. sufiix in this word, and in "'S'^^S in
the same verse, and again in ''Dsina , ver. 19, see on ciii. note °.
° Ti'^iraan . This Aramaic plural suffix occurs only here in Biblical
Hebrew (iSesen. § 91, 2, Obs. 2).
^ !Tnj3 . The form seems adapted to the following K3 , to express
the ^n ward earnestness of wish; see the same form ver. 18, and again
the use of n|x , ver. 1 6. It is more difiicult to account for the termi
nation -ah in nnian , ver. 15, which, as an accusatival termination, can
have no force. Delitzsch calls it " a pathetic form " for njo , but the
fondness for this termination is a peculiarity of the writer.
* ¦''^Diai' . The prep, i instead of the accus. after the trans, verb is
an Aramaic construction, and one of the signs of the later date of the
Fsalm.

PSALM CXVII.
This short Psalm may have been a doxology intended to be sung
after other Psalms, or perhaps at the beginning or end of the temple
service. In many mss. and editions it is joined with the following
Psalm, but without any sufficient reason.
1 0 PRAISE Jehovah, all ye nations.
Laud him, all ye peoples ! '
2 Por his loving-kindness is mightily shown towards us,
And the truth of Jehovah (is^ forever.
Hallelujah !
2. Loving-kindness . . . truth, by St. Paul, Rom. xv. 11, together with
These two great attributes of God (see Deut. xxxii. 43, " Rejoice, ye Gentiles,
on cxv. 1), as manifested to Israel, with his people," as showing that in the
"towards us," are to be the subject of purpose of God the Gentiles were des-
praise for the heathen, an indication of tined to be partakers, together with the
those wider sympathies which appear to Jews, of his mercy in Christ.
have manifested themselves after the Is mightily shown. Comp. cjii. U.
exile. Hence the first verse is quoted
¦ Dia^j; . The only instance of this form in Biblical Hebrew. Else
where, either n'iax (Gfln. xxv. 16 ; Num. xxv. 15), or more commonly
VOL. II. 41

322 PSALM cxvin.

PSALM CXVIII.
It is evident that this Psalm was designed to be sung in the temple
worship, and was composed for some festal occasion. Its liturgical
character is shown by the formula with which it opens and closes,
" 0 give thanks to Jehovah," etc. ; by the introduction of different
voices, which may be inferred in verse 2-4 ; and by the frequent repe
tition of certain lines as a refrain in the former half of the Psalm,
which can leave little doubt that it was constructed with a view to
antiphonal singing. The allusions in the latter part, and especially
verse 24, " This the day which Jehovah hath made," etc., point to some
great festival as the occasion for which it was written. Its general
character, and the many passages in it borrowed from earlier writers,
render it probable that it is one of the later Psalms, and we may
assume that it was composed after the return from the captivity.
Four different occasions have been suggested for which it might
have been written :
1. The flrst celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles in the seventh
month of the first year of the return, when nothing but the altar had,
as yet, been erected for the worship of God, Ezra iii. 1-4. (Ewald.)
2. The laying of the foundation-stone of the second temple in the
second month of the second year, Ezra iii. 8-13. (Ilenstenberg.)
3. The completion and consecration of the temple in the twelfth
month of the seventh year of Darius, Ezra vi. 15-18. (Delitzsch.)
4. The extraordinary celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles after
the completion of the second temple, recorded in Neh. viii. 13-18.
(Stier.) The following conclusions may help us to decide :
1. The use of the Psalm in the ritual of the second temple leads
to the conclusion that it was composed originally for the Feast of
Tabernacles. For the words of the twenty-fifth verse were sung
during that feast, when the altar of burnt-offering was solemnly com
passed ; that is, once on each of the first six days of the feast, and
seven times on the seventh day. This seventh day was called " the
great Hosannah " (Save now, ver. 25) ; and not only the prayers for
the feast, but even the branches of trees, including the myrtles which
were attached to the palm-branch (Lidab), were called "Hosannas"
(ni;siDiii). Further, although the Psalm itself contains no direct
allusion to any of the national feasts, yet the use of the word " tents "
in verse 15 at least accords very well with the Feast of Tabernacles.

PSALM cxvm. 323
2. In the next place, it seems equally clear that the Psalm sup
poses the completion of the temple. The language of verses 19, 20,
" Open to me the gates of righteousness," " This is the gate of Jehovah,"
and the figure employed in verse 22, " The stone which the builders
rejected is become the head stone of the corner," cannot be easily
explained on any other supposition. The allusion in verses 8-12 to
the deceitfulness of human help and the favor of princes, as well
as to the active interference of troublesome enemies, are exactly in
accordance with all that we read of the circumstances connected with
the rebuilding of the temple. The most probable conclusion there
fore is, that the Psalm was composed for the first celebration of the
Feast of Tabernacles, after the completion of the second temple
(Neh. viii.).
Mr. Plumptre, who, like Ewald, supposes the Psalm to have been
originally composed for the first Feast of Tabernacles after the return,
suggest that it may subsequently have been used with adaptations at
the later great gatherings of the people. He thus, in fact, combines the
different views which have been held as to the occasion for which the
Psalm was written. He thinks it may possibly have been written by
one of the two prophets of that time, and draws attention to the prom
inence in Zechariah of parables and illustrations drawn from the
builder's work : the " stone " of iii. 9 ; iv. 7 ; the '• house " and " timber "
of V. 4, 11; the "line" of i. 16; the "carpenters" of i. 20; the
"measuring-line for the walls of Jerusalem" of ii. 1 ; the "plummet"
in the hand of Zerubbabel of iv. 10. The prophet lives, as it were,
among the works of the rising temple" (Biblical Studies, p. 274).
Comp. verses 19 and 22 of the Psalm.
Ewald distributes the Psalm between different voices, giving verses
1-4 to the choir, verses 5-23 to the leader of the choir, verses 24,
25 to the choir, verses 26, 27 to the priest, verse 28 to the leader
of the choir, verse 29 to the choir. But, as Delitzsch observes, the
priest took no part in the singing of the service ; they blew with the
trumpets, but the singers and players on the stringed and other instru
ments of music were Levites. The Pealm, therefore, should be dis
tributed between the Levites and the congregation, the lines containing
the refrains being probably sung antiphonally by the latter. Delitzsch
thinks it more certain that the Psalm consists of two parts, the first of
which, verses 1-19, was sung by the festal procession, led by priests
and Levites, on the way to the temple ; the second, verses 20-27, by
the Levites, who received the procession at the temple gate. Finally,
verse 28 would be the reponse of those who had just reached the

324 PSALM cxvin.
temple, and verse 29 would be sung by all, both Levites and those
who formed the procession.
A similar arrangement of the Psalm is suggested in the Midrash
(Shocher tobh), but there "the men of Judah" form the procession,
which is received by "the men of Jerusalem." In Pesachim 119a
the Psalm is assumed to be intended for antiphonal singing.
The congregation speak of themselves sometimes in the singular,
sometimes in the plural ; but it is not necessary to assume that in the
former case the words were always sung by a single voice and iu the
latter by many. It is more probable that in some portions of the
Psalm, although it was intended for public worship, the personal
feelings of the writer were uppermost. There is the same change,
for instance, in the "Te Deum," and such variations are perfectly
natural. On the other hand, we may take it for granted, that in the
first four verses the lines would be sung antiphonally, the precentor,
perhaps singing the first line of each verse, and the choir taking up
the refrain, " For his loving-kindness," etc.
1 0 GIVE thanks to Jehovah, for he is good,
For his loving-kindness (endureth) forever.
2 Let Israel now say.
That his loving-kindness (endureth) forever.
3 Let the house of Aaron now say.
That his loving-kindness (endureth) forever.
4 Let them now that fear Jehovah say,
That his loving-kindness (endureth) for ever.
6 Out of (my) straitness I called upon Jah, ^
Jah answered " me (and set me) in a large place.
6 Jehovah is on my side, I am not afraid ;
What can man do unto me ?
7 Jehovah is on my side, to help me.
Therefore I shall see my desire upon them that hate me.
1-4. Comp. Ezra iii. 11, where the It is the same particle. Thewords"for
same refrain is found as the burden of his loving-kindness endureth for ever,"
the psalmody which was sung at the lay- are in fact a quotation, a refrain such as
ingof the foundations of the second tem- Jehoshaphat's singers were directed to
pie. This is so far in favor of Hengsten- sing, 2 Chron. xxv. 21 .
berg's view as to the occasion on which 6. Borrowed from Ivi. 9, 11 [10, 12].
the Psalm was first sung. See intro- 7. To help me, or " as my helper."
duction to the Psalm. Comp. liv. 4 [6], where see note. Ex.
2. That, or rather " for," as in ver. I. xviii. 4.

PSALM cxvm. 325
8 It is better to find refuge in Jehovah,
Than to put any trust in man :
9 It is better to find refuge in Jehovah,
Than to put any trust in princes.
10 All nations compassed me about ;
In the name of Jehovah will I cut them off.""
11 They compassed me about, yea, they compassed me about ;
But in the name of Jehovah will I cut them off.
12 They compassed me about like bees.
They were extinguished like a fire of thorns ;
In the name of Jehovah will I cut them off.
13 Thou didst thrust sore at me, that I might fall.'
But Jehovah helped me.
14 Jah is my strength and my song ; *
And he is become my salvation.
15 The voice of joyous song and salvation
Is in the tents of the righteous :
The right hand of Jehovah doeth valiantly.
16 The right hand of Jehovah is exalted,"
The right hand of Jehovah doeth valiantly.
8, 9. See Ixii., xxxiii. 16-19, and the Piel sometimes has, as, for instance,
comp. cxlvi. 3. The allusion is probably in Ii. 7 [9] ; Isa. v. 2. So the LXX,
to the hostility of the Samaritans and (^tKai6r\oav as vvp iv axdvOais. Vulg.
the Persian satraps during the building exarserunt.
of the temple. The Jews had learned Eire of thorns, quickly blazing up
by painful experience how little they and as quickly dying out. Comp. Iviii.
could trust in princes, for the work 9 [10].
which had been begun under Cyrus had 13. Thou didst thrust sore, or
been threatened under Cambyses, and perhaps " Thou didst indeed thrust, etc.,
had been suspended under the pseudo- . . . but," for the emphasis in the repeti-
Smerdis, and and it was not till Darius tion of the verb (infin. absol.) belongs, as
came to the throne that they were Hupfeld remarks, not merely to the idea
allowed to resume it (Ezra iv.). contained in the verb, but rather to the
10. All nations, i.e. the neighbor- whole sentence, and implies an opposi-
ing tribes, who harassed the returning tion, as here, in what follows. The
exiles, the four times repeated "com- words are an apostrophe to the enemy,
passed me about" marking their close here addressed as an individual.
and pertinacious hostility. 14. In the first line there is a reminis-
12. Like bees. See the same figure cence of Israel's song of triumph at the
in Deut. i. 44. Red Sea, Ex. xv. 2 (comp. Isa. xii. 2).
Were EXTINGUISHED. Others "they 15. Tents. "We can imagine with
blazed up" (soLeeser), the Pael being what special force the words [of this
taken here in the privative sense which verse] would come to those who then

326

PSALM cxvm.

17 I shall not die but live.
And I shall tell forth the works of Jah.
18 Jah hath chastened me sore.
But he hath not given me over unto death.
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness,
I will enter into them, I will give thanks to Jah.
20 This is the gate of Jehovah ;
The righteous shall enter into it.
21 I will give thanks unto thee, for thou hast answered me,
And art become my salvation.
22 A stone which the builders rejected
Is become the head (stone) of the corner.

were, or had but recently been, keeping
their Feast of Tabemables, dwelling in
the temporary huts which they con
structed of the branches of the olive and
the fir-tree, the myrtle and the palm,
and rejoicing in the great deliverance
which God had given them." — Plump
tre, Biblical Studies, pp. 274, 275.
17. "Ad se redit, laetusque exclamat,"
remarks Rosenmiiller. And certainly
the personal feeling of the Psalmist
seems here to predominate, though the
Psalm is so manifestly liturgical, and
therefore intended to represent the feel
ings of the congregation, that the per
sonal experience includes that of the
nation at large. Each one of those re
deemed captives may take up the words
and utter them as his own, and the
whole nation as one man may adopt
them also. Nationally and individually
they are alike true.
19. The gates op righteousness.
The gates of the temple are so called
with reference to the service of God, and
the character he requires of his wor
shipers. This is evident from the next
verse, " The righteous shall enter into
it." Comp. V. 4 [5], " Evil cannot dwell
with thee," i.e. in thy house; xv. 1, 2,
" Who may dwell on thy holy moun
tain? He that walketh perfectly and
worketh righteousness," etc. See also
xxiv. 3-6. What David had declared
to be the necessary condition of all ac

ceptable worship in Zion was felt to be
perpetually true. The demand "open
to me," may be understood either (1)
literally, in which case it is best ex
plained as the words of the singers in
the festal procession when they reach
the temple gates (see introduction to
the Psalm) ; or (2) figuratively, as im
plying the readiness and alacrity with
which the Psalmist will go to the house
of God, there to offer his sacrifices and
to utter his thanksgivings. Comp. Isa.
xxvi. 2 : " Open ye the gates, that the
righteous nation may enter in," where
righteousness is made the condition of
entrance into " the strong city," or
God's building, as here into the holy
place. 22. A Stone. The imagery is drawn
obviously from the building of the tem
ple. " Some incident in the progress of
the works had probably served as the
starting-point of the parable. Some
stone — a fragment, we may conjecture,
of the old temple, rescued from its
ruins — had seemed to the architects
unfit for the work of binding together
the two walls that met at right angles
to each other. They would have pre
ferred some new blocks of their own
fashioning. But the priests, it may be,
more conversant with the traditions of
the temple, knew that that was the right
place for it, and that no other stone
would answer half as well. The trial

PSALM CXVIIL

327

23 This is Jehovah's doing.
It is marvellous in our eyes.'
24 This is the day which Jehovah hath made,
Let us exult and be glad in it.
25 We beseech thee, 0 Jehovah, save now.
We beseech thee, 0 Jehovah, send now prosperity.

was made, and the issue answered their
expectations. Could they fail to see
that this was a type and figure of what
was then passing in the history of their
nation ? Israel had been rejected by
the builders of this world's empire, and
seemed now about to be once more ' the
head of the corner ' " (Biblical. Studies,
p. 275). They had been despised by
their heathen masters, but now, by the
good hand of their God upon them, they
had been lifted into a place of honor.
They, rejected of men, were chosen of
God as a chief stone of that new spirit
ual building which Jehovah was about
to erect ; the temple of the world, the
foundation of which was to be laid in
Zion. In Matt. xxi. 42-44 (Mark xii.
10, 11 ; Luke xx. 17), our Lord applies
the words of this and the next verse to
himself. The quotation was, it would
seem, purposely taken from the same
Psalm from which the multitude had
just before taken their words of saluta
tion (see on ver. 25, 26), as they went
forth to meet him and conduct him in
triumph into Jerusalem. But there is
more than an application of the words.
Israel is not only a figure of Christ ;
there is an organic unity between Him
and them. Whatever, therefore, is true
of Israel in a lower sense, is true in its
highest sense of Christ. Is Israel God's
" first-born son ? " the name in its fulfil
ment belongs to Christ (Matt. ii. 15);
if Israel is " the servant of Jehovah,"
he is so only as imperfectly representing
him who said, " My meat is to do the
will of him who sent me, and to finish
his work." If Israel is the rejected
stone made the head of the corner, this
is far truer of him who was indeed re
jected of men, but chosen of God and
precious; the comer-stone of the oue

great living temple of the redeemed,
whether Jews or Gentiles. (Comp. Eph.
ii. 20). See the use of the same figure
in its application to our Lord by St.
Peter, Acts iv. 1 1 ; 1 Pet. ii. 7. The
passage which forms the connecting link
between this Psalm and the N. T. quo
tations is Isa. xxviii. 16, "Behold, it is
I who have laid securely in Zion a
stone, a tried, precious corner-stone, most
securely laid : he that believeth (i.e.
resteth thereon) shall not flee (through
fear of any evil)." In this passage the
Messianic reference is still more direct,
even if we suppose a primary reference
to the house of David. (It is interpreted
as Messianic both by the Targum, and
amongst the Rabbinical commentators,
by Rashi). In marked contrast with
this, it is said of Babylon, Jer. Ii. 26,
" They shall not take of thee a stone
for a corner, nor a stone for a founda
tion." 23. The change in Israel's destiny,
the restoration to their land, the rebuild
ing of their temple, the future that was
opening before them — these things are
a miracle; Jehovah's hand alone could
have accomplished it. Comp. Josh. xi.
20. 24. This is the day, i.e. perhaps
the great day of festival with reference
to which the Psalm was composed. It
is possible, however, that this verse is
rather to be connected with the previous
verse, so that " the day " is not the
feast-day, but the day (the time) on
which Jehovah had wrought for Israel :
" This is Jehovah's doing . . . this is the
day which he hath made." The prayer
of the next verse falls in best with the
latter interpretation.
25. We beseech Thee. Comp. cxvi
4, 16.

328

PSALM CXVIIL

26 Blessed be he that cometh in the name of Jehovah,
We have blessed you from the house of Jeliovah.
27 Jehovah is God, and he showeth us light ;
Bind the sacrifice with cords.
Even unto the horns of the altar.
28 Thou art my God, and I will give thee thanks,
(Thou art) my God, (and) I will exalt thee.
29 0 give thanks to Jehovah, for he is good.
For his loving-kindness (endureth) for ever.

Save now, or rather, " Save, I pray "
(Hosanna). The particle of entreaty is
repeated in each member of this verse,
so that altogether it occurs four times,
as if to mark the earnestness of the peti
tion. The English word " now " is not,
therefore, a particle of time, but a par
ticle of entreaty, as in Eccl. xii. 1, "Re
member now thy Creator," i.e. " Remem
ber, I beseech thee, thy Creator." With
this word " Hosanna," and words from
the next verse, "Blessed be he that
cometh," etc., the multitude welcomed
Jesus as the Messiah, the Psalm being
perhaps already recognized as a Mes
sianic Psalm. According to the Mid
rash, in the words of ver. 26 the people
of Jerusalem welcomed the caravans of
pilgrims coming up to the feast.
26. According to the accents the ren
dering would be, " Blessed in the name
of Jehovah be he that cometh," the for
mula being the same as in the priestly
blessing, Num. vi. 27 ; Deut. xxi. 5 ;
2 Sam. vi. 18. Comp. Ps. cxxix. 8.
From the house of Jehovah, the
priests standing there to bless those who
entered. 27. Showeth va light, in allusion
to the priestly blessing, " Jehovah make
his face shine (lighten, the same verb as
here) upon thee." Comp. iv. 6 [7].
The sacrifice. The word com
monly denotes the feast ; here, in Ex.
xxiii. 1-1; Mai. ii. H, the victim offered at
the feast. The E. V. gives this sense in
Isa. xxix. 11.

Unto the horns op the altar.
The expression is apparently a pregnant
one, and the sense is, " Bind the victim
with cords till it is sacrificed, and its
blood sprinkled on the horns of the
altar." Delitzsch, on the other hand,
renders " as far as the boms of the
altar." Supposing the Psalm to have
been written for the dedication of the
second temple, he refers to Ezra vi. 17,
where mention is made of the vast num
ber of animals slaughtered on the occa
sion ; hence, he explains that the victims
(taking the word sacriflce in a collective
sense) were so numerous that the whole
court of the priests was crowded with
them, and that they reached as far as the
horns of the altar. " The meaning is,"
he says, "bring your hecatombs and
have them ready for sacrifice." But on
this interpretation there is nothing ap
propriate in the mention of the horns of
the altar. These have always a refer
ence to the blood of the sacrifice. Luther
has "deck the feast with garlands (or
boughs)," following the LXX, avarii-
(Taade kopT))V iv to7s WKdCovoiv. Symm.
has (TucS^troTe iv Travrjyvpet trvKdtTfiara,
and Jerome frequentate s.'^lennitatem in
frondosis — all renderings which imply
a belief that the Psalm was intended for
the Feast of Tabernacles. As regards
this rendering, the word translated in
the text cords may mean thick boughs,
nvKia-iittra (see Ezek. xix. 11 ; xxxi.
3, 4) ; but the verb bind cannot mean
deck or wreath.

» "iIlS . This (and not ''5:?> ) is the usual vocalization, whether in
pause or not ; comp. 1 Sam. xxviii. 15, where it stands with Munach.

PSAXM cxvm. 329
Baer says here that ''.55S is " with Rebia Mugrash, and the Nim has
Kamets according to the best mss." The construction with aijiaa is
an instance of what is called the constructio praegnans. Comp. Ixxiv.
7 ; 2 Sam. xviii. 19 ; Jer. xli. 7. Symm., iirrjKovcri pov €ts eipv^otplav.
According to the Masora Hi is not a separate word, but we are
to read n^an'-ffla , this being one of several instances in which the final
syllable r.^ merely intensifies the form of the word, and the ti is ex
pressly said to be without Mappik. Cf. Josh. xv. 28 ; 2 Sam. xii. 25 ;
Jer. ii. 31 ; 1 Chron. iv. 18 (bis) ; viii. 24, 27 ; Song of Sol. i. 7 ; viii.
6, and see note on n^ibbn , Ps. civ. 35.
'' nbiBS. Hiphil (only here) of bia, which means elsewhere to
circumcise, in Kal and Niphal. Hengst. would retain the signification
here, as if the victory over the heathen, " the uncircumcised," were
described under the figure of a compulsory circumcision. Such a form
of expression does occur in the later Jewish history (.loseph. Arch.
xiii. 9, 1, 11, 3). Compare also the allusions in Gal. v. 12, PhU. iii.
2, and the forcible circumcision as a token of victory, 1 Sam. xviii. 25 ;
2 Sam. iii. 14. But it is better to give to the Hiph. the more general
meaning to cut off, which is found in the Pilel, xc. 6, and in the Hith
pael, Iviii. 8. Hupfeld would read ot'^DX (from bis sustinere), " I will
repel them," ia accordance with the rendering of the LXX, rjp.vvdpr)v.
As regards the punctuation, the correct texts of Nurzi, Heydenheim,
and others, have D^'^ox , and so Gesen. would read, the Pathach in
pause being the representative of the Tsere. Delitzsch observes that
such a change of vowel is remarkable, and he would account for it by
supposing that, in such cases, as the vowel is already long and cannot
be lengthened, it is sharpened (pointed) instead.
The affirmative ¦'S stands before this verb (instead of at the begin
ning of the sentence), as in cxxviii. 2. Compare the position of EK,
Ixvi. 18. Its use may be explained by an ellipse = " know that," " be
sure that," as in an oath, 1 Sam. xiv. 44.
¦= ^'B?'b, with Nun expressed (as in Isa. xxix. 2) and Pe dagess.,
whereas with 3 and 3 the aspirate is left, with but few exceptions,
Buch as Gen. xxxv. 22.
* n^a't . See on xvi. note *.
' naaii . Not an adj., as if from DBl , a root which does not exist,
but either (1) 3 pret. Pal., or (2) Part. Pal. with loss of the a (as
adui , Dan. viii. 13, S^iS, Isa. iii. 12, and elsewhere), and retention of
the vowel -, as in pause. The objection to (1) is, that then the
accentuation ought to be naail.
*¦ pxbs: For other instances of this form comp. Gen. xxxiii. 11 ;
VOL. II. 42

330 PSALM CXIX.
Deut. xxxi. 29 ; Jer. xliv. 23 ; Isa. vii. 14. ntt? Mn'.O) rhythmic M/et
with Dagesh in the following word, as for instance in Gen. xix. 38 ;
Ex. xvi. 24; 1 Sam. vi. 9 ; Prov. vii. 13, etc.

PSALM CXIX.

This is the longest and the most elaborate of the alphabetical
Psalms. It is arranged in twenty-two stanzas, according to the number
of letters in the Hebrew alphabet. Each stanza is composed of eight
verses, each verse consisting of two members only, and each beginning
with the same letter of the alphabet. Thus each of the first eight
verses begins with the letter Aleph, each of the next eight with the
letter Beth, and so on throughout the alphabet. In the third chapter
of the Lamentations of Jeremiah a similar arrangement is adopted,
but there the stanzas or groups consist only of three verses, each
beginning with the same letter. Other instances of this acrostic arrange
ment occurring in the Psalter will be found enumerated in the intro
duction to Psalm xxv. (See also the introduction to Psalm cxi.)
The great subject of the Psalmist's praise is the law of God. In
this respect the Psalm may be said to be an elaborate expansion of
the latter part of Psalm xix. The Masoretes observe, that in every
verse but one, the one hundred and twenty-second, there is direct ref
erence to the law under some one of the ten names (supposed to allude
to the Ten Commandments) word, saying, testimonies, way, judgment,
precept, commandment, law, statute, faithfulness (or according to
another reading, righteousness). In the one hundred and thirty-second
verse, the word " judgment " occurs in the Hebrew, although appar-
rently not as a synonyme of the law ; see note on the verse. In verse
121, "judgment and righteousness," if not denoting the law immedi
ately, are employed with reference to the requirements of the law.
The date of the Psalm cannot be fixed with anything like certainty,
though it may probably be referred to a time subsequent to the return
from the Babylonish captivity.
(a) The allusions to " princes " (ver. 23) and " kings " (ver. 46) who
did not share the faith of the Psalmist, may be taken to denote that
the Jews were subject at this time to foreign dominion.
(b) The law of which he speaks as his daily study, as his delight
and his counsellor, must obviously have been the written law, and it

PSALM CXIX. 331
may be inferred that it was now in the hands of the people. Whether
this was the case to any extent before the exile, we have now no
means of ascertaining. After the exile, copies of the Scriptures were
multiplied. The efforts of Ezra and Nehemiah, which were directed
: in the first instance to the collection of the sacred, books (2 Mac. h. 13),
must have been directed eventually to their dissemination. Accord
ingly, we find that copies of the " books of the law,'' or of " the book
of the covenant," were in the possession of the people at the time of
the Maccabees (1 Mace. i. 55, 56). In the Psalm the writer, perhaps,
includes in " the word " of God, not only the law, but other writings
regarded as sacred. In Zech. vii. 1 2, " the former prophets " seem to
be placed on a level with " the law."
(c) The general character of the Psalm, which is a meditation
rather than a poem, as well as its place in the collection, favors the
supposition that it is one of the later Psalms.
(d) The alphabetical arrangement, it has also been argued, forbids
our assigning it to an earlier period : " adapted for didactic rather than
for lyric expression, it belongs," it has been said, " to an age no longer
animated by the soul of poetry, but struggling to clothe its religious
thoughts in a poetic form." ^ It is, however, far from certain that thjs
acrostic device is of itself evidence of the decline of the poetic spirit.
Some of the oldest poems in our own language are constructed on
the principle of alliteration. It is the same in Welsh poetry. And
unless the different stages of Hebrew poetry were more clearly marked
than they are at present, its acrostic character can hardly be taken
as settling the question of the date of any single Psalm.
The circumstances of the Psalmist may be inferred in some measure
from the language of the Psalm itself. He is suffering from persecu
tion. His enemies are men of rank and authority (ver. 21, 23), having
both the power and the will to crush him (ver. 61, 69). His constancy
is severely tried. He is exposed to reproach and contempt on account
of his religion, and has reason to fear lest his hope and trust in God
should be put to shame (ver. 6, 22, 31). He is solicited to give up
his faith for gain, and even, perhaps, invited to join in idolatrous
worship (ver. 36, 37). These things make him sad (ver. 25, 28), but
he stays himself upon the word and promise of God. That word in
all its varied aspects of law and promise, of precepts and judgments,
had been his comfort in his afiiiction, his most precious possession,
dearer to him than all earthly treasures ; he had meditated upon it
day and night ; it had been a lamp to his feet and a light to his path
1 The Psalms Chronologically Arranged, by Pour Friends, p. 383.

332 PSALM CXIX.
He had taken it for his rule of life, he longed to know it better, he
prayed to have the veil taken off his eyes that he might behold its
hidden wonders. These thoughts, and thoughts like these, recur again
and again. He is never wearied of declaring his love of God's law,
or of praying for more light to understand it, more power to keep it —
to keep it with his " whole heart." The frequency of this last expres
sion is striking evidence of the earnestness of the writer ; see on verse 2.
But there does not seem to be anything like continuity, or progress of
thought, or of recorded experience, in the several stanzas of the Psalm.^
Still, " if we would fathom the depth of meaning in the written law
of Israel, if we would measure the elevation of soul, the hope, the
confidence even before princes and kings, which pious Jews derived
from it, we must turn to this Psalm. Here is an epitome of all true
religion, as conceived by the best spirits of that time. To such a loving
study and meditation on the law the alphabetical arrangement is not
inappropriate, and if the poem be necessarily somewhat cramped, it is
nevertheless pervaded by the glow of love, and abounds in spiritual
love." 2
Delitzsch thinks that the Psalm must have been written by a young
man, and appeals to verse 9 and verses 99, 100, as supporting this view.
But the language of verse 9 is rather that of one who, looking back on
his own past life, draws the inference which he seeks to impress upon
the young, that youthful purity can only be preserved by those who
from their early years take God's word for their guide. Just so in
Ecclesiastes xii. 1, it is the man of mature age and large experience
who gives the wise and friendly counsel, " Remember, I beseech thee,
thy Creator in the days of thy youth." The lesson in each case comes
with double force, because it comes from the lips of one who speaks
with the authority of experience. When it is said in verses 99, 100
of this Psalm, that the Psalmist is wiser than his teachers, wiser than
the aged, the only conclusion that can be drawn is that he is not
advanced in life. It is plain that the writer is not an old man, as
Ewald would have us believe, or he would not compare his knowledge
of the law with the knowledge of the aged. But it does not follow
that he is a young man. The teachers whom he has outstripped may
have been those whose disciple he once was, not those whose disciple
1 Delitzsch thinks that he discovers a leading idea in each stanza, and thus
endeavors to link the several stanzas together, but his analysis does not appear to
mc to be very successful. To a certain extent, freedom of thought and expression
must have been fettered by the requirements of the alphabetical order. But, after
all, what is rhyme but a fetter ?
2 The Psalms Chronologically Arranged, p. 385.

PSALM CXIX. 333
he still is ; or he may refer to authorized teachers, to whom he listened
because they sat in Moses' seat, though he felt that they had really
nothing to teach him. Indeed the whole strain of the Psalm, its depth
and breadth of spiritual life, and the long acquaintance which is every
where implied in it with the word of God, can leave us in no doubt
that it was written by a man who was no longer young, who had at
least reached the " middle arch of life."
Aleph..
1 N Blessed are the perfect in the way.
Who walk in the law of Jehovah.
2 N Blessed are they that keep his testimonies,
That seek him with the whole heart,
3 X (Who) also have done no iniquity,
(Who) have walked in his ways.
4 N Thou hast commanded thy precepts.
That we should keep (them) diligently.
6 N Oh that » my ways were established
To keep thy statutes.
6 N Then shall I not be ashamed.
While I have respect unto all thy commandments.
7 N I vrill give thanks to thee with uprightness of heart.
When I learn thy righteous judgments.
8 N I will keep thy statutes :
Oh forsake me not utterly.
Beth.
9 a Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his path ?
By taking heed (thereto) according to thy word,"
10 3 With my whole heart have I sought thee :
Oh let me not wander from thy commandments.
2. With the whole heart. An on," i.e. with care and thought, so as to
expression characteristic of this Psalm, make them the rule of life.
Comp. ver. 10, 34, 58, 69, 145. 7. Judgments; here and through-
6. Ashajied, i.e. put to shame, my out this Psalm not used of God's acts of
hope being frustrated. This is the shame judgment, but merely as the equivalent of
meant, not shame of conscience in com- " law," " precepts," and the like, utter-
paring a man's life with the requirement ances as of a judge and lawgiver, and
of the law. found in this sense even in the Penta-
Have respect unto ; lit. " look up- tench, Ex. xxi. 1 ; xxiv. 3 ; Lev. xviii. 4, 5.

334 PSALM eXTX.
11 a In my heart have I laid up thy word,
(That) I might not sin against thee.
12 a Blessed art thou, 0 Jeliovah :
Teach me thy statutes.
13 a With my lips have I told
Of all the judgments of thy mouth.
14 a In the way of thy testimonies I have rejoiced,
As much as in all manner of riches.
15 a I will meditate in thy precepts.
And have respect unto thy paths.
16 3 In thy statutes will I delight myself ;
I will not forget thy word.
Gimel.
17 a Deal bountifully with thy servant that I may live,
So will I keep thy word.
18 a Open thou mine eyes.
That I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.
19 a I am a sojourner in the earth :
Hide not thy commandments from me.
20 a My sonl breaketh for (the) longing "=
(That it hath) unto thy judgments at all times.
21 3 Thou hast rebuked the proud that they are cursed.
Which do wander from thy commandments.
11. In MT heart. See Luke ii. 19-51. edgment of treasures in the divine word
It is to me no merely outward rule of con- not seen by common eyes, needing, in
duct : it is a power and a life within. deed, spiritual discernment and heavenly
Word, or rather " saying," " speech," unveiling ; hence " Open thou."
distinct from the word employed, for 19. A sojouknee; here, therefore, bnt
instance, in ver. 9, Ixxvii. 18. Both for a short time (see on xxxix. 12), and
words are constantly interchanged needing for that time divine teaching.
throughout the Psalm. Hence the prayer, "Hide not," i.e. reveal,
14. All manner of riches. Comp. show me the inner sense and true appli-
what is said of the incomparable worth of cation of, " thy commandments."
wisdom, Prov. ii. 4; iii. 13-15; viii. 10, 20. Breaketh; lit. "is broken," aa
11,19; xvi.l6; xxii. 1; Job xxviii.15-19. expressive of the intensity of the desire,
17. That I mat live; or the con- which seems to pervade the whole man,
struction may be, " Let me live (or, if I and leave him crushed and powerless in
live), so will I," etc. The gift of life, if its grasp. Bp. Taylor speaks somewhere
vouchsafed, shall be devoted to the keep- of " the violence of the desire, bursting
ing of God's word. itself with its fulness into dissolution."
18. WoNDBOns THINGS J an acknowl- 21. That thet are cdesed. Tht

PSALM CXIX. 335
22 i Remove * from me reproach and contempt ;
For I have kept thy testimonies.
23 A Princes have also sat and talked against me.
But thy servant meditateth in thy statutes.
24 a Thy testimonies also are my delight.
And my counsellors. Dalelh.
25 T My soul cleaveth unto the dust :
Quicken thou me according to thy word.
26 T I have told my ways, and thou answeredst me ;
Teach me thy statutes.
27 T Make me to understand the way of thy precepts,
So shall I meditate of thy wondrous works.
28 1 My soul melteth away for heaviness ;
Stablish thou me according unto thy word.
29 1 Remove me from the way of falsehood.
And with thy law be gracious unto me.
30 T I have chosen the way of faithfulness ;
Thy judgments have I laid (before me).
31 1 I have stuck unto thy testimonies :
0 Jehovah, put me not to shame.
32 T I will run the way of thy commandments.
When thou shalt enlarge my heart.
adjective is a predicate marking the them, as it were, all the acts and events
efifect of God's rebuke. There is another of my life. Cf. xxii. 17 [18], "I may
division of the verse which has the sup- tell all my bones."
port of the LXX and Jerome : 28. Melteth ; lit. " droppeth," weeps
Thou hast rebuked the proud, itself away, so to speak.
Cursed are they that, etc. Stablish ; lit. " set me up again," the
And so the Prayer-book version. meaning being nearly the same as in
22. Remove froji me; lit. "take the often-repeated prayer, " quicken me."
off, strip from me," shame being regarded 29. The wat of falsehood, i.e.
as a cloak or mantle covering the person, not falsehood in the common sense of
LXX, TTfpifAE. the term, but " unfaithfulness " to God,
23. Talked, or " spoken one with to which, in the next verse, " the way of
another." The verb (Niphal) is recip- faithfulness " is opposed.
rocal, as in Ezek. xxxiii. 30. With tht law, or " Graciously im-
25. Cleaveth itnto the dust, part thy law unto me." The construc-
See on xliv. 25 [26]. tion is that of the double accusative.
26. I HAVE told mt WATS. I have See Gen. xxxiii. 5.
laid before thee severally, numbering 32. Enlarge mt heart, i.e. expand

336 PSALM CXIX.
He.
33 n Teach me, 0 Jehovah, the way of thy statutes.
And I shall keep it unto the end.
34 n Give me understanding, that I may observe thy law.
That I may keep it with my whole heart.
35 n Make me to walk in the path of thy commandments ;
Por therein do I delight.
36 n Incline my heart unto thy testimonies.
And not to covetousness.
37 n Turn away mine eyes from seeing vanity ;
In thy way quicken thou me.
38 n Confirm thy promise unto thy servant.
Who is (devoted) to thy fear.
39 n Turn away my reproach which I am afraid of,
Por thy judgments are good.
40 n Behold, I have longed after thy precepts :
In thy righteousness quicken thou me.
Vau.
41 1 Let thy loving-kindness also come unto me, 0 Jehovah,
Thy salvation, according to thy saying.
it with a sense of liberty and joy, as in 15), vanitt, all which, as being against
Isa. Ix. 5 ; 2 Cor. vi. 11, 13. Seeonci.6. God, or without God, is unreal and un-
36. Mt heart, to which answers in stable ; but perhaps idols are especially
the next verse " mine eyes," as repre- meant.
senting the senses through which the 38. Promise, or "saying." See on
forbidden desire is kindled in the heart, ver. 11. The second member of the
Comp. Isa. xxxiii. 15 ; Job xxxi. 1, 7. verse might also be rendered : " Which
CovETOnsNESs, or rather "gain un- (promise) is for thy fear," i.e. either (a)
justly acquired." LXX, TXtovt^iav. is given to them that fear thee, so the
Stanley, on 1 Cor. v. 10, thinks that Cbald. ; or (6) which has the fear of
from the connection of irXtovi^ia with thee for its aim and object (cxxx. 4),
idolatry, it may be used in the sense of tends to cherish a holy fear.
sensuality, which so often accompanied 39. The train of thought seems to
idolatry, and he sees a similar connection be : Keep me from the reproach of break-
here, vanity in the next verse being a ing thy commandments, for those com-
term for idolatry. However, the Hebrew mandments are not grievous, but good,
word i"S3 can only mean plunder, rapine, sweet, and full of blessing to one who
unjust gain. longs after them as I do. Or " the re-
37. Turn awat; lit. "make to pass proach" may be that of his enemies
on one side " of the object. (ver. 42), who taunt him as the servant
From seeing, i.e. being attracted by, of God.
and so finding pleasure in (Isa. xxxiii. 41. The vowel-points both of the verb

PSALM CXIX. 337
42 1 So shall I have wherewith to answer him that re
proacheth me ;
Por I trust in thy word.
43 1 And take not the word of truth utterly out of my
mouth ;
For I have waited for thy judgments.
44 1 So shall I keep thy law continually,
(Yea) for ever and ever.
45 1 And I shall walk at liberty ;
Por I have sought thy precepts.
46 1 And I will speak of thy testimonies before kings.
And will not be ashamed.
47 1 And I will delight myself in thy commandments.
Which I love.
48 1 My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments,
which I love ;
And I will meditate in thy statutes.
Zain.
49 t Remember the word unto thy servant.
Upon which thou hast caused me to hope.
50 t This is my comfort in my afHiction,
Por thy word hath quickened me.
and the noun suggest a plural, although The expression denotes the act of
the Yorf of the plural is wanting in the prayer, as in xxviii. 2; Ixiii. 4 [5],
noun. Similarly in ver. 43 the vowels cxxxiv. 2 ; cxli. 2. Comp. Lam. iii.
suggests the plur. "judgments." See 41 :" Let us lift up our heart with our
Critical Note ^. hands." Here it would seem to denote
43. The sense seems to be, " Give me figuratively reverence, devotion of heart,
the power faithfully to witness for thy and the like ; unless we suppose it to be
truth, and so to answer him that re- a locutio praegnans ^ " I will pray to
proachethme" (ver. 42). thee for grace to keep thy command-
45. At libertt ; lit.' " in a wide ments."
space," where there is nothing to check 49. The word, apparently some
or hinder freedom of action, as in special word of promise which had been
cxviii. 5. his stay in his affliction, and had roused
46. Before kings. It may be in- him to new hope and courage (ver. 50).
ferred that the Psalm was written whilst Upon which, or, perhaps, "seeing
Judea was in subjection to foreign rule, that," " because."
The viceroys of the Persian king may 50. Mt comfort. Comp. Job vi.
be meant. 10, the only other place where the word
48. Mt hands will I lift up. occurs. It is the "word" (ver. 49)
VOL. II. 43

838

PSALM CXIX.

51 t The proud have had me greatly in derision ;
(Yet) have I not swerved from thy law.
62 t I remembered thy judgments of old, 0 Jehovah,
And have comforted myself.
63 T Burning indignation hath taken hold upon me.
Because of the wicked that forsake thy law.
54 T Thy statutes have been my songs
In the house of my pilgrimage.
65 T I have remembered thy name in the night, 0 Jehovah,
And have kept thy law.
56 1 This I had.
Because I kept thy precepts.
Cheth.
57 n " Jehovah is my portion,"
I said that I would keep thy words.
68 n I entreated thy favor with (my) whole heart ;
Be gracious to me according to thy promise.

which is his comfort. Others render
the verse " This is my comfort, etc. . . .
that thy word hath quickened me."
Word; lit. " saying." See on ver.
11. Or the construction may be : "This
is my comfort . . . that thy word, etc.
Here, as is evident from the mention of
"affliction"' — and indeed throughout
the Psalm — the verb " quicken" is used
not merely in an external sense of " pres
ervation from death" (Hupfeld), but of
"reviving the heart," imparting fresh
courage," etc.
51. Had me in derision, i.e. prob
ably both on account of his misery and
his trust in God. The verb is from the
same root as the noun " scorners,"
" mockers," in i. 1. Comp. for the same
connection between the spirit of pride
and the spirit of irreligious scoffing, Prov.
xxi. 24.
52. Judgments, in the same sense
as throughout the Psalm, God's right
eous laws which he revealed or old,
which arc ever true and ever in force.
53. Burning indignation. See on
xi. note "=. Kay connects it with CjSI the
b being inserted, "fainting," "droop

ing," etc.; LXX, aBvptla; Vulg., defectio.
The action of tha Simflm may either be
regarded as a burning, -parching wind, or
in its eflects, as producing faintness.
54. Pilgrimage, or rather " sojourn
ing," from the same root as the noun in
ver. 9, where see note. In this earth I
am but a passing guest, as at some way
side inn. Comp. Gen. xlvii. 9.
56. This I had. It is not clear to
what " this " refers. If to what goes
before, it may be to the remembrance
of God's name. Otherwise we must
render : " This has been (vouchsafed)
to me, this has been my reward, that I
have kept thy precepts," i.e. such has
been the gift of thy grace.
57. This is the arrangement according
to Baer's text. According to others,
" I said " belongs to the first member :
Jehovah is my portion, I said, that I
might keep, etc., the verb " I said " being
thrown in parenthetically, as in Isa. xlv.
24; Lam. iii. 24, and like i'n^uam in Latin.
That I would keep, or " in
keeping." 58. I entreated tht favor.
Comp. xlv. 12 [13].

PSALM CXIX. 339
69 n I thought on my ways.
And turned back my feet unto thy testimonies.
60 n I made haste, and delayed not
To keep thy commandments.
61 n The cords of the wicked have been wound about me,
(But) thy law have I not forgotten.
62 n At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee,
Because of thy righteous judgments.
63 n I am a companion of them that fear thee,
And of them that keep thy precepts.
64 n The earth, 0 Jehovah, is full of thy loving-kindness :
Teach me thy statutes. Teth.
65 t3 Thou hast dealt well with thy servant,
0 Jehovah, according unto thy word.
66 Q Teach me good perception and knowledge,
Por I have believed thy commandments.
67 t3 Before I was afflicted I went astray.
But now have I kept thy saying.
68 13 Thou art good, and doest good :
Teach me thy statutes.
69 a The proud have forged a lie against me ;
I, with (my) whole heart, will keep thy precepts.
70 t3 Their heart is gross as fat :
As for me, (in) thy law do I delight.
71 13 It is good for me that I have been afflicted.
That I might learn thy statutes.
61. Wound about, or "entangled," tie (chap. i. 9) the delicate tact by which
60 the LXX, ir(pieTr\dKr)jav ; Jerome, Christian love should be characterized.
implicaverunt ; Vulg., circumplexi sunt. Here the Psalmist prays rather for a
66. Good perception; lit. "good- ^nc sense or apprehension of God's words.
ness of perception" or discernment ; the 69. The proud. The same over-
fine taste and delicate feeling which are bearing, tyrannical oppression already
like a new sense. So St. Paul prays for mentioned, ver. 51, 61.
the church at Philippi, that their "love Have forged; lit. "have patched
may abound more and more in knowl- up." Comp. Job xiii. 4; xiv. 17.
I edge and in all perception," iv imyvdKrn 70. Fat. For the figure as expres-
Ka\ trdari a\(T9i]aei. The two words cor- sive of want of feeling, see xvii. 9 [10] ;
respond to the two Hebrew words here; Ixiii. 6 [7] ; Isa. vi. 10.
but the latter, afo-flTjfffs, marks in the Epis- 71. It is good pok me. Seever.67.

1340 PSALM cxrx.
72 t3 The law of thy mouth is better unto me
Than thousands of gold and silver.
Jod.
73 "> Thy hands have made me and fashioned me :
Give me understanding, that I may learn thy com
mandments.
74 '' They that fear thee will be glad when they see me ;
Por in thy word have I hoped.
75 ^ I know, 0 Jehovah, that thy judgments are righteous.
And that in faithfulness thou hast afflicted me.
76 ^ Let, I pray thee, thy loving-kindness be for my comfort.
According to thy saying unto thy servant.
IT*^ Let thy tender mercies come unto me, that I may live ;
Por thy law is my delight.
78 ^ Let the proud be ashamed, for they have subverted me
by falsehood :
As for me, I meditate in thy precepts.
79 ¦' They that fear thee will turn unto me,
And they shall know thy testimonies.
80 ^ Let my heart be perfect in thy statutes.
That I be not ashamed. Caph,
81 3 My soul hath failed for thy salvation ;
In thy word have I hoped.
82 3 Mine eyes have failed for thy word,
Saying, " When wilt thou comfort me ? "
83 3 Por I have become like a bottle in the smoke :
(Yet) do I not forget thy statutes.
75. Righteous ; lit. "righteousness." expression of a wish, " Let them tnm.''
76. Even when a man recognizes that Thet shall know, i.e. by their
affliction is sent in " faithfulness," that own experience. Such is the reading
God has a wise purpose of love in send- of the present text; but if we accept the
ing it, still it is in itself bitter, and Masoretic correction the second member
therefore he prays that he may have of the verse will be : " And they that
God's " loving-kindness " and his " ten- know thy testimonies."
der mercies " as his comfort in the midst 80. Perfect, i.e. whole, undivided.
of affliction. Comp.Heb.xii.il. 83. A bottle in the smoke, i.e.
79. Will turn, or there may be the a skin bottle for wine. The figure is

PSALM CXIX. 341
84 S How many are the days of thy servant ?
When wilt thou execute judgment on them that
persecute me ?
85 3 The proud have digged pits for me.
Who are not after thy law.
86 3 All thy commandments are faithfulness :
They persecute me wrongfully ; help thou me.
87 3 They had almost consumed me upon earth ;
But as for me I forsook not thy precepts.
88 3 Quicken me after thy loving-kindness,
So shall I keep the testimony of thy mouth.
Lamed.
89 b For ever, 0 Jehovah,
Thy word is settled in heaven.
90 b Thy faithfulness is unto all generations ;
Thou hast established the earth, and it standeth
fast.
91 b Por thy judgments, they stand fast unto this day;
Por all things are thy servants.
92 b Unless thy law had been my delight,
I should then have perished in my affliction.
93 b I will never forget thy precepts ;
Por by them thou hast quickened me.
94 b Thine I am, save me ;
Por I have sought thy precepts.
95 b The wicked have waited for me to destroy me ;
(But) thy testimonies do I consider.
generally supposed to denote the misery It is an argument why God should
and affliction of the Psalmist who com- take speedy vengeance on his enemies,
pares himself to one of these wine-skins that he may see it executed before ha
blackened and shrivelled and rendered dies.
useless by the smoke of the fire in which 89. In heaven, as marking its un
it is hung. Rosenm., however, explains changing, everlasting character, as in
it as the custom of the ancients to hang Ixxxix. 2 [3].
skins full of wine in the smoke, in order 91. For tht judgments, i.e. " with
to mellow the wine. In this case, the reference to thine ordinances or laws,
figure would denote the mellowing and they (i.e. heaven and earth) standfast."
ripening of the character by affliction. All things ; lit. "the whole," i.e. tha
84. How mant. Comp. xxxix. 4 [5]. universe.

842 PSALM CXIX.
96 b I have seen an end of all perfection ;
Thy commandment is exceeding broad.
Mem.
97 a Oh how I love thy law :
It is my meditation all the day.
98 a Thy commandments make me wiser* than mine
enemies ;
Por they are ever with me.
99 73 I have more understanding than all my teachers ;
Por thy testimonies are my meditation.
100 a I understand more than the aged ;
Por thy precepts have I kept.
101 a I have refrained my feet from every evil path.
That I might keep thy word.
102 a Prom thy judgments have I not turned aside ;
Por THOU hast taught me.
103 a How sweet are thy sayings unto my taste,
(Yea, sweeter) than honey to my mouth.
104 a Through thy precepts I get understanding ;
Therefore I hate every path of falsehood.
Nun.
105 a Thy word is a lamp unto my foot.
And a light unto my path.
106 a I have sworn, and am steadfastly purposed.
That I will keep thy righteous judgments.
96. All pf.rfection. If this ren- different wisdom and a better wisdom
deringiscorrect, the meaning is obvious, than theirs; not one which consists in
There is nothing upon earth to which policy, or craft, or human prudence.
there does not cleave some defect. But So, too, as he is wiser than his enemies,
perhaps the clause should rather be ren- he is wiser than his teachers (ver. 99),
dered : "I have seen an end, a limit to wiser than the aged (ver. 100), and his
the whole range or compass of things " ; wisdom is that practical wisdom which
a meaning which may be defended by consists in the fear of the Lord, and
the use of the similar word in Job xxvi. which leads him to eschew all evil
10; xxviii. 3, and which harmonizes (ver. 101).
with the next clause : " thy command- For thet, i.e. thy commandments.
ment is exceeding broad," has no limits, 102. Thou hast taught me. This
whilst all other things are bounded by is the secret of all the previous boast,
a narrow compass. this is the source of all his wisdom.
Broad. Comp. Job xi. 7-9. 103. Sayings. The verb is plural,
98. Make me wises, i.e. teach me a see on ver. 41, and note l>.

PSALM cxrx. 343
107 J I am afflicted very greatly ;
Quicken me, 0 Jehovah, according unto thy word.
108 a Accept, I beseech thee, 0 Jehovah, the freewill offerings
of my mouth.
And teach me thy judgments.
109 a My soul is continually in my hand ;
Yet I do not forget thy law.
110 a The wicked have laid a snare for me ;
Yet have I not strayed from thy precepts.
Ill a Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage forever ;
For they are the rejoicing of my heart.
112 a I have inclined mine heart to perform thy statutes
Forever, (even unto) the end.
Samech.
113 D I hate them that are of double mind.
But thy law do I love.
114 Q Thou art my hiding-place and shield :
I have hoped in thy word.
116 0 Depart from me, ye evil-doers.
That so I may keep the commandments of my God.
116 D Uphold me according unto thy saying, that I may live.
And let me not be ashamed of my hope.
117 6 Hold thou me up, and so I shall be saved.
And have respect unto thy statutes continually.
118 D Thou hast made light of all them that wander from thy
statutes ;
For their deceit is falsehood.
119 6 Thou hast put away all the wicked of the earth like dross ;
Therefore I love thy testimonies.
109. Mt soul is in mt hand. He 113. Op double mind. See the noun
has been faithful even in constant peril from the same root, 1 Kings xviii. 21,
of death. Comp. Judg. xii. 13 ; 1 Sam. " How long halt ye between two opin-
xix. 5; xxviii. 21 : Job xiii. 14. ions?" and comp. the i.v}ip St\fivxos of
111. God's law is an everlasting pos- St. James (i. 8).
session (comp. ver. 98), more truly so 118. Falsehood, i.e. self-deception:
than the land of Canaan itself, which was they rely upon their deceitful artifices
given tolsraelforaneverlasting heritage, in vain, and only to their own con-
Comp. xvi. 5, 6, where the Psalmist fusion.
claims God himself as an heritage. 119. Like dross, i.e. by the fire of

344 PSALM CXIX.
120 0 My flesh trembleth for terror of thee,
And because of thy judgments I am afraid.
Ain.
121 s I have done judgment and righteousness ;
Leave me not to mine oppressors.
122 » Be surety for thy servant for good ;
Let not the proud oppress me.
123 s Mine eyes fail for thy salvation,
And for thy righteous saying.
124 y Deal with thy servant according to thy loving-kindness,
And teach me thy statutes.
125 » I am thy servant, give me understanding,
That I may know thy testimonies.
126 » It is time for Jehovah to act ;
(Por) they have broken thy law.
127 3> Therefore I love thy commandments
Above gold, yea, above fine gold.
128 s Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all
(things) to be right ;
(And) I hate every false way.
Pe.
129 s Wonderful are thy testimonies ;
Therefore hath my soul kept them.
130 B The revelation of thy words giveth light.
It giveth understanding unto the simple.
thy judgment. Comp. Jer. vi. 28-30; in Jer. xviii. 23; Ezek. xxxi. 11. So
Ezek. xxii. 18-20; Mai. iii. 2, 3. the LXX, Kaiphs to5 jroi^o-ai t^ Kupfm,
120. Trembleth or " shuddereth," which has been rendered "it is time to
strictly used of the hair as standing sacrifice to the Lord," in defiance of all
erect in terror (comp. Job iv. 15). usage, as well as the whole character of
121. Judgment and righteous- the Psalm. It ought not to be neces-
NESS, apparently terms employed with sary to say that ttoiiiv in Greek of itself
reference to the law. It is equivalent no more means io sacn^ce than " make "
to saying, " I have kept thy law." in English.
122. Be surett, as in Isa. xxxviii. 128. Concerning all things.
14 ; Job x\ii. 3. This and ver. 132 are These words are doubtful. See Critical
the only two verses in the Psalm which Note.
contain no allusion to the law. 130. Revelation ; lit. "door," " open-
126. To act. Tho verb is used ab- ing," i.e. unfolding or unveiling, not en-
Bolutely of God's acts of judgment, as trance, as in E.V.

PSALM CXIX. 345
131 D I opened my mouth and panted ;
Por I longed for thy commandments.
132 B Turn thee unto me, and be gracious to me.
As thou usest to do unto those that love thy name.
133 B Establish my steps in thy saying.
And let no iniquity have dominion over me.
134 D Redeem me from the oppression of man.
That I may keep thy precepts.
136 B Make thy face to shine upon thy servant,
And teach me thy statutes.
136 B In rivers of water mine eyes run down,
Because they keep not thy law.
2'saddi.
137 s Righteous art thou, 0 Jehovah,
And upright are thy judgments.
138 a Thou hast commanded thy testimonies in righteousness
And exceeding faithfulness.
139 ^ My zeal hath consumed me ;
Because mine adversaries have forgotten thy words.
140 a Thy saying is tried to the uttermost.
And thy servant loveth it.
141 a I am small and despised ;
(Yet) do not I forget thy precepts.
142 a Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness.
And thy law is truth.
131. I OPENED MT MOUTH, an OX- 133. Have dominion, as in xix.
pression denoting eager desire, as in Job 13 [14].
xxix. 23. Like one oppressed with 136. I» rivers of water: see the
burning heat, and longing for some same phrase, Lam. iii. 48, and for the
cool spring of water, or some fresh construction, Gesen. § 138, I, Obs. 9.
breeze to fan his brow. 138. In righteousness and faith-
132. As Tiiou USEST ; lit. " according fulness. The nouns may either be used
tu tho judgment of (belonging to) them adverbially, or they may be accusatives
thai love thy name," which may mean in apposition, "as righteousness," etc.
"as is just to them" But the word 139. Comp. Ixix. 9 [10].
mishpal, "judgment" is frequently used 140. Tried; lit. " fined," as metals are
in the sense of " custom," a sense readily in the furnace, and hence pure, free from
derived from that of " law," " enact- all admixture of dross, true. Comp. xii.
ment," c;c. 6 [7|.
vol. ii. 44

346 PSALM CXIX.
143 2j Distress and anguish have gotten hold upon me ;
Thy commandments are my delight.
144 j: Thy testimonies are righteousness forever ;
Give me understanding, that I may live.
Koph.
145 p I called with (my) whole heart :
" Answer me, Jehovah, so will I keep thy statutes."
146 p I called upon thee : " Save me.
So will I keep thy statutes."
147 p Early in the morning twilight did I cry ;
I hoped in thy word.
148 p Mine eyes prevented the night-watches
That I might meditate in thy promises.
149 p Hear my voice according unto thy loving-kindness ;
0 Jehovah, quicken me according to thy judgment.
160 p They draw nigh that follow after mischief ;
They are far from thy law.
151 p Thou art nigh, 0 Jehovah,
And all thy commandments are truth.
162 p Long since do I know from thy testimonies
That thou hast founded them forever.
Resh.
163 n Look upon mine affliction, and deliver me ;
For I do not forget thy law.
164 1 Plead my cause and ransom me ;
Quicken me according to thy word.
155 'n Salvation is far from the wicked ;
For they have not sought thy statutes.
147. Eablt ; lit. " I was beforehand " Mine eyes were beforehand with the
in the twilight." The verb means " to night-watches."
anticipate," " to go to meet," with the 151. They are nigh (ver. 150) to per-
accus. (as in xvii. 13) ; and used abso- secute and destroy me ; thou art nigh to
lutely, as here, it must mean " I rose help me.
early." It is the same word as the 154. According to. For the use
word rendered "prevented" in the next of the preposition comp. Isa. xi. 3.
verse. It is difficult to find an English 155. Far. A masc. predicate prefixed,
expression suitable for both. We might the noun being fem., as in 137 a singular
Bay : " I was beforehand with the dawn." predicate is prefixed when the noun is iu

PSALM CXIX. 347
166 "1 Many are thy tender mercies, 0 Jehovah,
Quicken me according to thy judgments.
157 ^ Many are my persecutors and mine adversaries ;
I have not swerved from thy testimonies.
168 ^ I saw the faithless and was grieved.
Because they kept not thy saying.
159 T See how I love thy precepts ;
Quicken me, 0 Jehovah, according to thy loving-
kindness.
160 T The sum of thy word is truth.
And every one of thy righteous judgments (en
dureth) forever. Schin.
161 V3 Princes have persecuted me without a cause ;
But my heart standeth in awe of thy word.
162 ia I rejoice because of thy saying,
As one that findetli great spoil.
163 ia As for falsehood, I hate and abhor it ;
Thy law do I love.
164 123 Seven times a day do I praise thee.
Because of thy righteous judgments.
165 U) Great peace have they which love thy law.
And there is no stumbling-block unto them.
166 la I have hoped for thy salvation, Jehovah,
And have done thy commandments.
167 U) My soul hath kept thy testimonies.
And I love tliem exceedingly.
the plural. For other instances of anoma- words of St. John, (TKdvSaKov ovk %(ttiv
lous usage of gender see ver. 115, 151. iv avrtp (1 John ii. 10). So we may
158. Was grieved (pausal aorist) ; supply here, "no stumbling-block in
lit. "felt loathing." Comp. cxxxix. 21. <Acm," or " in their path." When God's
BECAUSE,or"who," viz. "thefaithless." law is loved, instead of being struggled
160. The sum, as in cxxxix. 17. against, the conscience is at peace, and
Jerome, " Caput verborum tuorum." the inward eye is clear ; a man sees his
The LXX wrongly, dpxh tUp \6yaiv aov. duty and does it, free from those stu n-
Still less defensible is the E. V., "from bling-blocks which are ever occasion of
the beginning." falling to others.
165. No stumbling-block. LXX, 166. I have hoped. Comp. t'ne
( OUK ecrTU' ainols aKdvSaXov. Comp. the words of Jacob, Gen. xlix. 1 8.

348 PSALM CXIX.
168 123 I have kept thy precepts and thy testimonies ;
For all my ways are before thee.
Tau.
169 n Let my cry come near before thee, 0 Jehovah ;
Give me understanding, according to thy word.
170 n Let my supplication come before thee ;
Deliver me according to thy promise.
171 n Let my lips pour forth praise ;
For thou teachest me thy statutes.
172 n Let my tongue sing of thy promise.
For all thy commandments are righteousness.
173 n Let thine hand be a help unto me ;
For I have chosen thy precepts.
174 n I have longed for thy salvation, 0 Jehovah,
And thy law is my delight.
176 n Let my soul live, and praise thee.
And let thy judgments help me.
176 n I have gone astray like a lost sheep : seek thy servant,
For I do not forget thy commandments.
168. For all mt wats. In saying employed in our Lord's parable. He
" I have kept thy precepts," I make no who is the lost sheep here is one who
vain boast, I say it as in thy sight, does not forget God's commandments.
who seest all my life. The figure, therefore, seems in this place
170. Promise; lit. "saying," and to denote the helpless condition of the
again in ver. 172. Psalmist, without protectors, exposed to
172. Sing of, or perhaps "repeat," enemies, in the midst of whom he wan-
"echo." ders, not knowing where to find rest
176. According to the accents, the and shelter. But in the "I have gone
rendering would rather be, " I have gone astray," there is doubtless the senseof
astray ; seek thy servant as a lost sheep." sin as well of weakness, though there is
In what sense can one who has so re- also tho consciousness of love to God's
peatedly declared his love of God's word, law, " I do not forget thy command-
who has asserted that he has kept God's ments." Comp. with this xix. 12-14
precepts, make this confession? The [13-15]. The word rendered "lost" may
figure cannot be employed here in the be rendered "ready to perish."
same sense, for instance, in which it is
° ¦'^nx (whence ''^ni* , 2 Kings v. 3), compounded of ns and '^\ (i^b),
= o si.
^ ^^~>^- Many mss. and edd. have the plural, and again ver. 16,
17, 25, 28, 42, 101. The same is the case with tjn'cx, ver. 11, 103,

PSALM CXX. 349
148, 162. But there is no doubt that the sing, is to be preferred. It
is otherwise with ^ICBira , which is clearly a defective form, instead of
the plur. Sj''-;, 43 and 147. Comp. 37, 41, for similar forms.
The construction in ibicb is that of the gerund.
" fiaxn , only here, instead of filxn , and so also the verb aNH occurs
only in this Psalm, ver. 40, 174.
"* ba , not instead of Vi , from V^i , to roll away, as De Wette and
others, referring to Josh. v. 9, but the same word as in ver. 18, from
th\ (Piel), to uncover, which occurs with a two-fold construction;
either (1) with the accus. of the thing uncovered, as in ver. 18, " to
uncover the eyes " ; or (2) with accus. of the covering which is taken
off, as in Isa. xxii. 8, Nah. iii. 5, and so here, '• uncover," i.e. take off
from me, the reproach which lies upon me " as a cloak."
" "ijaann, 3 sing, fem., not 2 masc. For this use of the sing, verb
with the plur. noun see Gesen. § 143, 3. The following X'^rt shows that
the law is regarded as a whole : " it maketh me wiser." However,
the plur. punctuation of the noun may be an error. See note ''. The
versions generally take the verb as the E. V. does, as 2d pers. " Thou
through thy commandments," etc.
' Vb ^'ilpB Vs . This is usually rendered, " All (thy) precepts con
cerning all (things)," and is defended by Ezek. xliv. 30, "All firstlings
of all (sorts)." See a similar expression. Num. viii. 16. The case,
however, is not really analogous, as the phrase here does not mean
" all precepts of all sorts " ; and, besides, the absence of the pronoun is
awkward : we want " thy precepts." Hence the reading ought probably
to be T]i'n»pQ-i3 ; and so Houb., Ewald, Olsh., Hupfeld. And this is
supported by the LXX, irpos Trdcra^ tcis evroXas aov KaT(op0ovpy)v, and
Jerome, in universa praecepta tua direxi.

PSALM CXX.

With this Psalm begins a series of fifteen Psalms, all bearing the
same title, " Songs of the goings-up " (E. V. " Songs of degrees "), and
constituting originally, no doubt, a separate hymn-book — a Psaher
within a Psalter. The different interpretations which have been given
of the name will be found mentioned in the Introduction, Vol. I. p. 69.
Of these, the most probable is that which supposes that the Psalms to
which this title is prefixed were intended to be sung by the caravans
of pilgrims " going up " to keep the yearly feasts at Jerusalem. The

350 PSALM CXX.
collection in its present form must have been made after the return
from Babylon, some of the songs containing manifest allusions to the
captivity as still fresh in the recollection of the writers. All these
odes have certain features in common. With one exception (the one
hundred and thirty-second) they are all short — the utterance of a
single thought or feeling, a sigh, a iiope, a joy. Tliey are alike in
tone, in diction, in rhythm, the climatic form of the last recurring so
often as to have led Gesenius to suppose that the title " Song of
ascents," was given to them owing to this peculiarity. They are all
pervaded by the same quiet, graceful, tender beauty, the charm of
which was so felt by a Spanish commentator, that he does not hesitate
to say that this collection is to the rest of the Psalms what Paradise
was to the rest of the world at its first creation.
The first in the collection is a prayer against the lying tongues of
treacherous neighbors, whom the poet compares, for their cruelty and
perfidy, to the savage hordes of the Caucasus or of the Arabian desert.
But whether the Psalmist thus pictures the heathen among whom he
dwells in exile, or the wild tribes with whom no treaty can be kept, by
whom he is beset on his way back from Babylon to Palestine, or the
Samaritans,' Arabians, and others, who, after their return attempted,
by false representations to the Persian monarch, to thwart the rebuild
ing of the temple (Ezra iv.) and the fortification of the city (Neh.
ii.-iv.), it is impossible to say. The allusions are brief and obscure.
Reuss says : " Ce psaume, le seul qui soit difficile h expliquer parmi
ces chants de pelerinage, pent 6tre regard^ comme I'un des plus obscurs
de tout le Psautier. Les idees y sont h peine indiquees, les images
sont peu transparentes, et les allusions historiques sont pour noii»
autant d'^uigmes." [A Pilgrim Song,]
1 Unto Jehovah, when I was in distress,"
I called, and he answered me.
1. Called .... answered. The refer merely to a past occasion. Past
verbs are in the past tense, but do not experience and present are here com-
1 It is, indeed, doubtful whether the Chaldee letters in Ezra iv. do relate to the
obstacles offered by the Samaritans to the rebuilding of the temple, or whether
they are not rather to be referred to the opposition made to the rebuilding of the
city walls under Xerxes and Artaxerxes, at a much later period, Neh. ii. etc. The
chief enemies of the Jews at this time were not the Samaritans, but persons of
other tribes, — Moabites, Ammonites, Philistines, all perhaps comprised under
the general name of Arabians. See Neh. ii. 10, 19 ; iv. 7.

PSALM CXX.

351

2 0 Jehovah, deliver my soul from the lying lip.
From the deceitful tongue.''
3 What shall he give " unto thee, and what shall he add
unto thee,
0 thou deceitful tongue ?
4 Sharp arrows of the mighty.
With coals of broom.

bined. From the past he draws encour
agement for the present.
3. Give . . . add. The phrase seems
to mean, " What calamities shall he
heap upon thee'! How shall punish
ment upon punishment visit thee ? Com
pare the somewhat similar expression in
the formula of cursing, " God do so to
me, and more also," 1 Sam. iii. 17 ; xx.
13, and often. In that formula, how
ever, the first verb is do, not give. It is
not necessary to regard Jehovah as the
subject of the verbs in this verse. Tliey
may bo taken impersonally : " What
shall bo given unto thee, what more
shall be done unto thee ¦? " See more in
Critical Note.
4. The expressions of this verse may
either (1) describe further the treacher
ous tongue ("thou that art as sharp
arrows," etc.), as in Ivii. 4 [5], "whose
teeth arc spears and arrows, and their
tongue a sharp sword," Ixiv. 3 [1], " who
have sharpened their tongue like the
sword, and have aimed their arrow, even
a bitter word" — see also Iv. 21 [22],
lix. 7 [8] ; or (2) the punishment of the
tongue, a punishment according with its
character. As the lying tongue is a
sharp sword (Ivii. 4 [5]), as it is a sharp
arrow (Jer. ix. 8 [7]), as it is set on fire
of hell (James iii. 6), so shall the man
who employs it be destroyed by the
arrows and the fire of the mighty one,
i.e. God. (But see below). So in the
Talmud Erachin 15 6, it is said, "The
mighty is none other but God himself."
Comp. cxi. 9, 10 [10, 11], "J>et tho mis
chief of tlieir own Hps cover them, let
burning coals fall upon them, let them
be cast into the fire," etc. Such is the
law of the eternal Nemesis : " What a
man soweth, that shall ho also reap."

It is in favor of the first interpretation
that it falls in with the general scope of
the Psalm, in which the poet complains
that, loving peace himself, he meets with
nothing but hostility and treachery. On
the other hand, that he should burst
forth into an imprecation of God's
judgments on the head of these treach
erous neighbors is quite in accordance
with what we find in other Psalms,
where the circumstances are similar.
Compare, for instance, Ps. Iviii. For
other explanations see Critical Note.
The mighty. Even if we take this
verse as describing the punishment of
the lying tongue, we need not take " the
mighty " to mean God, as the Talmud
docs. The expression may only mean
" sharp arrows," as of a warrior. Comp.
cxxvii. 4 ; Jer. i. 9.
Broom, not as E. V., following
Jerome, "juniper." The shrup meant
is the genista monosperma (Arab, retem),
the root of which, according to Burck
hardt {Itin. ii. p. 791 ), is used for fires in
the desert, and has the property of re
taining the heat for a considerable time.
The same shrub is mentioned 1 Kings
x.ix. 4 ; Job -xx.x. 4. The latter passage
may mean, not that the root of the
genista was used for food, which seems
unlikely, as it is very bitter, but perhaps
that it was used for fire, " to warm
them" (comp. Isa. xliv. 15). Wonder
ful stories are told by Jerome {De vian-
sionibus /si ail ad Fabiolam xv.), and in
the Midr.'isb Tehillim, how travellers,
having cooked their food with a fire
made of the juniper-wood (which they
suppose to be the wood here meant),
and returning a year after to the same
spot, still found the embers alive. These
COALS arc an image cither of the burn-

352 PSALM cxx.
5 Woe* is me that I have sojourned in Meshech,
That I have dwelt beside the tents of Kedar.
6 My soul hath too long ° had her dwelling
With him that hateth peace.
7 I (am for) peace.
But when I speak,*' they (are) for war.
Ing, devouring character of the tongue, Kedar, one of the predatory hordes
or of its punishment. " Arrows with roaming the Arabian Desert. By the
(i. e. together with) coals," not, as names of these remote and barbarous
others, " fiei'y arrows," or " arrows tribes, the one to the north, the other to
sharpened and made hard by means of the south of Palestine, the Psalmist in-
firc," which would have been differently tends to mark the savage character of
expressed. those who surround him. We might
5. Meshecii, probably the Moschi of speak in the same way, says DeWette,
Herodotus (iii. 94), mentioned, together of Turks and Hottentots.
with Tubal, Gen. x. 2 ; Ezek. xxvii. 7. The literal rendering of the first
13 ; a barbarous tribe situated south- clause is, " I (am) peace," as in cix. 4,
east of the Caucasus, between the Black " I (am) prayer." The pronoun in each
Sea and the Araxes ; and clause is emphatic.
° nn-ns, the fuller form for h^s, as in ii. 3; xliv. 27. Comp.
xviii. 7.
*" 't "rib , absol. instead of constr. (comp. Iii. 6) ; unless we take
nj?a~ (as Delitzsch suggests) as an adj. (see Mic. vi. 12). But the
expression may be explained on the principle of apposition, " a tongue
which is deceit," as in Prov. xxii. 21, rss o'''^^x., "words which are
truth," Zech. i. 13.
" "i^"] '^'? ¦ The interpretations of this verse are various.
Is the " giving," etc., to be understood in a good sense or a bad sense?
Does it mean " What doth it profit thee ? " or " What doth it harm
thee ? " And who is addressed, — the lying tongue, i.e. the liar, or God,
or the Psalmist himself, or some third person indefinitely?
1. Supposing the words to be taken in a bad sense, they can mean
harm, injury, which the deceitful tongue works to others, or punish
ment which it brings upon itself. In the first case "the tongue," in
the second " Jehovah," is the subject. So far as the grammar goes,
there is nothing against either interpretation ; for the verb standing
before the fem. noun can be masc. (Gesen. § 147), and thus " the
tongue " may be the subject ; and, on the other hand, the masc. pron.
" to thee " may refer not immediately to the tongue, but to the person
whose the tongue is (§ 121, Rem. 1).
(a) It is in favor, however, of the interpretation which makes the
tongue addressed and Jehovah the subject (" What shall he give to

PSALM CXX. 353
thee," etc.), that a very similar phrase is used several times in adjura
tion. " So Jehovah do unto me, and more also," i.e. so let him punish
me (1 Sam. iii. 17 ; xiv. 44 ; xx. 13, and often). Then the punishment
threatened is further described in the next verse : " What shall he give
thee?" " Sharp arrows of the mighty," etc. Hupfeld objects to this
interpretation, that here the formula is not employed in an oath, and
that it is doubtful whether it denotes punishment, inasmuch as the
principal verb here is not nirs;; , but ¦jn'; . Those who make Jehovah
the subject are again divided when they come to the next verse ; for,
instead of seeing in that verse the manner of punishment, some see in
it a further description of the character of the tongue itself, as else
where the tongue is compared to a sharp sword, etc.
(b) Hence others take the tongue as the subject, and suppose that
the person whose the deceitful tongue is, is addressed. The sense will
then be : " What does a false tongue profit thee (0 thou liar) ? " So
far from that, thou only doest harm to others ; and this harm is then
expressed figuratively in the next verse " for thou art as sharp arrows,"
etc. So the Chald., Aben-Ezra, Kimchi, Calvin, De Dieu, most of the
older interpreters, Ros., De Wette. Here the pron. " thee " is taken
generally of any one who speaks deceit.
2. Others refer the pron. to Jehovah. " What can a deceitful tongue
profit thee ? " the argument being similar to that in such questions as
in xxx. 9 [10], and ver. 4 again giving the reply: so far from profit,
it is a pestilent mischief.
3. Once more, the pronoun may refer to the poet himself, or some
third person indefinitely, " What can the false tongue give thee ? i.e.
what harm can it inflict upon thee ? " the poet turning this question upon
himself, and the answer being that in ver. 4 : " Surely much harm, for it
is as sharp arrows," etc. According to this, ini is == nius, to work, in a
bad sense, as Lev. xxiv. 19, 20; Prov. x. 10; xiii. 10; xxix. 25.
But it may be questioned if 'Ti with b can have this meaning. In
Lev. xxiv. it is followed by a , in the other passages it stands absol.,
to effect, and therefore proves nothing.
Hupfeld, rejecting all these interpretations, separates ver. 3 entirely
from ver. 4. To the former he gives the meaning : " What (real)
good can a false tongue bring thee, how can it help thee, O thou who
employest its acts ? " and supposes (1) that not a slanderer, but a false
friend or neighbor is pointed at, and (2) that the poet is speaking not
to himself so much as to a third person, and uttering a general senti
ment. In ver. 4 he would read "'iris instead of "'ins , and would either
understand o"'i!3fl'^ as a proper name, the name of a tribe or a locaUty
VOL. II. 45

354 PSALM CXXI.
in which the broom was plentiful (as Rithmah, Num. xxxiii. 18, 19,
one of the stations of the Israelites, doubtless took its name from the
broom which grew there), or else that by tents of broom are meant
poor hovels formed of broom, as a shelter for some needy desert-
horde. He takes the verse, not in appos. with the preceding, but as an
independent sentence : " Sharp are the arrows of the warrior, by the
tents of the Rethamim," which of course is to be understood figuratively
as expressive of the hostility of the neighbors of the poet.
* fi^iN , only here with the termination T^- , used pathetically. There
is no need in such an interjection as this to assume, with Hupfeld, that
it is an accus. termination, like fin'iMri, for instance (cxvi. 15), in accord
ance with later usage.
^15, with the accus., as in v. 5 ; Isa. xxxiii. 15 ; Judges v. 17.
° na'7. See the same form Ixv. 10; cxxiii. 4; cxxix. 1, 2. It
belongs chiefly to the later language. Comp. 2 Chron. xxx. 17, 18.
' "13'iK i:'i. The verb here stands absolutely, as in xxxix. 4; there
is no need to supply the object, " when I speak of peace," Nor is
Ewald's rendering, " As for me, when I speak of peace," at all prob
able ; for even if "^S can thus stand in the middle of the sentence, as
in cxviii. 10, 11; cxxviii. 2 (comp. *i?, cxli. 10), it is very unlikely
that ¦'S'l should occupy such a position. The construction is the same
as in cix. 4, where see note.

PSALM CXXI.

This beautiful Psalm is the trustful expression of a heart rejoicing
in its own safety, under the watchful eye of him who is both the Maker
of heaven and earth, and the Keeper of Israel. The Creator of the
universe, the Keeper of the nation is also the Keeper of the individual.
The one ever-recurring thought, the one characteristic word of the
Psalm, is this word keep. Six times it is repeated in the last five
verses of this one short ode. The beauty of this repetition is unfortu
nately destroyed in the Authorized version by the substitution in the
last three instances, in verses 7 and 8, of the verb " preserve " for the
verb " keep." For the use of the same word in the original is evidently
designed, — designed to mark by this emphasis of iteration the truth
of God's loving care for the individual, and so to banish all shadow of
doubt, fear, anxiety, lest in the vast sum the unit should be forgotten.

PSALM CXXI. 35g
Under what circumstances the Psalm was written is doubtful. Some
(as Ewald and De Wette) suppose it to have been written in exile.
The Psalmist turns his longing eyes toward the hills of his native land,
or the hills which bounded his sight in the direction in which it lay, as
Daniel opened his windows toward Jerusalem when he prayed. Others
(as Hupfeld) understand by "the mountains" in verse 1, not the
mountains of Palestine at large, but the one mountain or mountain-
group of Zion, as the dwelling-place of God, the plural being used as
in cxxxiii. 3 ; Ixxxvii. 1, and leave it an open question whether the
Psalmist was in exile, or merely at a distance from the sanctuary.
Others, again, have conjectured that this was the song sung by the
caravans of pilgrims going up to the yearly feasts, when first they
came in sight of the mountains on which Jerusalem stands. At evening,
as they are about to make preparations for their last night's encamp
ment, they behold in the far distance, clear against the dying light of
the western sky, the holy hill with its crown of towers. The sight
fills them with a sense of peace and security, and from the midst of
the band a voice begins ; " I will lift up mine eyes to the mountains,"
etc. And another voice answers, " May he not suffer thy foot to be
moved. May he that keepeth thee slumber not." And anon the
whole company of pilgrims take up the strain : " Behold, he that
keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep ; Jehovah shall keep
thee," etc.
To-morrow, in the words of the next Psalm, they will sing, " Our
feet are standing within thy gates, 0 Jerusalem."
It is not, however, absolutely necessary to assume different voices
in the Psalm ; there may be one voice only, the voice of the poet
speaking to his own heart, — speaking to it, in words that are not his
own, heavenly strength and courage. That he is at a distance from
the sanctuary, if not from Palestine, is clear. It is almost equally
certain that there is no reference to " the special dangers of the
desert " as encountered by the exiles on their return. The baneful
influence of the sun and the moon (ver. 6) would not be peculiar to
the desert, and I can see no allusion to " perils from lawless tribes by
night " in verses 3, 4. The expression " thy going out and thy coming
in," would surely describe naturally, not the life of a traveller passing
through the desert, but the settled home life, with its usual occupations,
whether in Palestine or in Babylon. Beyond this, and the words of
verse 1, we have nothing to guide us.
The Psalm has no marked divisions, but falls naturally into pairs of
verses. The inscription, " A song for the goings-up," differs slightly
from that which is nrefixed to other odes of this collection.

356

PSALM CXXL

[A Pilgrim Song.]
1 I LIFT up mine eyes unto the mountains ;
Whence should my help come ?
2 My help (cometh) from Jehovah,
The Maker of heaven and earth.
3 May he ° not suffer thy foot to be moved ;
May he that keepeth thee not slumber.
4 Behold, he doth neither slumber nor sleep
That keepeth Israel.
5 Jehovah is thy keeper,
Jehovah is thy shade upon thy right hand.

1. The mountains, as already re
marked in the introduction, either those
of Palestine, as in Nahum i. 15 [ii. 1],
and in Ezekiel, " the mountains of
Israel ; or, the ridge on which lay Jeru
salem and the temple. Comp. for the
plural, Ixxxvii. 1 ; cxxxiii. 3 ; and for
the expectation of help from Zion, xiv.
7, " Oh that the salvation of Israel were
come out of Zion ; " xx. 2 [3], " Jehovah
send thee help from the sanctuary, and
uphold thee out of Zion."
Whence. It is better to take this as
an interrogative than as a relative. In
Josh. ii. 4, the only passage where the
word occurs as a relative, it is really an
indirect interrogative.
2. Maker OP HEAVEN and eaeth;
a name of God occuring especially in
these Pilgrim odes, and other later
Psalms, as in cxv. 1 5 ; cxxiv. 8 ; cxxxiv.
3 ; cxlvi. 6. God's creative power and
majesty were, especially during the exile,
impressed upon the heart of the nation,
in contrast with the vanity of the gods
of the heathen . Comp. Jer. x. 1 1 , "Then
shall he say unto them (i.e. the Jews to
the Chaldeans) : The gods that have
not made the heavens and the earth,
even they shall perish from the earth,
and from under these heavens."
3. The Psalmist turns to address him
self. First he utters the wish that God's
watchful care may be extended to him ;
then the conviction that the Keeper of
Israel, he who has been the God of his

fathers, whose hand has led the nation
through all its eventful history, doth
not — will not, cannot — slumber or
sleep. Comp. cxxxii. 4 ; 1 Kings xviii.
27 ; Isa. v. 27 ; Job vii. 20.
Mat he not, or perhaps better,
" Surely he shall not" as expressing the
conviction of the speaker (see Critical
Note). It must be confessed that the
optative rendering is somewhat weak.
It does not seem very pertinent to ex
press the wish that God may not slum
ber. Or if we assume that the Psalm
was designed for antiphonal singing,
then ver. 4, is the answer to ver. 3, " you
need not fear that he should sleep. He
cannot slumber."
4. Slumhek . . . SLEEP. There is no
climax in these words, as some have
supposed. Etymologically, the first is
the stronger word, and it occurs Ixxvi.
5 [6] (where see note) of the sleep of
death. In this instance there is no real
distinction between the two. Possibly
there may be an allusion to the nightly
encampment, and the sentries of the
caravan. 5. Tht shade, as a protection against
the burning rays of the sun. Comp.
xci. 1, "shall abide under the shadow
of the Almighty ; " Isa. xxv. 4, " Thou
hast been a shadow from the heat;"
xxxii. 2, "As the shadow of a great rock
in a weary land."
Upon tht right hand. This ia
not part of the former figure ; it does not

PSALM exxa 357
6 The sun shall not smite thee by day,
Nor the moon by night.
7 Jehovali shall keep thee from all evil.
He shall keep thy soul.
8 Jehovah shall keep thy going out and thy coming in
Prom this time forth and for evermore.
denote the south side (as some would of sleeping in the open air when the
explain), as that on which the sun would moon was shining was dizziness, mental
be hottest, and therefore protection most aberration, and even death. The names
necessary. It is rather a separate figure, given to persons of disordered intellect,
denoting generally succor, help, etc. (as oe\TivM(6p.evot,lunatici,"luna.t\cs," arose,
in cix. 31 ; ex. 5), i.e. Jehovah standing of course, from the wide-spread belief in
upon thy right hand to defend thee is the effects of the moon on those who
thy shade. were exposed to its influence.
6. Sun-stroke, a special danger of the 8. Tht going out and thy comino
East. See 2 Kings iv. 18-20; John iv. in; a phrase denoting the whole life and
8 ; and comp. Ps. cii. 4 [5], where the occupations of a man. Comp. Deut.
heart is said to be smitten like grass. In xxviii. 6 ; xxxi. 2 ; 1 Sam. xxix. 6, etc.
the same way the influence of the moon The three-fold expression, " shall keep
is considered to be very injurious to the thee . . . thy soul . . . thy going out and thy
human frame, in hot climates more par- coming in " marks the completeness of
ticularly. De Wette refers to Ander- the protection vouchsafed, extending to
son's Eastern Travels, Ewald to Game's all that the man is and that he does.
Life and Manners in ihe East, in proof Comp. 1 Thess. v. 23, Kal d\6K\ripov
that this opinion is commonly enter- ipHv rh irvivjia, Kal r) i^ux^ "ol rh (rw/ta
tained. Delitzsch mentions having . . . jripriBflri.
heard from Texas that the consequence
' ix = p.Tq, and must not, therefore, be rendered as if it were merely
ov. Ewald takes it interrogatively, as pij is also used, " Surely he will
not suffer thy foot to be moved?" Delitzsch takes it similarly, but
without a question, as expressing the subjective view of the speaker.
Such a rendering, " Surely he will not suffer," etc., is, I think, defen
sible, and perhaps even to be preferred. See on xxxiv. 5, and 1.,
note "" (Vol. I. p. 377). On the other hand, the optative rendering
may be retained here, especially as we have a similar transition from
one form of the negative to the other in xxv. 1-3, where see note.

PSALM CXXII.

This Psalm, more emphatically than any in the collection to which
it belongs, merits the title of a pilgrim song. It was evidently com
posed with immediate reference to one of the three yearly festivals,
when the caravans of pilgrims " went up " to the holy city. The poet

858 PSALM CXXU.
is living in the country. As the time of the feast draws near, his
friends and neighbors come to him, inviting him to join them in their
visit to Jerasalem. It is with this picture that he begins his poem.
He tells us how his heart filled with joy as they bade him come with
them " to the house of Jehovah." We see the procession starting ;
we see beaming eyes and happy faces, and hear the music of gladness
with which the pilgrims beguile the tediousness of the journey. The
next verse transports us at once to the holy city itself. " Our feet
have stood within thy gates"; the few words are enough. They
have reached their journey's end; they are in the city which they
love. Then the poet tells us, first, the impression made upon his
mind by her stateliness and her beauty, and next, how there comes
crowding upon his memory the scenes of her earlier grandeur, the
thought of all she had been as the gathering-place of the tribes of
Jehovah, the royal seat of David and of his house.
Filled with these thoughts, inspired by these memories, he bursts
forth into hearty, fervent prayer — the prayer of one who loved his
country as he loved his God, with no common devotion — for the
welfare of that city so glorious in her past history, and with which all
hopes for the future were so intimately bound up. And so the beau
tiful ode closes.
The Psalm is called in the title a Song of David. It is certainly
possible that Psalms written by him might be comprised in a collection
which formed a hymn-book for the pilgrims. It is possible, also, that
David himself, although there was still a sanctuary at Gibeon, even
after the ark was brought to Zion, may nevertheless have encouraged
the people to regard Jerusalem as the true centre of worship, and that
the custom of keeping the annual feasts there may have begun during
his reign. In fact this seems most natural and most probable, when we
remember how great and joyful an event was the bringing up of the
ark to Zion. There, henceforth, must have been " the heart of the
Israelitish religion." The expression in verse 3 might also be ex
plained very naturally of Jerusalem as it was in David's time, — a
city beautifully built, well compacted, adorned with palaces, and for
tified." Still, in spite of Hengstenberg's remarks to the contrary, I
cannot think that the expression " thrones of the house of David "
would be a natural one in David's lips. The phrase points, surely, to
a dynasty which has long been established ; verses 4 and 5 are clearly
a retrospect. As most, if not all, of these Psalms belong to a period subsequent to
the captivity, we turn more naturally to that time as furnishing the

PSALM exxn. 359
' occasion for the composition of this ode. But, even if we fix upon
that as the most probable date, still the question arises. Is the whole
Psalm a retrospect, or does it spring out of the new life of the people ?
Does it paint only the recollection of former pilgrimages in the days
of Zion's first glory, or does it paint the feelings of one who sees the
old state of things revived, and who joins the pilgrims going up now
as they went up of yore ?
Ewald supposes it to be a blessing on a party of pilgrims uttered
by an old man returned from the exile, himself unequal to a journey
across the desert. " The departure of his friends reminds him of the
alacrity with which he too had once obeyed a similar summons ; his
spirit is fired by sympathy with their enthusiasm, and he pours forth
the praises of that city which from the earliest times had been recog
nized as the key-stone of the national unity, the civil and f-eligious
metropolis of the tribes." * Delitzsch takes a somewhat similar view,
except that he supposes the poet to be still in exile. But the Psalm
is too bright, the pictures are too fresh, to lend any color to either
interpretation. There is none of that " deep sighing " of the exile or
the old man looking back on a departed glory which must have made
itself felt, none of that melancholy which breathes, for instance, in
such a Psalm as the forty-second, and even the eighty-fourth. The
gladness of the first verse is a gladness still warm at the heart of the
poet ; the picture of the second is one the lines of which are not yet
effaced from the eye of his mind. The reminiscences of the past, as
he has heard the tale from others, or as he has read it in the words
of other Psalmists and prophets, mingle with the present, and Jerusa
lem, rising from her ashes, seems to him fair and stately, her bulwarks
strong, and her palaces magnificent, as of old.
[A Pilgrim Song, Of David.J
1 I WAS glad when they said ' unto me.
Let us go into the house of Jehovah.
2 Our feet have stood "
Within thy gates, 0 Jerusalem.
1. The house of Jehovah. His of the satisfaction and delight of one
joy was that he should worship <Acre " in who finds himself on this high day of
the presence of Jehovah." Ex. xxiii. 17. festal joy within the sacred walls, ming-
2. Have stood. This may be a ling with the throng of worshippers who
strict perfect, implying that they are crowd the courts of the temple, and
stiU standing. It is the lively expression taking his part, with a full sense of his
1 The Psalms Chronologically Arranged, by Four Friends, p. 292.

360

PSALM exxn.

3 Jerusalem that art built.
As a city which is compact ' together !
4 Whitlier the tribes went up, the tribes of Jah,
A testimony unto Israel,
To give thanks to the name of Jehovah.

privileges as an Israelite, in the solemn
services of the feast. The rendering of
the E. v., " shall stand," is clearly
wrong. The only other possible ren
dering (see Critical Note) is one that
would throw the wholt! scene into the
past, "our feet once stood." It is the
uncertainty attaching to this form which
occasions so much difBcultj' in the in
terpretation of the Psalm.
3. Built. This has been explained
in three different ways. ( 1 ) It has been
closely joined with what follows, " built
as a city which," etc. (2) It has been
taken in the sense of" well-built, stately."
(3) It has been understood emphatically
to describe the city as rebuilt after the
exile, " which is built again," or, " O
thou that art built again." Of these,
the last is preferable. (1) injures the
parallelism, and (2) has no support in
usage. Compact. This has been understood
by some to refer to the natural confor
mation of the ground on which the city
stood. So Stanley, speaking of " those
deep ravines which separate Jerusalem
from the rocky plateau of which it forms
a part," observes that they must have
not only " acted as its natural defense,
but must also have determined its natu
ral boundaries. The city, wherever else
it spread, could never overleap the valley
of the Kedron or of Hinnom. . . . The
expression of compactness was still more
appropriate to the original city, if, as
seems probable, the valley of Tyropaeon
formed in earlier times a fosse within a
fosse, shutting in Zion and Moriah into
one comjiact mass, not more than half a
a mile in breadth." — Sinai and Palestine,
pp. 172, 173. Others, as Herder, sup
pose the e]jithet to mark the well-built
city with its fine streets and long rows
of contiguous houses, such an epithet
being peculiarly appropriate and very

natural in the lips of one who, accus
tomed only to the scattered dwellings of
country villages, is struck with the com
pact line of stately buildings which form
so imposing a feature of the capital.
" This," he exclaims, " is indeed a
city " :
" Urbem quam dicunt Eomam, Meli-
boee, putavi
Stultus ego huic nostrae similem."
Herder accordingly renders, —
" Jerusalem, du dicht-gebaute Stadt !
Wobnung an Wohnung ist in dir."
If, however, the Psalm refers, as is
probable, to the city as rebuilt after the
exile, then the epithet alludes to the re
construction of walls and houses; the
city is compact, because there are no
more waste places, no more gaps and
heaps of ruin.
4. The poet glances here, and in the
next verse, at the earlier times, when
Jerusalem had been the great religious
and political centre of the nation, the
dwelling-place of Jehovah, to whose
temple all the tribes were gathered at
the three great feasts, and the seat of
government of kings of the house of
David. This had been its double glory.
It may be inferred that he was living at a
time when all was changed. There was
still one sanctuary, but all Israel was
not united under one sceptre. It was
no longer all the tribes who went up, as
they had done of old ; there was now no
throne of the house of David. In fact,
even after the disruption of the kingdom
under Jeroboam, the tribes did not go
up to keep the yearly feasts in Jerusa
lem. It was a part of " the Machiavel
lian policy " of that prince to put a stop
to this custom, lest such occasions should
be made the means of restoring the
national unity (1 Kings xii. 26).
Testimont. The word seems almost
equivalent to " law " or " statute," but

PSALM exxn.

361

6 For there were set thrones for judgment,
The thrones of the house of David.
6 Oh pray for the peace of Jerusalem :
They shall prosper that love thee.
7 Peace be within thy bulwarks.
Prosperity within thy palaces.
8 For my brethren and friends' sakes,
Let me now wish * thee peace.
9 For the sake of the house of Jehovah our God
I will seek thy good.

there is in it also the sense of a "wit
ness" to the people of their covenant
relation to God. The "law" is that
according to which all males were to
appear before the Lord three times in the
year: Ex. xxiii. 17; xxxiv. 23; Deut.
xvi. 16; comp. Ps. Ixxxi. 4, 5 [5,6].
The words " a testimony for Israel," are
grammatically in apposition with the
previous clause, "the tribes went up," etc.
5. Fob. Jerusalem had become the
religious capital of the nation, because
it was already the civil capital. The
law had enjoined that the supreme tri
bunal should be in the same place as the
sanctuary (Deut. xvii. 8, 9). But Jeru
salem was first the civil metropolis, " the
city of David " (2 Sam. v. 9 ; vi. 12, 16),
before it became '¦ fhe city of God." To
a Jewish mind, however, the religious
and the political importance of the city
were not so much contrasted as identi
cal ; church and state were not two, but
one. Weke set; lit. "sit," more com
monly used of those who sit on the
throne, but the verb may be used of
things without life to describe their posi-
tiDa^ 9S of mountains, cxxv. 1 ; in many

passages, of cities, and even of countries
(Jer. xvii. 6 ; Joel iv. 20).
TniiONES FOK JUDGMENT. The king
was also the judge; see on Ixxii. 1.
Comp. 2 Sam. xv. 2 ; 1 ICingsiii. 16, 17.
The house of David. The ex
pression plainly points to successors of
David, not to members of his family
associated with himself in government,
administration of justice, ctc.
6. Peace . . . prosper, and in the
next verse peace . . . pkosperitt, with
a play of words in the original {shdtom,
shalvah), perhaps also with an allusion
to the name of Jerusalem.
7. Bulwarks . . . palaces, as in
xlviii. 13 [14].
8. The last four verses of the Psalm
breathe a spirit of the noblest, most
unselfish patriotism. Not for his own
sake, but for the sake of his brethren —
the people at large — and for the sake
of his God, his temple and his service,
he wishes peace to Jerusalem, and calls
upon others to wish her peace. With
love to Israel and love to Jehovah there
is naturally united a warm affection for
Jerusalem, a hearty interest in her
welfare.

' D'lirkE. Strictly, this means, "I rejoiced in, over, because of
them that were saying unto me." There is little difference in sense
between this and tj-rtja , " when they said," except that with the part.
the persons who speak become more prominent. The LXX, rightly,
eTTi Tois clprjKocri p.ov.
•'Pinauj may be either past (as all the older interpreters) or present.
VOL. II. 46

362 PSALM exxm.
"" !|ih n-iiaiJ. This compound tense may either be an imperfect,
" were standing," " used to stand " ; or a strict perfect, " have been
standing, and now are standing." In this last case it may even be
rendered as a present.
(1) nin, with the part., is an imperfect, either (a) of habit, as Gen.
xxxii. 22, " Whatever they did (part.) there, he was doing, i.e. was in
the habit of doing; Judges i. 7, "seventy kings were gathering, (i.e.
were in the habit of gathering) their meat under my table " ; or (b) of
continued past action simply, as Job i. 14, " the herd were ploughing."
(2) n^n , with the part., is a strict perfect in Isa. lix. 2, " Your sins
have been separating," i.e. have separated, and still do separate ; Jer.
V. 8, where !|in CBca probably means either " they have strayed," or
" they have been fed to the full " (see Neumann, in foe). In Isa.
xxx. 20 the same construction is used to express ^.prophetic future, i.e
a perfect transferred into the future, in which case it is followed by a
future : " Your eyes have been seeing (i.e. assuredly shall see), . . . and
your ears shall hear (fut.)."
" n^ania . The word is used of the putting together of the cover
ings of the tabernacle, Ex. xxvi. Comp. iran in Isa. iii. 7, and ^uJps ,
Neh. iii. 38. The prefixed 10 is not a later form of the pron., for it
is found in the song of Deborah, nb is the reflexive pron. used
emphatically, as in cxx. 6.
* 'a n'na'nx . This has been rendered (1) " Let me speak peace
concerning thee," as Ixxxviii. 3 ; LXX, Trepi a-ov. So Delitzsch who
compares Luke xix. 42, to. Trpoii flprjvriv air^s. (2) As Hupfeld, " let
me speak peace in thee," i.e. in all my words, prayers, etc., wish that
peace may be in thee ; and God is said " to speak peace," Ixxxv. 9 ;
comp. Esther x. 3, where the prep, is or \ is used ; " to speak good,"
Jer. xii. 6 ; 2 Kings xxv. 28. (3) " Let me speak : ' Peace be in
thee.' " Hengst., Olsh.

PSALM CXXIII.

Alsted beautifully entitles this Psalm Oculus Sperans, " The Eye
of Hope." " This," says Luther, " is a deep sigh of a pained heart,
which looks round on all sides, and seeks friends, protectors, and com
forters, but can find none. Therefore it says, ' Where shall I, a poor
despised man, find refuge? I am not so strong as to be able to
preserve myself ; wisdom and plans fail me among the multitude ol

PSALM exxra. 363
adversaries who assault me ; therefore I come to thee, O my God, to
thee I lift my eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens.' He places
over against each other the Inhabitant of heaven and the inhabitants
of the earth, and reminds himself that, though the world be high and
powerful, God is higher stilL What shouldest thou do, then, when
the world despises and insults thee ? Turn thine eyes thither, and
see that God, with his beloved angels and his elect, looks down upon
thee, rejoices in thee, and loves thee."
This Psalm is either the sigh of the exUe, towards the close of the
captivity looking in faith and patience for the deliverance which he
had reason to hope was now at hand ; or it is the sigh of those who,
having already returned to their native land, were still exposed to " the
scorn and contempt " of the Samaritans and others, who, favored by
the Persian government, took every opportunity of harassing and
insulting the Jews. Comp. Neh. ii. 19, "They laughed us to scorn
and despised us," with verse 4 of the Psalm, " The scorn of them that
are at ease, the contempt of the proud."
[A Pilgrim Song,]
1 Unto thee do I lift up mine eyes,
0 thou that art throned ° in the heavens !
2 Behold, as the eyes of slaves unto the hand of their
masters.
As the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress ;
So our eyes (look) unto Jehovah our God,
Until he be gracious unto us.
3 Be gracious unto us, 0 Jehovah, be gracious unto us.
For we are exceedingly " filled with contempt.
1. Comp. cxxi. 1. "oculos in oculis heri habere"; and
2. As THE eyes of slaves, watch- Terence (vdrfe/pA.) "oculos nunquam ab
ing anxiously the least movement, the oculis dimovere." In those passages,
smallest sign of their master's will. The however, the ready obedience of the slave
image expresses complete and absolute may also be denoted by his attitude. In
dependence. Savary (in his Letters on the Psalm the eye directed to the hand
Egypt, p. 135), say&: " The slaves stand of God is the oculus sperans, the eye
silent at the bottom of the rooms with which waits and hopes and is patient,
their hands crossed over their breasts, looking only to him and none other
With their eyesflxed upon their master they for help.
seek to anticipate every one of his 3. Exceedingly filled, or perhaps
wishes." Comp. the Latin phrases, a "has long been filled." (Comp. cxx.
nutu pendere, a vultu ore, etc. Plautus 6.) This expression, together with the
[Aulul.] uses the expression of a slave earnestness of the repeated prayer, "Ba

364 PSALM CXXIV.
4 Our soul is exceedingly filled
With the scorn " of them that are at ease,
With the contempt of the proud.*
gracious unto us," shows that the the language of the Psalm. From the
" scorn " and " contempt " have long expression of trustful dependence with
pressed upon the people, and their faith, which it opens, it passes to the earnest,
accordingly, has been exposed to a severe heartfelt kyrie eleison in which it pours
trial. The more remarkable is the entire out in a few words the trouble whence
absence of anything like impatience in springs the prayer.
"¦ ¦'ar'sn. On this form, with the Chirek compaginis, see cxiii.
note '.
^ a^ =; ra'n , ver. 4. and cxx. 6, and is the older form of this word in
its adverbial use. See Gen. xlv. 28 ; 2 Sam. xxiv. 16 ; 1 Kings xix. 4.
° sribn . The noun apparently in stat. constr. with the art., which
is incorrect, though according to Gesen. § 108, 2, a.c, Ewald, § 290,
d.e., this is allowable in certain instances, viz. either when the demon
strative power of the article is required, or when the connection between
the noun and the following genitive is somewhat loose, so that the first
forms a perfect idea by itself, while the second conveys only a sup
plemental idea relating to the material or purpose. It is on this later
principle that the art. stands here.
^ D'^JliNa . According to the K'ri, this is to be read as two words,
tf'ii'' "'NSi , " proud ones of oppressors " (which, however, as nxa does
not occur, ought rather to be "^X^ , from nsJ), but quite unnecessarily.
It is one word, a plur. from a form fl^XS (from nisa), as Gesen., or
I'l'^XJ , as Ewald takes it, like '(''"'"¦i . The adjective, however, occurs
nowhere else. According to Hupfeld, this is substantially the same
form as the '(3X12 above, the terminations '{\~ and •)- being originally
adverbial, and formed from a nunnated accusative.

PSALM CXXIV.

The last Psalm was the sigh of an exile in Babylon, waiting in
absolute trust and dependence upon God for the deliverance of himself
and his people from captivity. This Psalm is the joyful acknowledg
ment that the deliverance has been vouchsafed. The next Psalm,
the one hundred and twenty-fifth, describes the safety of the new
colony, restored to its native land, and girt round by the protection of

PSALM CXXIV. 3(55
Jehovah. Here, then, we have three successive pictures, or rather
three parts of one and the same picture ; for they are not only linked
together, as representing successive scenes in one history, but they are
also pervaded by one great master thought, which lends its unity to
the whole group. In each there is the same full recognition of
Jehovah's grace and power as working both for the deliverance and
the security of his people. In the one hundred and twenty-third
Psalm, " The eye waits upon Jehovah, till he be gracious." In the
one hundred and twenty-fourth, "If Jehovah had not been on our
side, men had swallowed us up alive. . . . Our help is in the name of
Jehovah." In the one hundred and twenty-fifth, " The mountains are
about Jerusalem, and Jehovah is round about his people.
There can be little doubt that this Psalm (the one hundred and
twenty-fourth) redords the feelings of the exiles when the proclama
tion of Cyrus at length permitted them to return to their native land.
Yet the figures employed are somewhat startling. The swelling waters
rising till they threaten to sweep all before them is an image express
ing, far more strongly than anything in the history would seem to
warrant, the hostility of their conquerors to the Jews. The bird
escaped from the broken snare is an image rather of sudden, unlooked
for deliverance, than of a return so deliberate, so slow, in some in
stances apparently so reluctant, as that of the Jews from Babylon.
The figures remind one rather of the earlier deliverance from Egypt.
The Egyptians did " rise up " against them. Pharaoh and his chariots
and his horsemen followed hard after them, and did seem as if about
to swallow them up, when they were entangled in the wilderness.
The waves of the Red Sea overwhelming their enemies might have
suggested naturally the figure by which the might of those enemies
was itself compared to swelling waters. The hasty flight might well
be likened to the escape of the bird from the broken snare ; the blow
struck in the death of the first-born to the breaking of the snare.
Still the language of poetry must not be too closely pressed. Indi
viduals may have felt strongly their oppression in Babylon. How
keenly some had reason to remember their captive condition, we see
from the one hundred and thirty-seventh Psalm. And the providen
tial means by which their deliverance was at last effected were un
looked for, and may have well taken them by surprise. The power
of Babylon had been broken by Cyrus, and the conqueror had set them
free. " When Jehovah turned again the captivity of Zion, then were
we like unto them that dream.'' Moreover, we know how constantly
both prophets and psalmists are in the habit of comparing the return

366 PSALM CXXIV.
from Babylon to the deliverance from Egypt. Twice had the nation
been in bondage to other nations, in a strange land ; twice had the
yoke of its masters been broken ; and, unlike as the circumstances
may have been under which the two great acts of national redemption
were accomplished, still the one was naturally associated iu the minds
and thoughts of the people with the other. And hence a poet cele
brating the one might almost unconsciously borrow his imagery from
the other.
The title, which gives the Psalm to David, is probably of no
authority. Delitzsch conjectures that the recurrence of certain words
found in the genuine Davidic Psalms may have led the collector to
assign this ode to him. In the LXX and the Syriac it is anonymous.
[A Pilgrhn Song. Of David.]
1 If Jeliovah had not" been on our side, —
Let Israel now say —
2 If Jehovah had not been on our side,
When men rose up against us ;
3 Then '' had they swallowed us up alive.
When their anger was kindled against us ;
4 Then had the waters overwhelmed us,
The stream " had gone over our soul ;
5 Then there had gone over our soul
The proudly-swelling * waters.
6 Blessed be Jehovah,
Who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth.
7 Our soul is escaped as a bird from the snare of the
fowlers ;
The snare is broken, and we are escaped.
8 Our help is in the name of Jeliovah.
The maker of heaven and earth.

3. Swallowed ns UP ALIVE. Comp. figure compare xviii. 16 [17]; Ixix. 1,
Iv. 15 [16] ; Prov. i. 12 ; with Num. xvi. 2 [2, 3] ; cxliv. 7 ; and the still more
32, 33, where the phrase is used of the exact parallel, Isa. viii. 7, 8; Hab. i.
company of Korah. 11.
4. The stijeam, i.e. the mountain- 5. Proudlt-swellino, Comp. xlvi.
torrent as swollen by the rains and the 3 [4] ; Ixxxix. 9 [10], and the Trirafua
melting of the snow in spring. Por the 4)3p£ffTr)s of Aeschylus. Prom. V. 717.

PSALM CXXV. 367
• ''isii , followed both in protasis and apodosis by the preterite. Sea
xxvii., note \
n^'n'iS . The use of the relative here is commonly accounted for by
an ellipse of the verb n'^n, " If (it had not been) Jehovah who was on
our side," etc. But Hupfeld observes that such an ellipse of the verb
after a conjunction is unheard of (in xciv. 17 it is virtually supplied
in the predicate), and supposes therefore that la is here used pleo-
nastically after 'b'h as a conjunction, in the sense of " that." He
compares the use of the English if that and the pleonastic use of IZJ in
Cant. iii. 4 ; Eccl. vi. 3. The LXX, too, render cl prj otu Delitzsch
compares the Aram. ("[) vi ^»}\ , o si (lit. o si quod).
^ "I18J. According to Hupfeld, the genuine old Hebrew (not Aram.)
form, instead of the more common tx, here introducing the apodosis
(as in cxix. 92), and rightly rendered by the LXX, apa. Delitzsch,
on the other hand (following Ewald § 103, e), holds it to be a short
ened from of the Aram., T;'ix . It here introduces the apodosis instead
of the affirmative "'B , which is employed in the older language to in
troduce the apodosis after ''bii , Gen. xxxi. 42 ; xliii. 10.
° n'bn? , in many mss. and edd., with the accent on the last syllable,
as if it were fem., but properly on the antepenultimate (as the Masora
and Kimchi, and the majority of mss.), to distinguish it from the same
word as Milra, meaning " an inheritance," and thus masculine, as the
verb requires, with the old accus. termination, as cxvi. 15 (comp.
cxx. 6), which, however, has lost its meaning. In Num. xxxiv. 5,
on the other hand, it is a real accusative, to the stream.
^ n^Jllij , only here a later adjective form for the more common
Oi'ni (but not Aramaic), bearing the same relation to ^^^h^ that ')'i"'X5
(see note * on last Psalm) does to llNa .

PSALM CXXV.

The exiles had been restored to their own land (see introduction
tc last Psalm), but fresh perils awaited them there. Not only were
they perpetually molested by the Samaritans and others in the re
building of the temple and of the city walls, but they were troubled
with internal dissensions ; Ezra found the " abominations of the
heathen " countenanced by the intermarriages of the Jews who returned
from the captivity with " the people of those lands," and was dismayed
when he learnt that " The hand of the princes and the rulers had

368 PSALM cxxv.
been chief in this trespass." Nehemiah, at a later period, had to
contend against a faction within the city who had taken the bribes of
the Samaritans. In rebuilding the walls, he did not trust the priests,
the nobles, or the rulers, till he had begun the work (Neh. ii. 16;
vi. 17). Even the prophets took part with his enemies against him.
Shemaiah, he found had been hired by Tobiah and Sanballat, and " the
prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets " had joined the plot,
and sought " to put him in fear," and so to hinder his work (vi. 10-14).
To these plots and this defection on the part of many of the Jews
themselves there is probably an allusion in verses 3 and 5. On the
other hand, the faith of the Psalmist rises above all these dangers.
There is One who is the sure defence of his people, who is their
bulwark as the mountains are the bulwark of Jerusalem.
[A Pilgrim Song.]
1 Thet that trust in Jehovah are as Mount Zion
Which cannot be moved,
(But) is seated forever.
2 As for Jerusalem, the mountains are round about her,
And Jehovah is round about his people.
From this time even for evermore.
1, 2. Two images of the security of ridges on the northeast and southeast."
those who trust in Jehovah : ( 1 ) they Viewed from any other direction, Jeru-
stand firm as Zion itself, they are like a salem always appears " on an elevation
mountain which cannot be shaken ; (2) higher than the hills in its immediate
they are girt as by a wall of mountains — neighborhood. Nor is the plain on which
a natural bulwark against all enemies. it stands inclosed by a continuous
1. Is seated; lit. "sitteth"; as though distant circle of mountains like
spoken of a mountain " lieth " or " is that which gives its peculiar charm to
situated," but here, with the following Athens and Innsbruck. The mountains
" forever," used in a still stronger sense, in the neighborhood of Jerusalem are
Milton : of unequal height, . . . only in two or
" From their foundations loosening to three instances . . . rising to any con-
and fro, siderable elevation. Even Olivet is only
They plucked the seaierf hills." 180 feet above the top of Mount Zion.
See on the use of this verb cxxii. 5. Still they act as a shelter ; they must be
2. Mountains are nonND about surmounted before the traveller can see,
HER. " This image is not realized," or the invader attack, the holy city ; and
says Dean Stanley, " as most persons the distant line of Moab would always
familiar with our European scenery seem to rise as a wall against invaders
would wish and expect it to be realized, from the remote east." It is of these
Jerusalem is not literally shut in by distant mountains that Josephus speaks
mountains, except on the eastern side, {Bell. Jud. vi. v. 1) as " the surrounding
where it may be said to be inclosed by mountains," (rvv/ix^i 8^ fi mpaia k ol rck v4-
the arms of Olivet, with its outlying pi{SpJj. — Sinai and Palestine, -pp. l7i-5.

PSALM CXXV.

369

3 For the rod of wickedness shall not rest upon the lot of
the righteous.
That the righteous put not forth their hands unto
iniquity.
4 Do good, 0 Jehovah, to them that are good.
And to them that are upright in their hearts.
5 But as for those who turn aside to their crooked paths,
Jehovah shall make them go their way with the workers
of iniquity.
Peace be upon Israel.

And Jehovah, instead of " so Jeho
vah," etc., the comparison being formed
by merely placing the two objects side
by side, as so frequently in the Proverbs.
Is ROUND ABOUT HIS PEOPLE. Comp.
Zech. ii. 4, .5 [8, 9], " Jerusalem shall
be inhabited as towns without walls, for
I, saith Jehovah, will be unto her a wall
of fire round about."
3. FoK introduces an example of
God's protecting care — an example not
taken from the past, but which faith
anticipates and is sure of, as if already
accomplished. The rod of wickedness. The
expression may refer to the Persian rule
under favor of which the Samaritans
and Others annoyed the Jews. The rod
or sceptre, De Wette urges, could not
apply to the Samaritans, for they did not
rule over the Jews. But it was through
them that the tyranny of the Persian
court made itself felt ; and they con
trived, moreover, to gain over a consid
erable part, and that the most influential
part, of the Jews to their side. The
fear was, as the next clause shows, lest
in this state of things the defection should
spread still more widely.
Rest, i.e. "lie heavy," so as to
oppress, as in Isa. xxv. 10, with a further
sense of continuance of the oppression.
The lot of the righteous is
the Holy Land itself; comp. xvi. 5, 6.
The consequence of a long continuance
of this oppressive rule would be that the
righteous, the sound and true part of
the nation, would itself be tempted to
vol. 11.

despair of God's succor, and so be drawn
away from its steadfastness (comp.
xxxvii. 7, 8; xlix. 13 [14] ; lx.xiii. 13,
14 [14, 15]; Jobxv. 4).
4, 5. The Psalm ends with a confident
assertion of righteous requital — first in
the form of a prayer, and then in the
utterance of a hope, both springing from
the same faith, in the righteousness of
God. 5. Turn aside to their crooked
PATHS. This may be, if we take the
participle transitively, " bend their
crooked paths," i.e. turn their paths aside
so as to make them crooked. Comp.
Judges V. 6. But iu Num. xxii. 23 ;
Isa. xxx. 1 1 , the participle is used intran
sitively, and so here we may explain
" who turn aside in or to crooked paths."
The expression does not necessarily
denote a going over to heathenism ; it
would describe the conduct of those who,
in the time of Nehemiah, made common
cause with the enemies of Israel (Neh.
vi. 10-14; xiii. 28-31).
Make them go their way, i.e. so
as to perish. Comp. the use of the same
verb in Iviii. 8 [9] (Hithpael), cix. 22 [23]
(Niphal). Those who begin with being
crooked, double, deceitful, will at last
walk openly with the wicked, and this
is Jehovah's doing, because it is his law
of righteous retribution.
Peace upon Israel. Comp. the
conclusion of cxxviii. So LXX, flp4]vri
iir\ Tip 'I. Jerome and Vulg., pax super
Israel, but in the one hundred and
twenty-eighth Psalm, pacem.
47

370 PSALM exxvL

PSALM CXXVI.
The first colony of exiles had returned to Palestine. The permis
sion to return had been so unexpected, the circumstances which had
led to it so wonderful and so unforeseen, that when it came it could
hardly be believed. To those who found themselves actually restored
to the land of their fathers it seemed like a dream. It was a joy
beyond all words to utter. God, their father's God, had indeed
wrought for them, and even the heathen had recognized his hand.
It is with these thoughts that this beautiful Psalm opens. But,
after all, what was that little band of settlers which formed the first
caravan ? It was but as the trickling of a tiny rill in some desert
waste. Hence the prayer bursts from the lips of the Psalmist, Bring
back our captives like mighty streams, which, swollen by the wintry
rains, descend to fertilize the parched and desolate wilderness. Then
comes the thought of the many discouragements and oppositior.
which the first settlers had to encounter ; it was a time of sowing in
tears (Ezra iv. 11-24). Still faith could expect a joyful harvest.
He who had restored them to the land would assuredly crown his
work with blessing. [A Psahn of David.]
1 When Jehovah brought back the returned " of Zion,
We were like unto them that dream.
2 Then was our mouth filled with laughter.
And our tongue with songs _of joy.
3 Then said they among the nations,
" Jehovah hath done great things for them."
4 (Yea) Jehovah liatli done great things for us ;
(Therefore) were we glad.
5 Bring back, 0 Jehovah, our captives,
As the streams in the South.
1. Like unto them that dream, thinos ; lit. " hath magnified to do with
i.e. so unexpected and so wonderful was (towards) these," as in Joel ii. 20.
our redemption from the exile, that we Them ; lit. " these," SfntTmois.
could scarcely believe it was true, and 4. Were we gald. Or perhaps
not a dream. present, " wc are glad"; the construc-
2. Filled with laughter, as in tion of the verb and participle is the
Job viii. 21. same as in cxxii. 2.
3. Jehovah hath done great 5. Streams, or rather "channels"

PSALM eXXVL

371

6 They that sow in tears
Shall reap with songs of joy.
7 He may go weeping as he goeth.
Bearing (his) store of seed ;
8 He shall come, he shall come with songs of joy.
Bearing his sheaves.

(watercourses). The South, i.e. the
south country, the Negeb is the image
of a dry and thirsty land, which wanted
springs. Comp. Judges i. 15.
Palestine without her people has been
like the south country parched with the
drought of summer; the return of her
inhabitants will be grateful as the return
of the mountain torrents when, swollen
by the wintry rains, they flow again along
the beds of the watercourses, carrying
with them life and verdure and fertility.
We find the expression of the same
feeling under a different figure, Isa.
xli.x. 18, where the land, like a bereaved
mother, waits for her children, whose
return will fill her heart with joy. . . .
The verse is a, prayer that cdl may be
brought back. There is a great past,
may the future be great also.
6. They that sow in tears. The
sowing is a season of trouble and anx
iety, but the rich harvest makes amends
for all. So though the new colonists
were exposed to many trials, yet a glorious
future was before them. That time of
labor and trouble and opposition and
discouragement and anxious waiting

should by no means lose its reward. The
weeping should be changed into joy ;
the weeping should be the path of joy.
Comp. for the contrast between the
sowing and the reaping, Haggai ii. 3-9,
17-19. 7, 8. These verses are merely an ex
pansion of the image in ver. 6, with the
common substitution of the singular for
the plural, to bring out more clearly
the flgure of the individual sower.
7. This verse mi;;ht perhaps be more
exactly rendered : " He who beareth the
handful of seed may indeed weep every
step that he goes."
7. Go along weeping, or, yet more
strongly, " take no step of bis way with
out weeping," the double infinitive being
employed to mark the continued nature
of the action. Comp. 2 Sam. iii. 16;
Jer. i. 4 ; Gesen. § 131, 3 b.
Store of seed ; lit. " that which is
drawn " out of the storehouse, and
placed in the vessel or fold of the robe
to be scattered on the field. Hence a
sower is called "a drawer of seed."
Amos ix. 13.

°- 's ra'id generally rendered, after the LXX, ttjv aixp^aXo)a-iav
2iW, though perhaps unnecessarily. For the construction, comp.
Deut. xxx. 3 ; Ps. xiv. 7.
naia is formed from 3",a, as ina''p from Dip (Lam. iii. 63), and
signifies " the return,'' and so " those who return," just as ri3d or
ni3d , " the captivity,'' and hence " the captives,'' nibj , •' the exile,"
and so " the exiles." To this Hupfeld objects that it is hardly likely
that a form na'^'B should be found as well as na^ir , which occurs in
the same sense "return," Isa. xxx. 15. Hence he maintains that
nS'^ia is an old mistake for n'^aia or nia':3 .
That 21C3 refers to the past is quite certain, from the following
W^'^n , and Jerome is right, " quum couverteret . . . facti sumus."

372 PSALM CXXVIL
t!j introduces emphatically the apodosis, and the verbs which follow
are proper imperfects : " then our mouth began to be filled," etc. . . .
" then they were saying," etc.

PSALM CXXVII.

This and the next Psalm form two bright companion pictures of
social and domestic life, and of the happiness of a household which,
trained in the fear of God, is blessed by his providence. " These
pictures," says Isaac Taylor, " are mild and bright ; humanizing are
they in the best sense ; they retain certain elements of Paradise, and
yet more the elements of the patriarchal era, with the addition of that
patriotism and of that concentration in which the patriarchal life was
wanting. The happy religious man, after the Hebrew pattern, pos
sessed those feelings and habitudes which, if they greatly prevail in a
community, impart to it the strength of a combination which is stronger
than any other ; uniting the force of domestic virtue, of rural, yeoman
like, agricultural occupations, of unaggressive defensive valor, and of
a religious animation which is national as well as authentic and true.
Our modern learning in Oriental modes of life and its circumstances
and scenery may help us to bring into view either of two gay pict
ures, — that of the Hebrew man in mid-life, at rest in his country
home, with his sturdy sons about him ; his wife is still young ; her
fair daughters are like cornices sculptured as decorations for a palace ;
or else the companion picture, with its group on their way Zionward,
resting for the sultry noon-hour under the palms by the side of a
stream, and yet home, happy home, is in the recollection of the party ;
but the hill of God, ' whereunto the tribes of the Lord go up,' is in
the fervent purpose of all ; and while they rest they beguile the time
with a sacred song and with its soothing melody. Happy were the
people while their mind was such as this, and such their habits, and
such their piety!" — Spirit of the Hebrew Poetry, pp. 165, 166.
There is not a word in either Psalm to guide us as to the time of
its composition. The title gives the one hundred and twenty-seventh
to Solomon (only one other in the entire Psalter, the seventy-second,
being ascribed to him), but it may be doubted whether with sufiicient
reason. In form, in rhythm, in general tone and character, it resem
bles all the others in this collection. It has been conjectured that the
proverb-like structure of the Fsalm, the occurrence in it of severaj

PSALM CXXVIL 373
words and phrases also occurring in the Proverbs, and possibly a sup
posed allusion to the name Jedediah in verse 2, " his beloved " (y'dtdo),
and to the building of the temple in verse 1, may have led some
collector to conclude that the Psalm was Solomon's. In the Septua
gint it is anonymous. In the Syriac it is said to have been spoken
by David concerning Solomon ; but also concerning Haggai and
Zechariah, who urged the building of the temple. Many, both ancient
and modern, interpreters have, in the same way, discovered in the
Psalm an allusion to the circumstances of the people after the return
from the captivity, to the rebuilding of the temple, and the guarding
of the newly erected walls in verse 1, and to the numerical increase of
the people in verses 4, 5, which at such a time would possess especial
importance in the eyes of a patriotic Hebrew. But the " house " in
verse 1 is clearly not the temple, but any house which men build,
for the whole Psalm is a picture of daily life, social and domestic ;
and, as De Wette very truly observes, to build houses, to guard the
city, to be diligent in labors, would be just as important at any other
period as after the return from the exile ; and the Jews at all times
of their history esteemed a large family one of the chief of blessings.
The great moral of the Psalm is, that without God's blessing aU
human efforts and human precautions are in vain ; that man can never
command success; that God gives and man receives. There is a
passage in Tennyson's " Lotos Eaters,'' the strain of which is not
unlike that of verse 3 of the Psalm, except that there is a shadow of
sadness and weariness on the words of the modern poet which finds
no response in the spirit of the Hebrew bard :
" Why are we weighed upon with heaviness.
And utterly consumed with sharp distress.
While all things else have rest from weariness ?
All things have rest : why should we toil alone ?
We only toil who are the first of things.
And make perpetual moan.
Still from one sorrow to another thrown ;
Nor ever fold our wings,
And cease from wanderings ;
Nor steep our brows in slumber's holy balm ;
Nor hearken what the inner spirit sings,
' There is no joy but calm 1 '
Why should we only toil, the roof and crown of things ? "

374

PSALM exxvn.

[A Pilgrim Song. Of Solomon.*]
1 Except Jehovah build the house.
They labor thereat in vain that build it ;
Except Jehovah watch over the city,
(The) watchman waketh (but) in vain.
2 Vain is it for you, ye that rise up early, ye that late take
rest,"
That ye eat the bread of toil :
So ° he giveth his beloved sleep.**

1, 3. The truth seems obvious and
undeniable that all success is from God,
" An Gottes Segen ist alles gelegen " :
yet practically this is by most men for
gotten. The spirit of the Chaldean
invader of whom the prophet says,
" This his strength is his God," the
Dextra mihi Deus, is in the heart, if not
on the lips, of others besides the atheist.
1. The house, not "the temple," as
some explain, nor " the family," as
others, but the structure itself, as is
evident from the context. Watchman ;
lit. " keeper," i.e. by night, as in cxxi.
3,4. Thet labor, or rather "they have
labored." It is the strict perfect; the
writer places himself at the end of the
work, sees its result, " they have spent
their labor in vain " ; and so in the next
verse, "the wiitcbraan hath waked."
2. Ye that rise. The Hebrew ex
pression runs literally : " making early
to rise, making late to sit (down)," i.e.
going forth early to labor, and returning
late at night to take rest. It is an arti
ficial lengthening of the natural day.
Others render the latter clause as in the
E. V. " sit up late," appealing to Isa.
V. 11, where, however, the construction
is different, the participle being followed
not as here by the infinitive, but by a
noun with the preposition, and the ex
pression being lit., "that make late in
the evening," i.e., no doubt, that prolong
their revels into the night.
Bread op toil, or perhaps rather
"of wearisome efforts." Comp. Prov.

V. 10, "and thy wearisome efforts (i.e.
what thou hast gotten with labor and
toil) bo in the house of a stranger."
There is an allusion, no doubt, ta Gen.
iii. 17, "in sorrow (or weariness) thou
shalt eat of it all the days of thy life."
Giveth sleep. Most follow Luther
in rendering " He giveth it, i.e bread,
the necessaries of life, in sleep." What
others obtain only with such wearing
toil, such constant effort, with s<j much
disappointment and so much sorrow,
God gives to the man whom he loves as
it were while he sleeps, i.e. without all
this anxiety and exertion. This is the
interpretation now perhaps commonly
adopted, but it seems to me very ques
tionable (though I accepted it in the
first edition) for the following reasons :
(1) it is necessary to supply "bread,"
not " bread of toil," in this clause ; and
(2) I am not satisfied that the rendering
of the accusative " in sleep," is justifia
ble. The alleged parallel instances (see
Critical Note) expressing parts of time
are not really parallel. I am inclined,
therefore, to prefer the rendering, " So
he giveth his beloved sleep," though it
is no doubt difficult to explain the
reference of the particle " so." I sup
pose it refers to the principle laid down
in the previous verse, there being a
tacit comparison, "as all labor is vain
without God's providence, as he builds
the bouse, as he watches tho city, so he
gives the man who loves him and leaves
all in his hands calm, refreshing sleep."
There is no discouragement here, it

PSALM CXXVIL

375

3 Behold, sons are a heritage from Jehovah,
The fruit of the womb is (his) I'eward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a mighty man.
So are the sons of (a man's) youth.

is needless to say, to honest labor. It
is undue anxiety, a feverish straining,
a toiling, as if toil of itself could com
mand success, the folly of which is con
demned. Comp. for a similar senti
ment Prov. X. 22, " The blessing of
Jehovah maketh rich, and toil can add
nothing thereto." The teaching is that
of our Lord in the Sermon on the Mount,
"Wherefore I say unto you. Be not
anxious {iiriii.fptp.vaT() for your life, what
ye shall eat and what ye shall drink,
neither for your body, wherewith ye
shall be clothed," etc., Matt. vi. 2.')-34.
See also Luke X. 41 ; 1 Pet. v. 7. God's
" beloved " are not exempted from the
great law of labor which lies upon all,
but the sting is taken from it when they
can leave all results in a Father's hand,
with absolute trust in his wisdom and
goodness. 3. Behold, as drawing particular
attention to one marked example of
God's good gifts ; which none can ques
tion is emphatically his gift; on this
the poet lingers, " allured by the charm
of the subject," for such there was, espec
ially to an Oriental, to whom a numer
ous progeny was the first of blessings,
giving value and stability to all others.
A heritage, or perhaps here, in a
wider sense, " a possession."
4. Sons of touth, i.e. sons of early
married life (as in Prov. v. 18; Isa. liv.
6, "a wife of youth" is one married
when a man is young). On the other
hand, in Gen. xxxvii. 3, " a son of
old age" is one born when his father
is old. These sons of a man's youth are
particularly mentioned, because they
would naturally grow up to be a support
and protection to their father in his old
age, when he would most need their
support. 5. Thet. The pronoun cannot be
referred, with Calvin and many exposi
tors, to the sons, for it is clearly the

father whose cause is supposed to be at
stake, and who in the emergency finds
his sons ready to defend him. Others,
with more probability, suppose it to
include both father and sons. But it
may refer only to the father. Hupfeld
calls the change of number harsh (from
singular to plural), but it is not more
so than in cvii. 43, " who is wise that
he should observe . . . and that theij should
understand," etc.
Their enemies. The pron. is in
cluded by the LXX, rois ix^pols ainSiv,
Jerome, inimicis suis. Cf. Job v. 4.
In the gate, here mentioned chiefly
as the place of judgment (Deut. xxi.
19 ; Isa. xxix. 21 ; Amos v. 12), as well
as of all public acts. See on ix. 14.
The allusion is to lawsuits, in which, if
unjustly accused or brought before an
unrighteous judge a man need not fear
lest he should be "put to shame," i.e.
lose his cause ; his stalwart sons would
not suffer might to prevail against right.
The phrase " speak with their enemies,"
in the sense of defending their cause,
may be illustrated by Josh. xx. 4 ; Gen.
xlv. 15, "and he (the manslayer who
has fled) shall stand in the entrance of
the gate of the city, and shall speak his
words (i.e. plead his cause) iu the ears
of the elders of that city." Comp. 2
Sam. xix. 30 ; Jer. xii. 1. Others under
stand by speaking with enemies in the
gate a battle fought with beseigers at
the gates. So apparently Ewald, who
refers to Gen. xxii. 17, "thy seed shall
possess the gate of his enemies " ; and
xxiv. 60, " let thy seed possess the gate
of those which hate them." This cer
tainly harmonizes better with the war
like figure of the quiver full of arrows :
but can " to speak with enemies " mean
to fight with them ? If so, it must be
an idiom something like that of " looking
one another in the face," 2 Kings xiv.
8, 11. But it may be understood of

376 PSALM exxvm.
5 Happy is the man who hath filled his quiver with them,
They shall not be ashamed, when they speak with (their)
enemies in the gate.
" parleying with them,'' as Rabshakeh So too, in Ecclus. xxx. 5, 6, it is said
for instance with the captains and min- of a father that " while he lived, he saw
isters of Hezekiah. With the sentiment and rejoiced in him (his son) ; and when
of ver. 4, 5, compare Soph. Antig. he died, he was not sorrowful. He left
641-644 : behind him an avenger against his ene-
Toirov yhp ovvsk' HvSpes cSx""''''" yovhs mies, and one that shall requite kindness
KarriKoovs (piioavres iv 56fiois ^x^tv, to his friends." The coincidence of ex-
ws Kal rhv ixSphv a.vrafxvv(avTai KaKo'iS, pression in the last two passages is
Kal rhv (piXov Tip.S>aiv ii, i(rov irarpL remarkable.
° The following coincidences of expression have been supposed to
justify the title. D'^ass , wearisome efforts, ver. 2, occurs also Prov.
V. 10; i^nxa, making late, in Prov. xxiii. 30. As in ver. 4 of the
Psalm 'rn '\l!3, sons of youth, so in Prov. v. 18 'i PittJN, wife of youth.
Ver. 5, in the gate, as in Prov. xxii. 22 ; xxiv. 7. And the whole
Psalm may be considered an expansion of Prov. x. 22.
* naiZJ , opposed to C3lp as cxxxix. 2 ; Lam. iii. 63, as also are the
two participles iu the stat. constr. Aquila, rightly, ppahwovcri Ka6rj(T0ai.
° '(3 , so. i.e. with just the same result. So in the passages cited by
Delitzsch : Num. xiii. 33, " we were so, i.e. just the same in their
sight " ; Isa. Ii. 6, 15"ia3 , as so, i.e. in like manner ; Job ix. 35, " for
it is not so with me (as you think),'' i.e. I am not guilty, as you assert ;
2 Sam. xxiii. 5 may be interrogative, " For is not my house so with
God that he hath made an everlasting covenant with me?" In all
these instances Delitzsch would take 15 as meaning small, or as
nothing (gering, wie nichts), which can only be justified if we suppose
the word to be used Sciktikws.
^ NJia , with Aramaic termination, for riDia , here it is said not ace.
of the object, but of time, as frequently in other words, such as ^Jsa,
a'lS, etc., Gesen. § 118, 2 ; but, as I have said in the note on ver. 2,
I do not think these can be regarded as really parallel instances
because KSttJ is not a word of time.

PSALM CXXVIII.

The introduction to the preceding Psalm may be consulted on
this, which is a sunny picture of the family happiness of one who
fears God, and leads a holy life.

PSALM exxvm. 377
Luther says : " In the former Psalm the prophet treated of both
kinds of life, that is, both of national life and domestic life {politia et
oeconomia). The same thing almost he doth in this Psalm, but yet
after another sort. For although here also he joineth the two together,
and wisheth the blessing of God and peace unto them both, yet hath
he more respect to household government or matrimony, because it is
as it were, the fountain and source of civil government. For the
children whom we bring up and instruct at home, these will, in time
to come, be the governors of the state. For of houses or families are
made cities, of cities provinces, of provinces kingdoms. Household
government, then, is with reason called the fountain of policy and
political government, for if you destroy the one, the other cannot exist.
" Wherefore to this Psalm we will give this title, that it is an
Epithalamium or Marriage Song, wherein the prophet comforteth
them that are married, wishing unto them and promising them from
God all manner of blessings."
The Psalm consists of two parts :
I. The description of the happy life (ver. 1-4).
II. The good wishes and promises for him who has entered upon
ii (ver. 5, 6). [A Pilgrim Song,]
1 Happy is every one that feareth Jehovah,
That walketh in his ways.
2 For" the labor of thy hands shalt thou eat ;
Happy art thou, and it (shall be) well with thee.
3 Thy wife " (shall be) like a fruitful vine, in the inner part of
thy house ;
Thy children, like olive-plants, round about thy table ;
2. The labor of tht hands This grapes thereof," etc., Deut. xxviii. 30-33,
is the first part of the blessing, — the 39, 40. See also Amos v. 11 ; Micah vi.
quiet, peaceful life of a thriving, prosper- 15; Eccl. vi. 1, 2; and for a contrast
ous yeoman in the country, with no fear in this respect, between the lot of the
that the harvest will be trodden down righteous and that of the wicked, Isa.
by the invader before it is ripe, or the iii. 10, 11.
cattle swept off by some roving preda- 3. The comparison would perhaps be
tory tribe. The opposite condition is brought out more clearly by arranging
threatened as a curse in the Law : " Ye the verse as follows :
shall sow your seed in vain, for your Thy wife shall be in the inner part of
enemies shall eat it," Lev. xxvi. 16; thy house
" Thou shalt build an house, and thou Like a fruitful vine;
shalt not dwell therein ; thou shalt plant Thy children round about thy table
a vineyard, and shalt not gather the Like the shoots of the olive.
vol. ii. 48

378 PSALM CXXIX.
4 Behold, thus shall the man be blessed that feareth Jehovah,
5 Jehovah bless thee out of Zion,
And (mayest thou) sec the prosperity of Jerusalem
All the days of thy life,
6 And see thy children's children.
Peace be upon Israel.
In the inner part ; lit. " the sides of God, his earthly throne and sanctu-
of the house," as in Amos vi. 10, i.e. the ary, whence all blessing comes, cxxxiv.
women's apartments, as marking the 3; xx. 2 [3]. Then follows the truly
proper sphere of the wife engaged in her patriotic sentiment — the wish that he
domestic duties, and also to some extent may see the prosperity of Jerusalem, as
her seclusion, though this was far less well as that he may live long to see his
among the Jews than among other Ori- children and grandchildren. The wel-
entals. The vine is an emblem chiefly fare of the family and the welfare of
of fruitfulness, but perhaps also of de- the state are indissolubly connected.
pendence, as needing support; the OLIVE (Mayest thou) see; lit. "look
of vigorus, healthy, joyous life. The thou," an imperative following the
same figure is employed by Euripides, optative, and therefore to be understood
Here. Fur. 839, Med. 1,098. as expressing a wish, and even more, a
5. Looking on the beautiful family promise, as in xxxvii. 3, where see
picture, the poet turns to greet the note b.
father of the household, and to wish 6. Children's children. So Vir-
him the blessing of which he has gil: "Adspicies ... natos natorum et
already spoken in such glowing terms. qui nascentur ab illis."
Out of Zion, as the dwelling-place
" 'Q is sometimes thus placed after other words instead of standing
first in the sentence: comp. cxviii. 10-12; Gen. xviii. 20. Hupfeld
contends that it retains its usual meaning for, but he would transpose
the two clauses of the verse ; " Happy art thou, and it is well with
thee. For thou shalt eat," etc. Delitzsch, on the other hand, following
Ewald, takes it as emphatic, surely; in German ya. Hupfeld says
''B never has this sense ; but surely it may be used elliptically, =:: " be
assured that" on the same principle as in the fuller phrases "'S "Jl^ ,
ver. 4, behold that, etc. ; "'S N'bn , 1 Sam. x. 1 ; i3 D3BN , Job xii. 2 ;
and the common expression ^B "s , etc.
^ '^^nips ; only here with this punctuation, instead of TjniUX. iTs-'a is
for STiQ, as n*=i3, Lam. i. 6, for niia, Ewald § 189, e.

PSALM CXXIX.

The nation, delivered from the Babylonish captivity, may well
look back to all her past history, and trace in it the same great law of
suffering, and the same ever-repeated tokens of God's mercy. The

PSALM CXXIX. 379
record is a record of conflict, but it is also a record of victory (ver. 2).
The great principle on which Israel's flnal deliverance rests is the
righteousness of Jehovah (ver. 4). That has been manifested, as often
before, so now in cutting asunder the cords by which the people had
been bound in Babylon. Full of thankfulness at this deliverance, the
poet draws thence an augury and a hope for the overthrow, complete
and final, of their oppressors.
The Psalm consists, accordingly, of two stanzas, each of four verses ;
the first containing the record of the past, the second the prayer (which
is also a hope, and almost a promise) for the future.
In subject, style, and rhythmical structure, it most nearly resembles
Psalm cxxiv. [A Pilgrim Song,]
1 Greatly have they fought against me, from my youth
up —
Let Israel now say —
2 Greatly have they fought against me, from my youth up,
(But) they have not also " prevailed against me.
3 The ploughers ploughed upon my back.
They made long their furrows.*
4 Jehovah is righteous.
He hath cut asunder the cord of the wicked.
5 Let them be ashamed and turned backward.
As many as hate Zion.
6 Let them be as the grass on the housetops.
That withereth afore ° it be plucked up : *
1. Greatly, or "long"; the same 3. Purrows. Deep wounds, such
word as in cxx. 6 ; cxxiii. 4. as those made by the lash on the back
PouGHT against me ; lit. " have of slaves. Comp. Isa. i. 6, and a dit-
been adversaries unto me." ferent but not less expressive image.
Prom my youth up. The youth Ii. 23.
of the nation was in Egypt, at which 4. The cord. The figure probably
time God speaks of his relations to is taken from the yoking of oxen : when
Israel as " love of youth," " espousals of the traces are cut, the bullock is free.
youth," etc. Hos. ii. 15; Jer. ii. 2 ; Or "the cord" may be, in a wider
xxii. 21 ; Ezek. xxiii. 3. sense, an image of slavery, as in ii. 3.
2. Have not prevailed. This is 6. Grass on the housetops, easily
the point of the Psalm. The New Tes- springing up, but having no root. Tha
tament parallel is 2 Cor. iv. 8-10, and flat roofs of the Eastern houses " are
the whole history of the Christian church plastered with a composition of mortar,
is an echo of the words. tar, ashes, and sand," in the crevice? of

380 PSALM CXXIX.
7 Wherewith the mower filleth not his hand.
Nor he that bindeth sheaves his bosom ;
8 Neither do they which go by say,
" The blessing of Jehovah be upon you."
" We bless you in the name of Jehovah."
which grass often springs. The houses occurs in ver. 4, 5 of the one hundred
of the poor in the country were formed and twenty-seventh Psalm. "The charm
of a plaster of mud and straw, where the of the subject allures " the poet in e.ach
grass would grow still more freely : as instance. The picture of the harvest-field
all the images are taken from country is like that in Ruth ii. 4, where in like
life, it is doubtless to country dwellings manner we have the greeting and coun-
that the poet refers. Comp. 2 Kings ter-greeting. " And behold Boaz came
xix. 26 ; Isa xxxvii. 27. from Bethlehem and said unto the reap-
7, 8. These two verses are a poetic ers, Jehovah be with you. And they
expansion of the figure, an imaginative answered him, Jehovah bless thee."
excursus, exactly parallel to that which
* DS. According to Ewald § 354 a, in this and other passages,
such as cxix. 24 ; Ezek. xvi. 28 ; Eccl. vi. 7, the particle is equivalent
to the Greek o/icus, nevertheless. Hupfeld denies this, and argues that
there is no need to depart from the usual signification in any case :
thus here, " They have fought . . . they have not also prevailed." Comp.
Gen. xxx. 8 ; xxxviii. 24; Job ii. 10.
•> Bnissab . So the K'thibh, rightly, the word being plur. of njsa ,
which occurs besides only in 1 Sam. xiv. 14. The \ marking the
object, is not necessarily an Aramaism, 'though found more frequently
in the later Psalms. Comp. Ixix. 6 ; cxvi. 1 6. Here, however, the
construction may be explained by the form of the verb, as = " have
made length to their furrows."
¦= na-iga , a doubly Aramaic form ; for (1) the relative ttJ belongs to
the verb, wAicA withereth, and (2) rcip , occurs elsewhere only in Chald.,
Ezra V. 11 ; Dan. vi. 11, but not as here, immediately before a verb.
* t)^ia , to draw out, used of drawing out a weapon, etc., here im
personal for the passive, before one pulls up, i.e. before it is pulled
up. So the LXX, Tholock, and the Quinta, jrpo tou cKo-Trao-^^i/at, and
so Gesen. Tliesaur. in v., Hupfeld, De Wette, etc. Others render
before it shoot up, or be grown so as to blossom (the blossom coming
out of the sheath, as it were). So according to Theodoret, some
copies of the LXX, i^avOrjaai, Aq., dviOaXcv. But it is extremely
doubtful whether r|bo can be taken thus intransitively: no other
instance of such usage has been alleged. Symm. has iKKavXrjirai,
which may mean has come to a stalk, or perhaps be equivalent to
ixKavXt^uv, root up.

PSALM CXXX. 381

PSALM CXXX.
This Psalm is a cry to God for the forgiveness of sin. The
Psalmist pleads that he has long waited upon God, trusting in his
word. Out of his own experience, he exhorts all Israel in like manner
to hope and wait and look for God's mercy and redemption, which
wUl assuredly be vouchsafed.
"When Luther, in the year 1530, was in the fortress of Coburg, on
four occasions, during the night, there seemed to pass before his eyes
burning torches, and this was followed by a severe headache. One
night he saw three blazing torches come in at the window of his room,
and he swooned away. His servant, coming to his assistance, poured
oil of almonds into his ear and rubbed his feet with hot napkins. As
soon as he recovered, he bade him read to him a portion of the
Epistle to the Galatians, and during the reading fell asleep. The
danger was over, and when he awoke he cried out joyfully : ' Come,
to spite the devU, let us sing the Psalm De profundis, in four
parts.' "
" Being asked on one occasion which were the best Psalms, he
repUed, 'The Pauline Psalms' (Psalmi Paulini), and being pressed
to say which they were, he answered : ' the thirty-second, the fifty-first,
the one hundred and thirtieth, and the one himdred and forty-third ;
for they teach us that the forgiveness of sins is vouchsafed to them
that believe, without the law and without works ; therefore are they
Pauline Psalms ; and when David sings, " with thee is forgiveness,
that thou mayest be feared," so Paul likewise saith, " God hath con
cluded all under sin, that he may have mercy on all." Therefore
none can boast of his own righteousness ; but the words, " That thou
mayest be feared," thrust away all self-merit, teach us to take off our
hat before God, and confess, gratia est, non meritum, remissio non
satisf actio, it is all forgiveness, and no merit.' " — Delitzsch.
This is the sixth of the seven Penitential Psalms, as they are called.
Delitzsch notices that several of the words and phrases of this
Psalm occur also in Psalm Ixxxvi., but there are few of' them of a
: marked kind. It may be taken as evidence of the late date of the
Psalm that the word rendered " attentive," verse 2, occurs besides
I only in 2 Chron. vi. 40; vii. 15, and the word "forgiveness," verse
4, only in Dan. ix. 9 ; Neh. ix. 17.

382

PSALM CXXX.

[A Pilgrim Song.]
1 Out of the depths have I called upon thee, 0 Jehovah !
2 Lord, hear my voice :
Let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my suppli
cations.
3 If thou, 0 Jah, shouldest mark iniquities,
0 Lord, who shall stand ?
4 But with thee is forgiveness.
That thou mayest be feared."

1. Out of the depths. Deep waters,
as so often, being an imageof overwhelm
ing affliction : comp. Ixix. 2 [3], 14 [15];
Isa. Ii. 10. " Undeclamat? " saysAgus-
tine, " De profundo. Quis est ergo qui
clamat? Peccator. Et qua spe clamat?
Quia qui venit solvere peccata, dedit
spem etiam in profundo posito pecca-
tori. . . . Clamat sub molibus et flucti
bus iniquitatum suarum. Circumspexit
se, circumspexit vitam suam ; vidit
illam undique flagitiis et facinoribus
co-operatum : quacunque respexit, nihil
in se bonum invenit, nihil illi justitiae
serennm potuit occurrere."
Have I called, a strict perfect (not
a present), as marking a long experi
ence continued up to the present mo
ment; comp. ver. 5.
2. Let thine ears be attentive.
The same expression occurs 2 Chron.
vi. 40.
3. Mark; lit. "keep," or "watch,"
so as to observe : the same word as in
ver. 6, but used in the sense of marking,
observing. Job x. 14; xiv. 16 (comp. for
the sense Ps. xc. 8) , and with the further
sense of keeping in memory, i.e. in order
to punish, Jer. iii. 5 ; Amos i. 11.
Who SHALL (or can) stand? Comp.
Ixxvi. 7 [8] ; Nah. i. 6 ; Mai. iii. 2.
" Non dixit, ego non sustinebo ; sed,
quis susiinebit f Vidit enim prope totam
vitam humanam circumlatrari peccatis
suis, accusari omnes conscientias cogi-
tationibus suis, non inveniri cor castum
praesumens de sua justitia." — Augustine.
4. But, or rather for, the conjunction

referring to what is implied in the pre
vious verse. The sentiment expanded
would be : " If thou shouldest mark
iniquities, none can stand ; but thou
dost not mark them, for with thee is
forgiveness." Forgiveness ; lit. " the forgiveness "
(either the common use of the article
before abstract nouns, or possibly with
reference to something not expressed,
e.g. " the forgiveness we need "). This
noun occurs besides only in two later
passages, Neh. ix. 17 ; Dan. ix. 9; and
the adjective from the same root only
in Ps. Ixxxv. 5 [6] ; but the verb occurs
frequently, both in the Pentateuch and
the later books.
That thou mayest be feared. God
freely forgives sin, not that men may
think lightly of sin, but that they may
magnify his grace and mercy in its for
giveness, and so give him the fear and
the honor due unto his name. So in
xxv. 11, the Psalmist prays, "Por thy
name's sake pardon mine iniquity";
and Ixxix. 9, " Purge away our sins for
thy name's sake," i.e. that God's name
may be glorified as a God who pardon-
eth iniquity, transgression, and sin.
This forgiveness is a far more powerfid
motive than any other to call forth holy
fear and love and self-sacrifice. Luther
says : " Why doth he. add, ' That thou
mayest be feared ' ? . . . It is as if he
should say, I have learned by experience,
0 Lord, why there is mercy with thee,
and why of right thou mayest challenge
this title unto thyself, that thou art mer-

PSALM CXXX.

383

5 I have waited for Jehovah, my soul hath waitf d ;
And in his word have I hoped.
6 My soul (looketh) for the Lord,
More than watchmen (look) for the morning,
(I say, more than) watchmen (look) for the morning.

ciful and forgivest sins. For in that
thou shuttest all under free mercy, and
leavest nothing to the merits and works
of men, therefore thou art feared. But
if all things were not placed in thy
mercy, and we could take away our sins
by our own strength, no man would
fear thee, but the whole world would
proudly contemn thee. For daily ex
perience shows that where there is not
this knowledge of God's mercy, there
men walk in a presumption of their own
merits. . . . The true fear of God, the
worship, the true reverence, yea, the
true knowledge of God resteth on noth
ing but mercy, that through Christ we
assuredly trust that God is reconciled
unto us. . . . Christian doctrine doth not
deny or condemn good works, but it
teacheth that God willeth not to mark
iniquities, but willeth that we believe,
that is, trust his mercy. For with him
is forgiveness, that he may be feared,
and continue to be our God. Whoever,
then, do believe that God is ready to
forgive, and for Christ's sake to remit,
sins, they render unto God true and
reasonable service ; they strive not with
God about the law, works, and righteous
ness, but, laying aside all trust in them
selves, do fear him because of his mercy,
and thus are made sons who receive the
Holy Ghost, and begin truly to do the
works of the law. So in these two lines,
David sets forth to us the sum and sub
stance of all Christian doctrine, and that
sun which giveth light to the church."
5. I HAVE. waited. This has been the
attitude of soul in which God's mercy
has come to me.
In his word, on the ground of his
promises I have claimed that mercy,
and now my soul " is unto the Lord,"
that I may ever find fresh mercy, and
grace for all my need. This waiting.

hoping attitude is the attitude of a true
heart, of one not easily discouraged, of
one that says, " I will not let thee go,
except thou bless me." Luther, taking
the verbs as presents, " I wait," etc., traces
the connection somewhat diflfcrently.
"The Psalmist," he observes, "first prays
to be heard (ver. 2), then, obtaining
mercy, he perceiveth that be is heard.
Now, therefore, he addeth an exhortation
whereby he stirreth himself up con
stantly to persevere in this knowledge
of grace. As if he had said, I know
that there is mercy with the Lord. This
principle article I have in some part now
learned. Now this remaineth for me to
do, to wait upon the Lord, that is, to
trust in the Lord, that I may continue
in this knowledge, and hold fast this
hope of mercy forever."
6. Mt soul (looketh) for; lit.
"my soul is unto the Lord" (as in
cxliii. 6, "my soul is unto thee"), as
the eyes of watchers through the long
and weary night look eagerly for the
firststreaks of theeoming day. Delitzsch
quotes in illustration of the expression
the words of Chr. A. Crusius on his
death-bed, when, lifting up his eyes and
hands to heaven, he exclaimed : My
soul is full of the grace of Jesus Christ,
my whole soul is unto God."
Watchmen, as in cxxvii. 1. The
allusion here is probably to the night-
watch of the temple (see introduction
to Ps. cxxxiv.) anxiously expecting the
moment when they would be released
from their duties. But sentinels watch
ing a city or an encampment might also
be included in the term, and indeed all
who, from whatever cause, are obliged
to keep awake. No figure could more
beautifully express the longing cf the
soul for the breaking of the day of
God's loving mercy.

384 PSALM cxxx.
7 0 Israel, hope in Jehovah ;
For with Jehovah is loving-kindness.
And with him is plenteous redemption.
8 And HE will redeem Israel
Prom all his iniquities.
7. He has not been disappointed of his because there is mercy with the Lord,
hope, and therefore he can bid Israel and with him is plenteous redemp-
hope. " Here he hath respect," says tion."
Luther, " to that great conflict wherein Plenteous redemption, or more lit-
the mind, oppressed with calamities, erally, "redemption plenteously" (the
beginneth to doubt of the mercy of God. inf. absol. being used as an adverb).
In this conflict, because the mind doth He call it plenteous, as Luther says, be-
not so soon feel those comforts which cause such is the straitness of our heart,
the word promiseth and faith believeth, the slenderness of our hopes, the weak-
as it would do, it is ready to despair, ness of our faith, that it far exceeds all
Against this temptation David armeth our capacity, all our petitions and
ns, and warneth us to be mindful that desires.
we must wait upon the Lord, and never 8. He, emphatic, he alone, for none
depart from the word or believe any- other can.
thing against the word, and he showeth From his iniquities, not merely
the cause why. For with the Lord is from the punishment (as Ewald and
mercy. ... In myself I perceive nothing Hupfeld). The redemption includes
but wrath, in the devil nothing but forgiveness of sins, the breaking of the
hatred, in the world nothing but extreme power and dominion of sin, and the
fury and madness. But the Holy Ghost setting free from all the consequences
cannot lie, which willeth me to trust of sin.
' N';;W l?»b . The words seem to have been a stumbling-block to
the Greek translators. The LXX render as if it were Tj^ia 'jSiaV,
joining these words with what follows, evcKiv tov ovd/nards (rov vrripavd'
ere, K.vpi€. Aq., Th., evcKev tov <j>6l3ov ; Symm., e.veK€v tov v6p,ov (possi
bly taking the fear of Jehovah to be a name of the law, as in xix. 10).
Another has IveKtv tov yvoicrdfjvai tov Xoyov crov ; and another ottcos
iirifjiojSo'i eo-rj, this last alone being a rendering of the Hebrew. Jerome
goes equally astray : " Quia tuum est propitiatio, cum terribilis sis,
sustinui Dominum." The Fathers, of course, following the Greek or
the Vulgate, " propter legem tuam sustinui te, Domine,'' miss the
whole scope of the passage.
*¦ This is clearly the construction: "My soul is unto the Lord,"
Aq., irvx^ pov eis Kvpiov. The construction in the E.V., " more than
they that watch for the morning," is not supported by usage : "raiij
followed by V never means to watch for.

PSALM exxxL 385

PSALM CXXXI.
Whether written by David, to whom the title gives it, or not, this
short Psalm, one of the most beautiful in the whole book, assuredly
breathes David's spirit. A childlike simplicity, an unaffected humility,
the honest expression of that humility as from a heart spreading itself
out in conscious integrity before God — this is what we find iu the
Psalm, traits of a character like that of David. Delitzsch calls the
Psalm an echo of David's answer to Michal, 2 Sam vi. 2l': "And I
will become of still less account than this, and I will be lowly in mine
own eyes." At the same time, with the majority of interpreters, he
holds it to be a post-exile Psalm, written with a view to encourage the
writer himself and his people to the same humility, the same patient
waiting upon God, of which David was so striking an example.
[A Pilgrim Song, Of David.]
I Jehovah, my heart is not haughty.
Nor mine eyes lifted up ;
Neither do I busy myself in things too great,"
And in things too wonderful for me.
2 But" I have stilled and hushed my soul ;
As a weaned child with his mother,
As the weaned child ° (I say) is my soul within me.
1. "All virtues together," it has been Too great ... too wonderful;
said, "are a body whereof humility is here probably in a practical sense: "I
the head." It is this chief, crowning have not aimed at a position above me,
virtue to which the poet lays claim ; involving duties and responsibilities too
" for Jehovah hath respect unto the heavy for me." Comp. for the phrase,
lowly," cxxxviii. 6 ; and "dwelleth with Gen. xviii. 14, "Is anything too won-
him that is of an humble spirit," Isa. derful for Jehovah ? " Deut. xvii. 8,
Ivii. 1.5. "When a matter is too wonderful [too
Mine eyes lifted up, as in xviii. hard] for thee for judgment " ; xxx. 11,
27 [28]; ci. 5; therefore n Davidic "For this commandment ... is not too
expression. Pride has its seat in the wonderful for thee, it is not far off'."
heart, looks forth from the eyes, and 2. I have stilled my soul, i.e. tne
expresses itself in the actions. pride and passions which were like the
I BUSY myself; lit. "walk," a com- swelling waves of an angry sea. The
mon figure for the life and behavior, word is used in Isa. xxviii. 25, of levelling
The perfects denote strictly past action the ground after the clods have been
continued to the present moment (as in broken by the plough. The E. V. uses
cxxx. 1 ,5), and tho intensive form of the " behaved " in thcold senseof restraining,
verb (Piel) the busy, continual action. managing, as, for instance, in Shake-
VOL. II. 49

386

PSALM CXXVI.

3 0 Israel, hope in Jehovah,
From henceforth, even forever.

speare's Timon of Ath., "He did behave
his anger ere 'twas spent." The next
two clauses would be more exactly ren
dered :
" As a weaned child upon his mother "
(i.e. as he lies resting upon his mother's
bosom) ;
"As the weaned child (I say), lies my
soul upon me."
The figure is beautifully expressive of
the humility of a soul chastened by dis
appointment. As the weaned child,
when its first fretfulness and uneasiness
are past, no longer cries and frets and
longs for the breast, but lies still and is
content, because it is with its mother;
so my soul is weaned from aW discon
tented thoughts, from all fretful desires
for earthly good, waiting in stillness
upon God, finding its satisfaction in his
presence, resting peacefully in his arms.
"The weaned child," writes a mother,
with reformL-e to this passage, "has for
the first time become conscious of grief
The piteous longing for the sweet nour

ishment of his life, the broken sob of
disappointment, m.ark the trouble of bis
innocent heart. It is not so much the
bodily suffering; he has felt that pain
before, and cried while it lasted; but now
bis joy and comfiirt are taken away, and
he knows not why. When his head is
once more laid on his mother's bosom,
then be trusts and loves and rests ; but
he has learned thefirstlessonof humility ;
he is cast down, and clings with fond
helplessness to his one friend." At a
time when the devices of our modern
civilization are fast tending to obliterate
the beauty of this figure, mothers no
longer doing their duty by their children,
it seems the more necessary to draw at
tention to it.
3. Prayer, as at the close of the last
Psalm, that the experience of the indi
vidual may become the experience of
the nation, that they too may le.arn to
lie still and trust and wait, in that hope
which, like faith and love, abideth for
ever (1 Cor. xiii. 13).

° It is doubtful whether the comparison ¦'jaia belongs to both the
adjectives. Perhaps the rendering of the E.T. " in great things, and
in things too wonderful " is to be preferred.
'' N'^ ns , not conditional, with the apodosis beginning at ia33, nor
interrogative, as if = xbli , but either an .asseveration, surely (commonly
so used after words of swearing, but also without the adjuration. Xum.
xiv. 35 ; Isa. v. 0, and often in Job), or serving to introduce an oppo
sition to what precedes, as in Gen. xxiv. 38 ; Jer. xxii. 6 ; Ezek. iii.
6 ; but even in these instances, the force of the particles is rather that
of emphatic assertion than of mere opposition. " God do so to me,
if I do not this or that," is the formula always implied in their use.
¦= t^33 . The article is clearly the article of reference, i.e. it re
sumes the word in the previous line : " As a weaned child. ... as the
weaned cliild, I say." And this resumption of the previous expression
is in entire accordance with the common rhythmical structure of so
many of these Pilgrim Songs. Hupfeld most unnecessarily takes the
double 3 as correlative, and explains, " As a weaned child, so is that
wliicli is weaned in mc, viz. my soul." There is, I think, a designed

PSALM CXXXII. 387
parallel in the use of the prep. ^S in the two lines (though Delitzsch
denies this) : As the weaned child lies upon its mother's breast, so my
soul lies upon me ; the soul being for the moment regarded as separate
from the man, as that part which is the seat of the affections, pas
sions, etc.

PSALM C'SXXII.
This Psalm is a prayer that God's promises made to David may
not fail of fulfilment, that he will dwell for ever in the habitation
which he chose for himself in Zion, and that the children of David
may forever sit upon his throne. It opens with a recital of David's
efforts so bring the ark to its resting-place ; it ends with a recital of
the promises made to David and to his seed.
There has been much difEerence of opinion as to the occasion for
which the Psalm was written.
1. The majority of the ancient interpreters regard it as a prayer of
David's, either at the consecration of the tabernacle after the removal
of the ark thither, or at the time when he formed the design of build
ing the temple, and received in consequence the promise in 2 Sam. vii.,
or at the dedication of Araunah's threshing-floor, 2 Sam. xxiv. But
the petition in verse 10, " For thy servant David's sake, turn not away
the face of thine anointed," does not seem natural in the mouth of
David. In the mouth of one of his descendants, whose confidence
and hope rested on the promise made to his ancestor, and who could
plead David's faithfulness to the covenant, such a petition becomes
much more intelligible. In any case, it is clear that the Psalm could '
not have been composed till after the promise had been given to
David in 2 Sam. vii., to which it contains a distinct reference, and
therefore was not intended to be sung at the consecration of the
tabernacle on Mount Zion.
2. Others, with more probability, have thought that the Psalm was
written in commemoration of the completion and dedication of the
temple, either by Solomon himself, or by some poet of bis time. On
such a view, this ode is seen to be harmonious and consistent through
out. It is perfectly natural that Solomon, or a poet of liis age, writing
a song for such an occasion, should recur to the earlier efforts made
by his father to prepare a habitation for .Jehovah. On the completion
of the work, his thoughts would inevitably revert to all the steps which
had led to its accomplishment. It is no less natural that at such a
time the promise given to David should seem doubly precious, that it

388 PSALM CXXXIL
should be clothed with a new interest, a fresh significaice, when
David's son sat upon bis throne, and when the auspicious opening of
his reign might itself be bailed as a fulfilment of the promise. It is,
moreover, in favor of this view that verses 8-10 of the Psalm form,
with one slight variation, the conclusion of Solomon's prayer at the
dedication of the temple, according to the version of that prayer given
in the Chronicles (2 Chron. vi. 41, 42).'
3. Many of the more recent expositors, starting with the prejudice
that all these Pilgrim Songs belong to a period subsequent to the exile,
suppose the Psalm to have been written for the dedication of the
second temple, or in order to encourage Zerubbabel, the chief repre
sentative at that time of David's family, " whose spirit God had
stirred to go up to build the house of the Lord" (Ezra i. 5). But the
title of "the anointed" would hardly have been given to Zerubbabel.
He never sat on the throne. The crowns which Zechariah was
directed to make were to be placed not on the head of Zerubbabel,
but on the head of Joshua, the son of Josedech, the high-priest : the
sovereignty was to be with him ; " he shall bear the glory, and shall
sit and rule upon his throne" (Zech. vi. 10-13). It is possible, of
course, that a poet in these later times might have transported himself
in imagination into the times of David, and that his words might borrow
their coloring and glow from the brighter period which inspired his
song. Yet it is hardly probable that there should have been no allu
sion to the existing depression of David's bouse, no lamentation over
its fallen fortunes, as in Ps. Ixxxix., for instance, no hint of any con
trast between its past and its present condition.^ Such entire sinking
of the present in the past is hardly conceivable.
1 It is at least evident that the compiler of the book supposed the Psalm to have
been written with reference to that event. The passage does not occur at all in
Solomon's prayer as given in 1 Kings viii. This, of itself, makes it probable that
the Chronicler borrows from the Psalmist, not the Psalmist from the Chronicler.
Besides, the variations in the Chronicles are such as would be made in changing
poetry into prose, especially the explanation given in ver. 10 in the Psalm : "Re
member the mercies of Dtivid thy servant." We have already seen, in the intro
duction to Ps. cv., that the writer of that book allows himself some liberty in
quoting from the Psalms.
¦- I confess I can see no indication in the Psalm of any such contrast, though it
has been assumed by many interpreters, both ancient and modern. The mention
of the ark does not prove that the Psalm was not intended for the dedication of the
second temple, for although it may be inferred from Josephus {Bell. Jud. v. § v. 5),
and from the Mishna {Yoma, 5, 2) — where we arc told that in the place of the
ark was an altar-stone three fingers' height above the ground, on which the high-
priest placed the censers on the Day of Atonement — that the ark had perished in
the destruction of the first temple, still the exiles might have used, without chan"--
ing them, the words which were sung at Solomon's dedication.

PSALM CXXXIL 389
Still less probable does it appear to me that some prince of the
house of David, at a still later period of the history, should be the
" anointed " of the Psalm, or that it is to be brought down to the age
of the Maccabees.
4. It may be mentioned that Origen, Theodoret, and some other
of the Greek Fathers, hold the Psalm to be a prayer of the exiles in
Babylon, longing for the rebuilding of the temple, and the restoration
of David's dynasty.
5. Finally, Maurer would refer the Psalm to the time of Josiah,
and conjectures that it may have been written after the reformation
which he introduced in accordance with the law of Moses.
[A PUgrim Song.j
1 0 Jehovah, remember for David
All his anxious cares ;
2 How he sware unto Jehovah,
(And) vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob :
3 " I will not come into the tent of my house,
I will not go up to the couch of my bed,
4 I will not give sleep " to mine eyes.
Nor slumber to my eyelids,
1. Kememeer, i.e. so as to fulfil thy desire to build the temple, and the great
promise made to him. Comp. 2 Chron. preparations which he made with that
vi. 42. object, by collecting the materials, fur-
All his anxious cares; lit. "all nishing the design to his son, and
his being afflicted" (the infin. Pual making provision for the service and
used as a noun). See the same word, worshipof God on a scale of unexampled
cxix. 71 ; Isa. liii. 4. David had tor- magnificence.
mentcd himself with his anxiety to pre- 2. How he sware; lit. "who sware."
pare a suitable earthly dwelling-place Mighty One of Jacob. This name
for Jehovah. First, the building of the of God (repeated in ver. 5) occurs first
tabernacle on Mount Zion, and the in Gen. xlix. 24, in the mouth of the
solemn bringing up of the ark there, dying Jacob. It is found besides only
had engaged his thoughts. The prayer in three passages : in Isa. i. 24 (" Mighty
in ci. 2, " Oh, when wilt thou come unto One of Israel ") ; xlix. 26 ; Ix. 16.
me ? " is the best comment on David's 3. Tent op my house, i.e. " the tent
afflictions and anxious cares till his pur- which is my house " (as in the next
pose was accomplished. In contrast with clause, " the couch which is my bed"),
this, he says himself, " We did not seek a good instance of the way in which the
it (did not trouble ourselves about it) in associations of the old patriarchal tent-
the day of Saul," 1 Chron. xiii. 3. life fixed themselves in the language of
Next, if we suppose the Psalm to take a the people.
wider range, there may also be included 4. Sleep to mine eyes. See the
in these " anxious cares " his earnest same proverbial expression, Prov. vi. 4.

390

PSALM CXXXU.

5 Until I find a place for Jehovah,
A dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.
6 Lo, we heard of it in Ephrathah,
We found it in the field of the wood : *¦

5. A dwelling; lit. "dwellings";
but see on the plur. Ixxxiv. 1. This
has been referred (1) to David's inten
tion of building the temple (2 Sam. vii.),
and the preparatory consecration of the
threshing-floor of Araunah (2 Sam.
xxiv.) ; (2) to the placing the ark in a
flxed abode on Zion, after its many wan
derings : comp. l.xxviii. 68, 69. The
latter is the more probable.
6. This verse is extremely obscure ;
but it seems, at any rate, to describe in
some way the accomplishment of David's
purpose. There are three principal
points in it to be considered :
(1) To what does the feminine pro
noun " it," which is the object of the
two verbs " heard," " found," refer ?
Either (a) it is an indefinite neuter,
" We heard of (Ae matter"; or, as Bunsen
more precisely explains, " We heard it,
— viz. the joyful cry in ver. 7, — Let us
go to the temple on Zion." The objec
tion to taking the pronoun in this way
is, that the second verb " we found," is
not very suitable on either explanation.
Or (6) the pronoun refers to the ark,
which has already been tacitly brought
before us in ver. 5 (where "a dwelling
for Jehovah " is a dwelling for the ark,
as the symbol of his presence), and is
expressly mentioned in ver. 7. The
noun is fem. as well as masc, and, by a
not uncommon Hebrew usage, the pro
noun anticipates the mention of the ob
ject to which it points. G. Bauer (in a
note to De Wette) objects that Hebrew
usage will not allow of the rendering
" We heard of it," and that tho only
proper translation is, " We heard it,"
viz. the rumor. But in Jer. xlvi. 12
we have the same construction (tbe.verb
with the accus.), "The nations have
heard of thy shame."
(2) In the use of the verbs "heard
. . . found," is the parallelism synony
mous or antithetical ? Do they describe
two parts of the same action : " We

heard it was," etc., " and there we found
it"? or do they mark two distinct and
opposed actions : " We heard it was in
one place; we found it in another";
The answer to this question must depend
on the interpretation we give to the
proper names which follow.
(3) AVbat are we to understand by
"Ephrathah" and "the field of the
wood " ?
(a) To take the latter expression first.
This may be either an appellative or
a proper name. In the last case, it may
be rendered " fields of Jaar," Taar being
a shortened form of Kirjath-jean'm, " the
city of woods " ; for Jcarim, " woods,"
is only the plural of Jaar, " wood."
The name of this city, as it happens,
appears in a variety of different forms ;
in Jer. xxvi. 20, as Kirjath-hajearim
(i.e. with the article), and apocopated,
Kirjath-'arim, Ezra ii. 25 (comp. Josh.
xviii. 28) ; it is also called Kirjath-baal,
Josh. XV. 60 ; and Baalah, xv. 9, 1 Chron.
xiii. 6 (comp. Josh. xv. 10, " the moun
tain of Jearim." with 11, "the mountain
of Baalah ") ; and apparently Baale-
Jud.ah, 2 Sam. vi. 2. There is no reason
why, poetically, it should not be called
Jaar ; and when wo further remember
that the ark, after having been captured
by the Philistines and restored by them,
remained ibr twenty years at Kirjath-
jcarim (1 Sam. vii. 2), it is at least
probable that, in a passage which speaks
of tho removal of the ark to Zion, there
may be some allusion to the place of its
previous sojourn.
{b) Ephrathah, as tho name of a place,
only occurs elsewhere as the ancient
name of Bethlehem, Gen. xxxv. 16, 19;
xlviii. 7; Ruth iv. 11. In Micah v. 2
[ 1 1 the two names are united, Betlilehem-
Ephrathah. Hengstenberg maintains
that the usage is the same here, " We,
being in Bethlehem, heard." There,
he says, David spent his youth, while
as yet he had only heard of the invisible

PSALM CXXXII.

391

7 " Let us come into his dwelling ;
Let us bow ourselves before his footstool.

ark of the covenant. It was known only
by hearsay; no one went to see it; it
was almost out of mind. Comp. Jobxiii.
5 ; Ps. xviii. 44 , 45 (and David's words
in 1 Chron. xiii. 3). But the pronoun
" we " must surely refer not to David,
but to the people at large. And besides,
although the construction " We in Beth
lehem heard it" may possibly be defended
by Matt. ii. 2, " We in the East saw his
star," yet here the parallelism seems
rather to require the sense, " Wc beard
that it was at Ephrathah ; we found it
at Kirjath-Jearim."
Other explanations have accordingly
been given of the name.
(a) Although Ephrathah is only an
ancient name for Bethlehem, yet as
Ephrathite as frequently denotes an
Ephraimite as a Betblehemite, so it is
possible that Ephrathah here may be a
name for Ephraim. In that case the al
lusion is to the first resting-place of the
ark in Shiloh, which was the capital of
Ephraim : " We heard in ancient story
that the ark was placed in Shiloh ; we
found it, when at last it was to be re
moved to its new abode, at Kirjath-
jearim." The word found would natu
rally suggest the many vicissitudes and
wanderings of the ark in the interval.
((8) It has been supposed that Ephra
thah is not a proper name, but denotes,
in accordance with its etymology, the
fruitful land, by way of contrast with
the fluids of the wood, i.e. the forest dis
trict ; the former denoting the southern
part of Palestine, as the more cultivated ;
tne latter the northern, and especially
the woody ranges of Lebanon. Thus
the whole land would be poetically
Bummed up under the two heads of the
fertile and the woody regions, and the
meaning would be, " From all parts of
the land we flocked at the summons of
our king, to bring up the holy ark to its
dwelling-place in Zion." In this case,
the verbs " heard . . . found " cannot be
taken as describing diflferent and con
trasted acts, but as referring to one and
the same event.

(7) Ephrathah has been eo ijectured
(also with reference to its etymological
meaning of "the fruitful country") to
be a name for Beth-shemesh, the spot
where the ark was first deposited by the
Philistines, and whence it was subse
quently removed to " the fields of the
wood," i.e. ICirjathjeiirim. According
to this interpretation, which is that of
Hupfeld, the verse would mean,
" We heard that tho ark was brought
to Beth-shemesh first ;
We found it at Kirjath-jearim."
(5) Lastly, Delitzsch identifies Ephra
thah with the district about Kirjath-
jearim, and on these grounds : Caleb
had by Ephrath, his third wife, a son
named Hur (1 Chron. ii. 19). By the
descendants of this Hur Bethlehem was
peopled (1 Chron. iv. 4) ; and from
Shobal, a son of this Hur, the inhab
itants of Kirjath-jearim were descended
(2 Chron. ii. 50). Kirjath-jearim, then,
is, as it were, a daughter of Bethlehem.
Bethlehem was originally called Ephra
thah, and this latter name was after
wards given to the district about Beth
lehem, whence in Micah v. 2 [1] we find
the compound name Bethlehem-Ephra-
thah. Kirjath-jearim belonged to
Caleb-Ephrathah (1 Chron. ii. 24),
which is probably to be distinguished as
the northern part of the territory from
Negeb Caleb, "the south of Caleb"
(1 Sam. xxx. 14).
Ontbe whole, whichever interpretation
we adopt, the general scope of the pas
sage seems to be : Remember thy servan t
David ; remember all his efforts to
build thee an habitation for thy name ;
he gave himself no rest till he bad
brought the ark to Zion. We heard
where the ark was ; we went to fetch it,
saying one to another as we brought it
to its new abode, " Let us come into bis
dwelling," etc. And now, by the mem
ory of David, by the memory of thy
covenant with him and his faithfulness
to that covenant, we plead with -,hee.
Reject not the prayer of our king, who
is David's son ; grant him the request

392

PSALM cxxxn.

8 Arise, 0 Jehovah, into thy resting-place.
Thou, and the ark of thy strength.
9 Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness,
And let thy saints shout for joy."
10 For thy servant David's sake,
Turn not away the face of thine anointed.
11 Jehovah hath sworn unto David, —
It is truth," he will not depart from it, —
" Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne.
12 If thy sons will keep my covenant,
And my testimony" that I shall teach them.
Their sons also forevermore
Shall sit upon thy throne."

of his lips; fulfil all his desires. (Comp.
XX. 1-4.
7. His DWELLING, or " tabernacles,"
the house which David calls " curtains,''
2 Sam. vii. 2, purposely repeated from
ver. 5. On the plural form of the word,
see on Ixxxiv. 1 .
His footstool. See on xcix. 5.
8. As in ver. 7 wc have the expres
sion of the feelings of the congregation in
David's time, so in ver. 8 there may be a
transition to the Ian juage of the people in
Solomon's time. To the poet's thoughts
thecongregationisone, and the utterance
of their feelings is one. He blends to
gether the song which was raised when
the ark was carried up to Zion with the
song which was raised when it was again
moved from Zion to its final resting-place
in the temple, 2 Chron. v. 2-5; vi. 41.
Arise. The words are taken from
the old battle-cry of the nation, when
the ark set forward " to search out a
resting-place for them " (Num. a. 33-36).
Comp. Ps. I.Kviii. 1 [2].
Ark of thy strength. The only
|jlaec in the Psalms where the ark is
meniioned. This designation occurs
onlv here and in 2 Chron. vi. 41.
9 Let teiy prii.sts. The blessing
of God's presence in its effects both upon
the priests and the people.
Righteousness. In the promise
(ver. 10) which corresponds to this

prayer, salvation is the equivalent
word; see on Ixxi. 15.
Saints, or " beloved," as also in ver.
16. See on xvi. 10. From this verse
are taken the petitions in our liturgy:
" Endue thy ministers with righteous
ness. And make thy chosen people
joyful." 10. Turn not awat the face, i.e.
refuse not the prayer. See the same
phrase 1 Kings ii. 16, 17, 20; 2 Kings
xviii. 24, where the E.V. renders, "deny
me not, say me not nay."
Thine anointed. This cannot be
David (as Hengst., Hupfeld, and others).
It would be extremely harsh to say,
" For David's sake refuse not the prayer
of David." Obviously the anointed
here must be Solomon (or some one of
David's descendants), who pleads Da
vid and the promises made to David as
a reason why his prayer should not be
rejected. In 2 Chron. vi. 42, the verse
stands somewhat differently: "O Jeho
vah God, turn not away the face of thine
anointed ; remember the loving-kind
nesses of David thy servant." The last
clause most probably means, " Thy
loving kindnesses to David " ; but others
render " the goodness or piety of David
thy servant," the meaning of the Hebrew
word c/iesed being ambiguous. The
prayer is a prayer for the fuKilment of
the promise. Hence the promise is

PSALM CXXXII.

393

13 Por Jehovah hath chosen Zion ;
He hath desired it as an abode for himself.
14 This is my resthig-place forevermore ;
Here will I abide, for I have desired it.
15 I will abundantly bless her provision ;
Her poor I will satisfy with bread.
16 Her priests also will I clothe with salvation.
And her saints shall shout aloud for joy.
17 There will I make the horn of David to bud ;
I have prepared a lamp for mine anointed.
18 His enemies will I clothe with shame,
But upon himself shall his crown shine.

quoted, ver. 11, 12. Others suppose
that the subject of the prayer is to be
found in ver. 8, 9.
11. Hath sworn .. . will not de
part ; marking the unchangeableness
of the promise, as in ex. 4, "Jehovah
hath sworn, and will not repent." Comp.
Ixxxix. 34-37 [35-38]. The substance
of the promise follows, as given in 2
Sam. vii.
13. The choosing of Zion as the seat
of the sanctuary is mentioned as being
closely and intimately connected with
the choosing of David as king and the
tribe of Judah as the ruling tribe. The
connection is : Jehovah has given the
sovereignty to David and to David's
house ; for he hath chosen Zion to be
his own dwelling-place. The religious
centre and the political centre of the
people are one and the same : exactly
as in cxxii. 4, 5. Comp. Ixxviii. 67-71,
" He chose the tribe of Judah, the Mount
Zion which he loved. ... He chose David
also his servant," etc.
14. My RESTING-PLACE. Shiloh had
been abandoned ; for a time the ark was

at Bethel, Judges xx. 27 ; then at Miz-
pah. Judges xxi. 5 ; afterwards, for
twenty years, at Kirjath-jearim, 1 Sam.
vii. 2 ; and then for three months in the
house of Obed-Edom, before it was
finally brought to its last resting-place.
16. A promise that the petition in
ver. 9 should be granted.
17. Make the horn ... to bud.
Giving ever new strength to his house
and victory over all enemies. See on
Ixxv. 5 |6|, and comp. Ezek. xxix. 21.
We might render, " I will make an horn
to bud for David (as in ver. 1 " remember
for David " ; but " David " is here put
for the house of David, and therefore the
rendering in the text is perhaps prefer
able. Alamp. See on xviii. 28 [291. Comp.
1 Kings xi. 36, " And unto his son will
I give one tribe, that David my servant
may have a lamp always before me in
Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen
me to put my name there."
18. Shine; lit. " blossom." Ontbe
etymological connection between the two
ideas, see Gesenius, Thesaur. in v.

" njia for njia , according to Hupfeld apocopated from the fuller
form Tpi , like n'nri, r^ri: (see on xvi. note ''), as he says is plain
from the rejection of the first vowc-I, which cannot otherwise be ex
plained. Delitzsch, following Ewald (Lehrb. § 173 d), regards the
termination as Aramaic, "rirn, he observes, is always said of the
VOL, II. 50

.'394 PSALM CXXXIIL
eyelids, Gen. xxxi. 40; Prov. vi. 4; Eccl. viii. 16, never of the eyes,
and this distinction is carefully maintained even in the post-biblical
T'phillah style ; but the word only occurs in one passage which he
quotes, Prov. vi. 4, and this is the only place where it is found with
the word eyelids.
^ •''ra • This may be the construct state singular, from the poetic
form iniT; and except the LXX (iv rot's TrcStois) most of the ancient
versions have the sing. ; Aq. and Symm., iv x<^P?> '^hli which Kay
compares the iv rrj x<"P« used of the same locality in L'lke ii. 8. The
Quinta, iv aypS ; Jerome, in regione.
" ntx . This is not the object of the verb rs'd? , " He liath sworn
a faithful oath." Delitzsch makes it an adverbial accus., and claims
the support of the accents, the Pazer (distinctive) marking the close
of the first member of the verse. But it is better to take r.ax inde
pendently, as standing at the beginning of a parenthetical clause : " It
(i.e. the oath) is truth, he will not depart from it."
¦^ ''Tnv , either sing, for ''n^iy , like ^rbntn for ¦^rarrtn , 2 Kings vi. 8,
or plur. with the suffix of the singular, as, for instance, Deut. xxviii.
59 ; Gesen. § 89, 3.

PSALM CXXXIII.

Heedee says of this exquisite little song, that " it has the fragrance
of a lovely rose." Nowhere has the nature of true unity — that unity
which binds men together, not by artificial restraints, but as brethrer
of one heart — been more faithfully described, nowhere has it been
so gracefully illustrated, as in this short ode. True concord is, we are
here taught, a holy thing, a, sacred oil, a rich perfume, which, flowing
down from the head to the beard, from the beard to the garment,
sanctifies the whole body. It is a sweet morning dew, which lights
not only on the lofty mountain-peaks, but on the lesser hills, embracing
all, and refreshing all with its influence.
The title of the Psalm gives it to David. Hence it has been con
jectured that it may refer to the circumstances attending his corona
tion at Hebron, when, after eiglit years of civil war, " all the tribes of
Israel," laying aside their mutual animosities, came to David unto
Hebron, and spake, saying, " Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh "
(2 Sam. V. 1). The picture of a united nation is given still more
vividly in the narrative of the Chronicles : " All these men of war

PSALM CXXXIII. 39«,
that could keep rank came with a perfect heart to Hebron, to make
David king over all Israel ; and all the rest also of Israel were of one
heart to make David king. And there they were with David three
days, eating and drinking ; for their brethren had prepared for them.
Moreover, they that were nigh them, even unto Issachar, and Zeb-
ulum, and Napthali, brought bread on asses and on camels and on
mules and on oxen, and meat, meal, cakes of figs, and bunches of
raisins, and wine, and oil, and oxen, and sheep abundantly; for there
was joy in Israel" (1 Chron. xii. 38-40).
Others have supposed that the Psalm was suggested by the sight
of the multitudes who came up from all parts of Palestine to be
present at the great national feasts in Jerusalem.
Again, others, and perhaps the majority of commentators, refer tho
Psalm to the time of the return from the captivity, when, there being
no longer any division of tho kingdom, the jealousies of the tribes
had ceased, and all who returned, of whatever tribe, were incorporated
in one state. That at this time there was a real unity of heart and
mind in the nation may be inferred from the narratives in Ezra and
Nehemiah. Thus, for instance, we read in Ezra iii. 1, that " when
the seventh month was come, and the children of Israel were in the
cities, the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jeru
salem." And in Nehem. viii. 1 : " And all the people gathered
themselves together as one man into the street that was before the
Water Gate, and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book
of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel."
But in truth there is not a syllable in the Psalm which can lead us
to any conclusion respecting its date. Such a vision of the blessed
ness of unity may have cliarmed the poet's heart and inspired the
poet's song, at any period of the national history. And his words,
though originally, no doubt, intended to apply to a state, would be
equally true of a smaller circle, a family or a tribe.
[A Pilgrim Song. Of David.]
1 Behold how good and how pleasant (it is)
For brethren to dwell together (in unity).
1. Behold draws attention to an im- to monasteries; it was like a trumpet-
portanttruth. Augustine says of this first call to those who wished to dwell to-
vcrse, that thevery soundof itis so sweet gether as brethren {fratres or friars).
that it was chanted even by persons who Pokbretiieen to dwell together.
knew nothing of the rest of the Psalter. The exact force of the Hebrew is, " for
He also says that this verse gave birth them who are brethren also to dwell to-

396

PSALM CXXXIII.

2 It is like the precious oil upon the head,
"Which descended upon the beard, (even) Aaron's beard,
Which descended to the edge of his garments ;

gether, i.e. that those who are of one
race and one stock should live in peace
and harmony together as living members
of the same body, filled with the same
spirit, seeking, in mutual forbearance
and sympathy, the same ends."
2. The first figure is taken from the
oil which was poured on the head of the
high-priest at his consecration (Ex. xxix.
7; Lev. viii. 12; xxi. 10). The point
of the comparison does not lie in the
preciousness of theoil, or in its all-pervading
fragrance ; but in this — that being
poured on the head, it did not rest there ;
but flowed to the beard, and descended
even to the garments, and thus, as it
were, consecrated the whole body in all its
parts. All the members participate in the
same blessing. Comp. 1 Cor. xii. This
is the point of tho comparison. Other
thoughts may be suggested by it, as that
the spirit of concord, both in a state and
in a family, will descend from those who
govern to those who are governed; or,
again, that concord is a holy thing, like
the holy oil, or that it is sweet and fra
grant, like the fragrant oil; but these
are mere accessories of the image, not
that which suggested its use. If, as is
commonly assumed, the point of com
parison lay in the all-pervading fragrance
of the oil, the addition to the figure,
" which descended upon tlie beard, . . .
which descended to the edge of his gar
ments," would be thrown away. But
understand this as typifying the conse
cration of the whole man, and the exten
sion of the figure at once becomes ap
propriate and full of meaning. Luther
remarks: "In that he saith 'from the
head,' he showeth the nature of true
concord. For like as the ointment ran
down from the head of Aaron the high-
priest upon his beard, and so descended
unto the borders of his garment, even
so true concord in doctrine and brotherly
love floweth as a precious ointment, by
the unity of the Spirit, from Christ the
High-Priest and Head of the church,

unto all the members of the same. For
by the beard and extreme parts of the
garment he signifieth, that as far as the
church reacheth, so far spreadeth the
unity which floweth from Christ her
head." The precious oil; lit. the good
oil, the sacred oil, ibr the preparation
of which special directions were given,
and which was to be devoted exclusively
to the consecration of holy things and
persons, Ex. xxx. 22-33. Hence the
imago implies not only the whole body
is united, but that the whole body is
consecrated. Aaron, named not because he only
was thus anointed, but as the repre
sentative of all priestly anointing : see
Ex. xxviii. 41 ; xxx. 30; xl. 15.
Which descended. I have followed
the Hebrew in retaining the same word
in the three successive lines. The LXX
have throughout KaTa$atv€tv ; Jerome
and the Vulgate, descendere. In the
second line, " Which descended to the
edge of his garments," there is consid
erable doubt to what the relative refers.
Is it the oil (as in the previous line), or
is it the beard, which descends to the
edge of the garments ? Some of the
recent interpreters understand it of the
beard, as a kind of connecting link be
tween the head and the garments : the
oil descended on the beard; the beard
touched the garments, and so imparted
to them the sanctification which it had
itself received from theoil (so DeWette,
Stier, Hengst., Delitzsch, Hupfeld). But
the other interpretation, which has the
support of all the ancient versions and
the majority of interpreters, is certainly
to be preferred, and is even required
by the rhythmical structure of the Psalm.
We have here, as in so many of the
Pilgrim Songs, the repetition of the same
word in connection with the same sub
ject. See the repetition of the word
" keep " in cxxi., and the same rhythmi
cal figure in cxxiii. 3, 4; xxiv. l,3,4,etc.

PSALM CXXXIU.

397

3 Like the dew of Hermon which descended upon the
mountains of Zion ;
For there Jehovah commanded the blessing,
(Even) life forevermore.

Edge, or rather " collar " ; lit.
"mouth," "opening," as the mouth of
a sack. The word is used Ex. xxviii.
32 ; xxxix. 23, of the opening at the top
of the robe of the ephod. The image
does not represent the oil as descending
to the skirts, the lower edge of the gar
ment. It is enough that it touch the
robe to sanctify it. [According to the
law, the garments of the priests were
sprinkled with the holy oil, Ex. xxix.
21 ; Lev. viii. 30].
3. The second image expressive of the
blessing of brotherly concord is taken
from the dew. Here, again, it is not the .
refreshing nature of the dew, nor its
gentle, all-pervading influence, which is
the prominent feature That which
renders it to the poets eye so striking
an image of brotherly concord is the
fact that it falls alike cm both mountains —
that the same dew which descends on
the lofty Hermon descends also on the
humbler Zion. High and low drink in
the same sweet refreshment. Thus the
image is exactly parallel to the last —
the oil descends from the head to the
beard, the dew from the higher mountain
to the lower. (Hermon in the north,
aud Zion in the south, may also further
suggest the union of the northern
and southern tribes.) Luther says:
" Whereas the mountains often seem,
to those that behold them afar olF, to
reach up even unto heaven, the dew
which cometh from heaven seemeth to
fall from the high mountains unto the
hills which are under them. Therefore

be saith that the dew descendetb from
Hermon unto Mount Zion, because it
so seemeth unto those that do behold it
afar off". And this clause, after my
judgment, pertaineth to civil concord,
like as the former similitude pertaineth
to the church, because God through
peace and concord maketh common
wealths and kingdoms to flourish ; even
as seeds, herbs, and plants are fresh and
flourish through the morning dew. The
beginning of this peace cometh from the
princes and magistrates, as from Mount
Hermon, from whom it floweth unto
every particular person, and to the
whole commonwealth, which is refreshed
thereby." There. In Zion the blessed fruits
of this brotherly concord may chiefly be
looked for, for Jehovah himself has made
it the great centre of all blessing and all
life. This last verse lends some color
to the view that the Psalm was intended
to be sung at the gathering of the tribes
for the great national feasts. Comp.
cxxviii. 6 ; cxxxiv. 4. The similitude
of the dew has taken shape in a legend.
An old pilgrim narrates that every
morning at sunrise a handful of dew
floateddown from the summit of Hermon,
and deposited itself upon the church of
St. Mary, where it was immediately
gathered up by Christian leeches, and
was found a sovereign remedy for all
diseases. It was of this dew, he declares,
that David spoke prophetically in this
Psalm. — Itinerary of St. Anthony.

398 PSALM cxxxit.
PSALM CXXXIV.
" Theee things are clear with regard to this Psalm," says Delitzsch
" First, that it consists of a greeting (ver. 1,2), and a reply (ver. ii).
Next, that the greeting is addressed to those priests and Levites who
had the night-watch in the temple. Lastly, that this Psalm is purposely
placed at the end of the collection of Pilgrim Songs in order to take
the place of a final blessing."
That the address is not to any persons in the habit of frequenting
the temple is evident, because it was only in rare and exceptional
cases (Luke ii. 37) that such persons could be found in the temple at
night. And, further, the word " stand " in verse 1 is the common
word to express the service of the priests and Levites, who had their
duties by night as well by day (1 Chron. ix. 33).
The Targum, too, explains the first verse of the temple watch.
" The custom in the second temple appears to have been this. After
midnight the chief of the door-keepers took the key of the inner
temple, and went with some of the priests through the small postern
of the fire gate (ip'rn n^a ^rir). In the inner court this watch
divided itself into two companies, each carrying a burning torch ; one
company turned west, the other east, and so they compassed the court
to see whether all were in readiness for the temple service on the
following morning. In the bakehouse, where the Mincha (' meat
offering') of the high-priest was baked, they met with the cry, ' AU
well.' Meanwhile the rest of the priests arose, bathed themselves,
and put on their garments. They then went into the stone chamber
(one half of which was the hall of session of the Sanhedrim), aud
there, under the superintendence of the officer who gave the watch
word and one of the Sanhedrim, surrounded by the priests clad in
their robes of office, their several duties for the coming day were
assigned to each of the priests by lot (Lvike i. 9).''
Accordingly it has been supposed by Tholuck and others that the
greeting in verses 1, 2, was addressed to the guard going off duty by
those who came to relieve them ; and who in their turn received the
answer in verse 3. Others conjecture that the greeting was inter
changed between the two companies of the night-watch, when they
met in making their rounds through the temple. Delitzsch, however,
thinks that the words of verses 1, 2, are addressed by the congregation
to the priests and Levites who had charge of the night service, and
that verse 3 is an answer of blessing from them to the congregation,
who were gathered on the temple-mouut.

PSALM CXXXV. ,?}99
[A Pilgrim Song.]
(The Greeting.)
1 Behold, bless ye Jehovah, all ye servants of Jehovah,
Which by night stand in the house of Jehovah.
2 Lift up your hands to the sanctuary,'
And bless ye Jehovah. (The Answer.)
3 Jehovah bless thee out of Zion,
(Even he who is) the Maker of heaven and earth.
1. Behold. The word draws atten- there were no other mention of a night.
tion here to a duty, as at the beginning service in the temple, considering how
of the last Psalm it drew attention to a meagre the notices arc, we should Hot
truth at once important and attractive. be justified in setting this aside ; but we
Servants of Jehovah. The ex- have express reference to a night-service
pression of itself might denote the in 1 Chron. ix. 33.
people at large ; but the next clause Stand. A common word for the
limits it (as in cxxxv. 2) to the priests service of the priests and Levites, Deut.
and Levites. x. 8 ; xv. 2, 7 ; 1 Chron. xxiii. 30; 2
Bt NIGHT ; lit. "in the nights." This Chron.xxix.il.
cannot mean merely " night as well as 3. Bless thee. The singular, in-
day," and therefore " at all times," as stead of the plural " bless you," because
Hupfeld maintains. In xlii. 8 |9], and the words are taken from the form used
xcii. 2 [3], to which he refers, "the by the high-priest in blessing the people,
morning" is expressly mentioned, as Num. vi. 24.
well as "the night," and in v. 3 [4], Out of Zion. See on cxxxv. 21.
where " the morning "only is mentioned, Maker of HiIAven and earth. As
the morning only is meant. Even if in cxxi. 2 ; cxxiv. 8.
' '-'^p. The accusatil'e of direction, as frequently ; and so the
LXX, CIS ra ayta, ; Jerome, ad sanctum ; Vulg., in sancta. In v. 8 ;
xxviii. 2, we have the full phrase. For the constr. Delitzsch compares
Hab. iii. 11. But it may be rendered " iu holiness." So Symm., dyiW
Ci'iji is merely an incorrect form for nri'i"' .

PSALM CXXXV.

A Psalm intended for the temple service, and one of the Hallelujah
Psalms, though not placed in the same series with the rest. It is,
like Ps. cxxxiv., an exhortation to the priests and Levites who wait
in the sanctuary to praise Jehovah, both because of his goodness in
choosing Israel to be his people, aud because of his greatness and the

400 PSALM CXXXV.
almighty power which he has shown in his dominion over the world
of nature, and in the overthrow of all the enemies of bis people. Then
his abiding majesty is contrasted with the nothingness of the idols of
the heathen. The Psalm is almost entirely composed of passages
taken from other sources. Compare verse 1 with cxxxiv. 1 ; verse 3
with cxlvii. 1 ; verses 6 and 15-20 with cxv; verse 7 with Jer. x. 13;
verse 14 with Deut. xxxii. 36; verses 8-12 with cxxxvi. 10-22.
Delitzsch not inaptly describes the Psalm, on this account, as a
species of mosaic, applying to its structure the expression of the old
Roman poet Lucilius : " Quam lepide lexeis compostae ut tesserulae
omnes." The prophecies of Jeremiah furnish many instances of a
similar composite diction. Zephaniah takes his words and phrases
almost entirely from Jeremiah. Many sentences in the Book of
Proverbs would naturally appear in other writers, and a collector of
proverbial wisdom must by the very nature of the case compose a
mosaic instead of painting a picture. Several of the Psalms are speci
mens of this composite work. The diction of the ninety-seventh and
ninety-eighth Psalms in particular is a series of colored fragments, as
it were, from the later chapters of Isaiah. The tesserulae of this
Psalm, on the other hand, are gathered from the Law, the Prophets,
and the Hagiographa. Hallelujah !
1 Praise ye the name of Jehovah,
Praise (it), 0 ye servants of Jehovah.
2 Ye that stand in the bouse of Jehovah,
In the courts of the house of our God,
3 Praise ye Jah, for Jehovah is good ;
Sing psalms unto his name, for it is lovely.
1. The opening of the Psalm resembles the liturgical prayers and the blessings.
the opening of cxxxiv. The thrice-repeated Jehovah, followed
2. In the courts. See on Ixxxiv. by Jah . . . Jehovah . . . Jah, mav have
2 [3]. The mention of these "courts" a reference to the form of the priestly
is no evidence that the exhortation is blessing in which they "put the name
addressed not merely to the priests, but of Jehovah upon the children of Israel,"
to the people. Nor can this be inferred Num. vi. 22-27. Thrice the priests ut-
from the formula in ver. 19, 20, which tered the name; thrice, and yet thrice
is common to these liturgical Psalms ; again, the congregation echoed it back
comp. cxv. 9-11. The address is, as in in their song.
cxxxiv. 1, to the Levites who sang 3. Jehovah is good. " Breviter
Psalms and played on the different mu- nno verbo," says Augustine, " explicata
sical instruments which were used in est laus Domini Dei nostri : ionus Z)om-
the service of God, and to ihe priests inus. Sed bonus, non ut sunt bona
who blew with tho trumpets and repeated quae fecit. Nam fecit Deus omnia bona

PSALM CXXXV.

401

4 For Jah hath chosen Jacob to himself,
Israel for his peculiar treasure.
6 For I know that Jehovah is great.
And that our Lord is above all gods.
6 Whatsoever Jehovah pleaseth that hath he done.
In heaven and in earth.
In the seas and in all deeps.
7 He bringeth up vapors from the end of the earth ;
He hath made lightnings for the rain ;
He sendeth forth " the wind out of his treasuries.
8 Wlio smote the firstborn of Egypt,
Both of man and beast ;

vftlde ; non tantum bona, sed et valde.
Coelum et terram et omnia quae in eis
sunt bona fecit, et valde bona fecit. Si
haec omnia bona fecit, quails est ille qui
fecit 1 Et tamen, cum bona fecerit,
multoque sit melior qui fecit quam ista
quae fecit non invenis melius quod de
illo dicas nisi quia bonus est Dominus : si
tamen intelligas proprie bonum, a quo
sunt caetera bona. Omnia enim bona
ipse fecit : ipse est bonus quem nemo
fecit. Ille bono suo bonus est, non
aliunde participate bono : ille seipso
bono bonus est, non adhaerendo alteri
bono. . . . Ineffabili dulcedine teneorcum
audio bonus Dominus; consideratisque
omnibus et collustratis quae forinsecus
video, quoniam ex ipso sunt omnia,
etiam cum mihi haec placent, ad ilium
video a quo sunt, ut intelligam quoniam
bonus est Dominus."
It is lovely. According to the
parallelism, this will refer either to the
name of Jeliovah, or to Jehovah himself,
" for he is lovely." But according to
the analogy of cxlvii. 1 (comp. Prov.
xxiii. 8) the subject is the song: "for
it is pleasant, viz. thus to sing praise."
4. Then follow the several grounds
of this praise. First, because he has
chosen Israel. Next, because he is
higher than all the gods of the heathen,
as he has shown in his absolute supremacy
over the world of nature, ver. 5-7. Then,
because he redeemed his people from
VOL. II. 51

Egypt, ver. 8, 9. Lastly, because, van
quishing all their enemies, he gave them
the promised land, ver. 10-12.
5. I KNOW. The pronoun is em
phatic, and the phrase marks a strong
personal conviction (sometimes, as in
XX. 6 [7], one newly gained).
6. Whatsoever HE PLEASETH. This
absolute supremacy of God over all the
forces and phenomena of the natural
world is stated in the same way as in
cxv. 3, with reference more particularly
to the weakness of the gods of the na
tions, as also in this Psalm, ver. 15-18.
7. The verse occurs almost word for
word in Jer. x. 13; li. 16.
Vapors, or perhaps "clouds," as
formed of masses of vapor.
From the end op the earth, i.e.
either from the horizon on which they
seem to gather, or from the sea ; or,
perhaps, as Augustine says, because
" unde surrexerint nescis."
Fob the kain, i.e. so that the rain
follows the lightning; see Isa. x. 13;
li. 16. The lightning is supposed to
precede the rain. A common Arabic
proverb says of a, man who turns out
other than was expected of him, that he
lightens, but does not rain. The LXX,
aiTTpaTrhs els verhv i'iToi7](rev.
His treasuries. Cf. Job xxxviii. 22.
" Occultis causis, unde nescis." — Angus.
8. Both of man and beast; lit.
"from man unto beast."

402 PSALM CXXXV.
9 (Who) sent signs and wonders into the midst of thee,*"
0 Egypt,
Upon Pharaoh and upon all his servants ;
10 Who smote many nations.
And slew mighty kings, -^
11 Sihon," king of the Amorites,
And Og, the king of Bashan,
And all the kingdoms of Canaan ;
12 And gave their land as an heritage.
An heritage unto Israel his people.
13 0 Jehovah, thy name (endureth) forever ;
Thy memorial, 0 Jehovah, to all generations.
14 For Jehovah judgeth liis people.
And repenteth himself concerning his servants,
15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold.
The work of men's hands.
16 They have a mouth, and speak not ;
Eyes have they, and see not.
17 They have ears, and (yet) they hear not ;
Yea, they have no breath at all * in their mouths.
18 They that make them shall be like unto them.
Every one that putteth his trust in them.
19 0 house of Israel, bless ye Jehovah :
0 house of Aaron, bless ye Jehovah :
20 0 house of Levi, bless ye Jehovah :
Ye that fear Jehovah, bless Jehovah.
21 Blessed be Jehovah out of Zion,

13. Comp. Ex. iii. 15. "repenting concerning," or "having
14. Borrowed from Deut. xxxii. 36. compassion of," his servants.
Comp. for the second clause of the verse, 15-18. Borrowed with some variation
Ps. xc. 13. from cxv. 4-8.
For. Here is the proof and evidence 19, 20. Precisely as iu cxv. 9-11-
that Jehovah's name and memorial abide cxviii. 2-4, only that here " the house
forever ; that be will manifest, as in the of Levi " is added.
past, so in the future, his righteousness 21. As in cxxviii. 5; cxxxiv. 3, Je-
and his mercy to Israel. hovah blesses out of Zion, so here, on
Judge, i.e. see that they have right, the other hand, his people bless him out
which is, in fact, the consequence of his of Zion. For there they meet to worship

PSALM CXXXVL 403
Who dwelleth in Jerusalem.
Hallelujah !
him; there not only he, but they, may thence, accordingly, his praise is sounded
he said to dwell (Isa. x. 24) ; and abroad.
" NSia, either incorrect for 8''S'ia, the accent being drawn back
after the analogy of the fut. conv., or, as the participle is somewhat
lame after hiss , perhaps it is merely an error for KS'i*l, which is
found in the parallel passages, Jer. x. 13 ; li. 16.
'' 133'ina. For this form see on ciii. note ".
° The h after nn is not necessarily due to Aramaic influence. It
occurs not only in 2 Sam. iii. 30 (where Delitzsch alleges that ver.
30, 31, and 36, 37, are a later addition, and therefore not exempt
from Aramaic tendencies), but also in Job v. 2. We have it also
again in cxxxvi. 19, 20. Maurer explains that with the accus. it is
interficere aliquem, and with h caedem facere alicui. For other in
stances of the b after the active verb see xxxv. 7; Ixix. 6; cxvi. 16;
cxxix. 3 ; cxxxvi. 23. With the exception of this use of the b and
the IB, the whole coloring and language of ver. 10-12 is that of
Deuteronomy. * V^ , constr., and quite superfluous after "^N . It occurs also 1 Sam.
xxi. 9, where, however, according to Delitzsch, the punctuation should
be I'^S and ^2 T^ = Aram, nis -px , num (an) est, "pti being a North
Palestine Aramaising form of the Heb. interrog. ds.

PSALM CXXXVI.

This Psalm is little more than a variation and repetition of the
preceding Psalm. It opens with the same liturgical formula with
which the one hundred and sixth and one hundred and eighteenth
Psalms open, and was evidently designed to be sung antiphonally in
the temple worship. Its structure is peculiar. The first line of
each verse pursues the theme of the Psalm ; the second line, ' For his
loving-kindness endureth forever," being a kind of refrain or response,
like the responses, for instance, in our Litany, breaking in upon and
yet sustaining the theme of the Psalm ; the first would be sung by
some of the Levites, the second by the choir as a body, or by the whole
congregation together with the Levites. We have an example of a
similar antiphonal arrangement in the first four verses of the one

404 PSALM CXXXVL
hundred and eighteenth Psalm; but there is no other instance in
which it is pursued throughout the Psalm. The nearest approach to
the same constant repetition is in the " Amen " of the people to the
curses of the law as pronounced by the Levites, Deut. xxvi. 14.
In the Jewish liturgy this Psalm, with its twenty-six responses, is
called " the Great Hallel," by way of distinction from " the Hallel,"
simply so called, which comprises Psalms cxiii.-cxviii., though there
is some uncertainty as to the former designation ; for according to
some " the Great Hallel " comprises cxxxv. 4-cxxxvi., and according
to others, cxx.— cxxxvi.
According to an old rule of writing observed in some of the most
ancient siss., the two lines of the verses ought to be arranged each
m a separate column, or, as the phrase runs, " half-brick upon half-
brick, brick upon brick."
It may be observed that the verses are grouped in threes as far as
verse 18, and then the Psalm concludes with two groups of four verses
each. It is possible (as Delitzsch suggests) that verses 19-22 did not
originally belong to this Psalm, being introduced from the previous
Psalm, and that there were thus, in the first instance, twenty-two lines,
corresponding to the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet.
1 Oh give thanks unto Jehovah, for he is good.
For his loving-kindness (endureth) forever.
2 Oh give thanks unto the God of gods.
For his loving-kindness (endureth) forever.
3 Oh give thanks unto the Lord of lords.
For his loving-kindness (endureth) forever.
4 To him who alone doeth great wonders.
For his loving-kindness (endureth) forever.
5 To him who by understanding made the heavens,
Por his loving-kindness (endureth) forever.
6 To him that stretched out the earth above the waters.
For his loving-kindness (endureth) forever.
7 To him who made great lights.
For his loving-kindness (endureth) forever.
2, 3. God of gods . . . Lord of 6. Stretched out ; from the same
LORDS, from Deut. x. 17. root as the word firmament or expanse
5. Bt understanding, as in Prov. in Gen. i. Comp. Isa. xlii. 5 ; xliv. 24.
iii. 19. Comp. civ. 24; Prov. iii. 19; Above the waters; cf. xxiv. 1 [2].
Jer. X. 12; li. 15. 7. Lights. The word is employed

PSALM CXXXVL 405
8 The sun to rule the day.
For his loving-kindness (endureth) forever.
9 The moon and (the) stars to rule the night.
For his loving-kindness (endureth) forever.
10 To him that smote Egypt in their first-born.
For his loving-kindness (endureth) forever.
11 And brought forth Israel from the midst of them,
For his loving-kindness (endureth) forever.
12 With a mighty hand and a stretched-out arm.
For his loving-kindness (endureth) forever.
13 To him who divided the Red Sea into parts.
For his loving-kindness (endureth) forever.
14 And made Israel to pass through the midst of it.
For his loving-kindness (endureth) forever.
15 And overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea,
For his loving-kindness (endureth) forever.
16 To him who led his people through the wilderness,
For his loving-kindness (endureth) forever.
17 To him who smote great kings.
For his loving-kindness (endureth) forever.
18 And slew mighty kings,
For his loving-kindness (endureth) forever.
19 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
For his loving-kindness (endureth) forever.
20 And Og the king of Bashan,
For his loving-kindness (endureth) forever.
21 And gave their land for an heritage.
For his loving-kindness (endureth) forever.
here strictly, insteadofthecorresponding 1 Kings iii. 25, and the noun parts
word in Gen.i. 14-16, which means not (lit. "divisions," from the same root),
lights, but luminaries; the bodies, thatis, as in Gen. xv. 17. A different word is
which hold the light. used of the dividing of the Red Sea, Ex.
9. Torule; lit. "fordominionsover"; xiv. 16,21. See ailsoPs. Ixxviii. 12 [13].
the plural, poetically, instead of the sin- 15. Overthrew; lit. "shook out,"
gular, as in the preceding verse, and in as in Ex. xiv. 27.
Gen. i. 19. The occurrence of the preposition
10-22. Almost word for word as in ? at the beginning of this verse before
cxxxv. 8-12. the object is the more remarkable because
13. Divided. The same word as in hitherto throughout the Psalm it has

406 PSALM CXXXVIL
22 An heritage unto Israel his servant.
For his loving-kindness (endureth) forever.
23 Who remembered us in our low estate.
For his loving-kindness (endureth) forever.
24 And set us free from our adversaries,
For his loving-kindness (endureth) forever.
25 He giveth food to all flesh.
For his loving-kindness (endureth) forever.
26 Oh give thanks to the God of heaven.
For his loving-kindness (endureth) forever.
been employed at the beginning of the thanks) unto him who doeth great won-
verse to connect some fresh attribute or ders " ; in ver. 5, "(Give thanks) to
work of God with the verb " give thanks" him who made the heavens"; and so
in the first verse. So in ver. 4, " (Give on, ver. 6, 7, 10, 13, 16.

PSALM CXXXVII.

There can be no doubt whatever as to the time when this Psalm
was written. It expresses the feeling of an exile who has but just
returned from the land of his captivity. In all probability the writer
was a Levite, who had been carried away by the armies of Nebuchad
nezzar when Jerusalem was sacked and the temple destroyed, and
who was one of the first, as soon as the edict of Cyrus was published,
to return to Jerusalem. He is again in his own land. He sees again
the old familiar scenes. The mountains and the valleys that his foot
trod in youth are before him. The great landmarks are the same,
and yet the change is terrible. The spoiler has been in his home,
his vines and his fig-trees have been cut down, the house of his God
is a heap of ruins. His heart is heavy with a sense of desolation,
and bitter with the memory of wrong and insult from which he has
but lately escaped.
He takes his harp, the companion of his exile, the cherished relic of
happier days, — the harp which he could not string at the bidding of
his conquerors by the waters of Babylon ; and now with faltering
hand he sweeps the strings, first in low, plaintive, melancholy cadence
pouring out his griefs, and then with a loud crash of wild and stormy
music, answering to the wild and stormy numbers of his verse, he
raises the paean of vengeance over his foes.

PSALM cxxxvn. 407
He begins by telling in language of pathetic beauty the tale of hia
captivity. He draws first the picture of the land — so unlike his own
mountain land — the broad plain watered by the Euphrates and in
tersected by its canals, their banks fringed with willows, with no
purple peak, no deep, cool glen to break the vast, weary, monotonous
expanse ; and then he draws the figure of the captives in their deep
despondency, a despondency so deep that it could find no solace even
in those sacred melodies which were dear to them as life — '¦ As for
our harps, we hanged them up on the willows by the water-side."
Next, his verse tells of the mocking taunt of their captors, " Sing us
one of the songs of Zion " ; and the half sad, half proud answer of
the heart, strong in its faith and unconquerable in its patriotism,
" How shall we sing Jehovah's song in a strange land ? " It were a
profanation, it were a treachery. Sooner let the tongue fail to sing
than sing to make the heathen mirth ; sooner let the hand lose her
cunning than tune the harp to please the stranger.
No wonder that then, brooding over the memory of the past,
brooding over his wrongs, and seeing around him in blackened ruins
and wasted fields the footsteps of the invader, the poet should utter
his wrath. No wonder that the Psalm concludes with that fierce
outburst of natural resentment, a resentment which borrows almost a
grandeur from the religious fervor, the devoted patriotism, whence
it springs. Terrible have been the wrongs of Jerusalem : let the
revenge be terrible. Woe to those who in the day of her fall took
part with her enemies and rejoiced in her overthrow, when they
ought rather to have come to her aid. Woe to the proud oppressors
who have so long held her children captive, and made their hearts
bitter with insult and wrong. " Blessed shall he be who taketh thy
little ones, and dasheth them against the rock."
What a wonderful mixture is the Psalm of soft melancholy and
fiery patriotism ! The hand which wrote it must have known how to
smite sharply with the sword, as well as how to tune his harp. The
words are burning words of a heart breathing undying love to his
country, undying hate to his foe. The poet is indeed
" Dowered with the hate of hate, the scorn of scorn.
The love of love."
1 By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept
When we remembered Zion.
2 Upon the willows in the midst thereof
We hanged up our harps.

408

PSALM cxxxvn.

3 For there they that led us captive demanded of us songs,
And they that spoiled us " (demanded of us) mirth,
(Saying) " Sing us (one) of the songs of Zion."
4 How should we sing Jehovah's song
In a strange land ?
5 If I forget thee, 0 Jerusalem,
Let my right hand forget (her cunning).
6 Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth.
If I remember thee not ;
If I prefer not Jerusalem above my chiefest joy.
7 Remember, 0 Jehovah, the children of Edom
In the day of Jerusalem,
Who said. Raze " it, raze it, even to the foundation
thereof.

3. Songs ; Heb. " words of song," or
subjects of song, as iu Ixv. 3 [4] 3* "'"la"!
" words of iniquities."
4, 5. How sing a holy song on a
strange, profane soil ? How sing a song
of joy when the city and temple of our
God lay in ruins 1 Compare the words
of Nehemiah, " Wherefore the king said
unto me. Why is thy countenance sad,
seeing thou art not sick ? And I said,
Let the king live forever. Why should
not my countenance be sad when the
city, the place of my fathers' sepulchres,
lieth waste, aud the gates thereof are
consumed with firel " (Neh. ii. 2, 3).
5. PoRGET. Probably there is an
aposiopesis ; or we may supply either,
as the E.V., " her cunning," i.e. her
skill with the harp, or, more generally,
" the power of motion."
6. My chiefest joy ; lit. " the top
of my joy." Comp. Ex. xxx. 23 ;
Song of Sol. iv. 14. Others, " the sum
of my joy."
7. This verse may also be rendered :
Remember for (against) the children
of Edom.
The day of Jerusalem ;
the construction being the same as in
cxxxii. 1 . As he broods over his wrongs,
as he looks upon the desolation of his

country, as he remembers how with pe
culiar bitterness they who ought to have
been allies took part with the enemies
of Jerusalem in the fatal day of her over
throw, there bursts forth the terrible cry
for vengeance — vengeance, first, on the
false kindred, and next on the proud
conquerors of his race. " Deepest of
all was the indignation roused by the
sight of the nearest of kin, the race of
Esau, often allied to Judah, often inde
pendent, now bound by the closest
union with the power that was truly the
common enemy of both. There was an
intoxication of delight in the wild
Edomite chiefs, as at each successive
stroke against the venerable walls they
shouted, ' Down with it I down with it,
even to the ground ! ' They stood in
the passes to intercept the escape of
those who would have fled down to the
Jordan valley ; they betrayed the fugi
tives ; they indulged their barbarous
revels on the temple hill. Long and
loud has been the wail of execration
which has gone up from the Jewish
nation against Edom. It is the one
imprecation which breaks forth from
the Lamentations of Jeremiah ; it is tho
culmination of the fierce threats of Eze
kiel ; it is the sole purpose of the short,

PSALM CXXXVIL

409

8 0 daughter of Babylon, that shalt be destroyed ; "
Happy shall he be that rewardeth thee
As thou hast served us.
9 Happy shall he be that taketh and dasheth thy little ones
Against the rock.

sharp cry of Obadiah ; it is the bitterest
drop in the sad recollections of the
Israelite captives by the waters of Baby
lon ; and the one warlike strain of the
evangelical prophet is inspired by the
hope that the Divine Conqueror should
come knee-deep in Idumaean blood
(Lam. iv. 21, 22 ; Ezek. xxv. 8, 12-14;
Obad. 1-21 ; Jer. xlix. 7-22 ; Isa. Ixiii.
1—4)." — Stanley, Jewish Church, ii.
p. 556.
8. That shalt be destroyed, or,
perhaps, " doomed to destruction."
Others, " that art laid waste," as if re
ferring to the taking of Babylon by
Cyrus. The LXX, ambiguously, rj
ToAaiVcopos. See more in Critical Note.
Comp. for the sentiment, Jer. li. 56,
" Because the spoiler is come upon her,
even upon Babylon, and her mighty
men are taken, every one of their bows
is broken ; for Jehovah is a God of
recompenees; he shall surely requite."
See also, for the same principle of retri
bution in the overthrow of Babylon, Isa.
xlvii. 1-9.
As THOU HAST SERVED US ; lit. " the

requital wherewith thou hast requited
us." 9. Little ones ; lit. " sucklings."
With such barbarous cruelty wars were
carried on, even by comparatively civ
ilized nations. Comp. for biblical ex
amples 2 Kings viii. 12; xv. 16; Isa.
xiii. 16 ; Hosea x. 14 ; xiii. 16 [xiv. Ij ;
Nahum iii. 10. So Homer, painting the
sack of a city, mentions, as one of its
features, vqiria rsKva BaWSfieva irporl
yalri. And again, Andromache, ad
dressing her child, says, ob S' ai, tekos,
^ inol auTj7 . . . "E^/zeai . . . ^ Tts 'Axaiiv
'Vi^ei, x^'P^s kKiiiv ttTri irvpyov, \vyphv
S\i6pov. At a far later period, Athe-
nacus tells us, such inhuman barbarity
was to be found even among the G*eeks,
that in one insurrection the populace
wreaked their fury on the upper classes
by throwing their children to be trampled
under the feet of oxen ; and when the
aristocracy, in their turn, got the upper
hand, they took their revenge by burning
their enemies alive, together with their
wives and children (Tholuck).

° '""'sV'''^ • The LXX, oi dvaydyovTei ripas, and similarly the Chald.
and Syr., " our plunderers," the word being regarded as an Aram.
form, with P for 123 , instead of 15^^'iilJ . There is a twofold objection,
however, to this : first, that ibid only occurs as a passive ; and next,
in Aram, the form is bbo , not Vsn , in this sense. Hence it seems
probable that we ought to read >i3"'ibT0 . Otherwise we must derive
the word from a root Vii , " to howl " (after the analogy of adin , from
aiy) ; then the abstract " howling " will stand by metonymy for the
torture, punishment, etc., which occasions it, and this, again concrete,
for the torturers. In the abstract sense, Abulval., Kimchi ; in the
concrete, Gesen., De Wette, Winer, and others, and so Jerome, qui
afiligebant nos.
^ !)~r . Trap. Piel, with a drawing hack of the accent to the penult,
VOL. II. 52

410 PSALM cxxxvin.
because of the pause, Gesen. § 29, 4, b, c. nis , " to make bare, shave
smooth, etc., reduce to a flat, level surface." Comp. Hab. iii. 13, and
the noun in Isa. xix. 7.
" rrisindn. This cannot be active with the present punctuation.
Thou that wastest (Symm., rj Xrjo-rpL?, but it is a further objection to
this that the root does not mean to plunder).
(1) If we give the active meaning, which certainly seems very
suitable, the punctuation must be fTiiiiEri , like ST^isa, Jer. iii. 7, 10
(with immovable Kamets), or at any rate n'^'i'ilEri , Ewald, § 152 b.
(2) In its existing form it is a pass, part., as Aq., rrpovevopivpevrj ;
Jerome, vastata. But (3) it has been rendered as a part. fut. pass.,
vastanda. Theod., SiapTracrdrjeropevr]. And so Eod. in Gesen. Thesaur.,
but Delitzsch objects that though the Niph. part. (e.g. xxii. 32 ; cii.
19) and the Pual (xviii. 4) may have this meaning, it is not found in
the Kal. However, he would himself give the meaning vastationi
devota, which he defends by Jer. iv. 30, where liio is used hypotheti
cally ^=^ " when thou art wasted." So he says the sense is here : " 0
daughter of Babylon, that art wasted, blessed shall he be who, when
this judgment of wasting shall come upon thee, shall take thy suck
lings," etc. Hupfeld, on the other hand, contends for the simple
passive rendering, thou that art wasted, which he explains of the
capture of the city by Cyrus.

PSALM CXXXVIII.

According to the Hebrew title, this is a Psalm of David. The
LXX have added to this title the names of Haggai and Zechariah
(tw AauiS, 'Ayyalov, Kal Zay^apiov), which would seem to show that the
translators were not satisfied with the traditional view as to the
authorship of the Psalm, and would rather refer it to a time subse
quent to the exile. So far as the Psalm itself is concerned, we have
no clue to guide us ; neither the language nor the allusions will
warrant any conclusions as to date or authorship. The mention of
the temple in verse 2 does not prove that the Psalm was not written
by David, for the word rendered "temple" might be used of a
structure like the tabernacle (see on Ps. v. 7). Nor does the hope
or prophecy concerning the kings of the earth in verse 4 necessarily
point to a post-exile time, for hopes of a similar kind are found
also in earlier Psalms (see note on that verse).

PSALM cxxxvin.

411

The Psalm consists of three strophes :
(1) In the first the poet encourages himself to praise God both
because of his goodness and faithfulness and his great promises, and
also because he himself had had his prayers answered (ver. 1-3).
(2) He utters the hope, the prophecy, that the kings of the earth
shall acknowledge the greatness of Jehovah, — his greatness chiefly
in this, that he does not measure by any human standard of great
and small, of high and low (ver. 4-6).
(3) The application of all that he has learnt of Jehovah's character
to his own individual experience in prospect of trouble and danger
(ver. 7, 8). [(A Psahn) of David.]
1 I WILL give thanks unto thee with my whole heart ;
Before the gods will I sing praise unto thee.
2 I will bow myself before thy holy temple.
And I will give thanks to thy name, because of thy
loving-kindness and thy truth.
For thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.

1. Unto thee. The Being who is
addressed is not named till ver. 4. The
LXX have thought it necessary to insert
a Kvpie, and in this have been followed
by the Vulgate and by our Prayer-book
version. The absence of the vocative
is, however, more emphatic. It is as
though in the Psalmist's heart there
could be but one object of praise,
whether named or unnamed.
Before the gods. This has been
variously explained. (1) The LXX,
who are followed by Luther, Calvin,
and others, understand it of the angels.
But, though the angels are called upon
to praise God, they are nowhere in the
Old Test, regarded as witnesses of or
sharers in the worship of men. (2) The
Chald., Syr., Rabb., and many recent
interpreters suppose that kings or judges
are meant (see on Ixxxii.). (.3) Ewald
and others would render " before God,"
and consider this as equivalent to " be
fore the ark," or "in the sanctuary." But
the extreme awkwardness of such a
phrase here, " Before God I will give
thanks to thee, O Jehovah," is suflBcient

to condemn the interpretation. (4) It
is far more probable that " the gods "
are the false gods, the objects of heathen
worship, in the very presence of whom,
and to the confusion of their worship
pers, the Psalmist will utter his praise
of the true God. See xcv. 3 ; xcvi. 4,
5 ; cxv. 3-8.
2. Thy word, or " promise." Comp.
Ivi. 10 [11]; Ix. 6 [8]; Ixii. U [12].
No particular promise is meant. The
sanle word occurs frequently in cxix.
See note on ver. 25 of that Psalm.
Above all thy name. The expres
sion seems to mean that to the soul
waiting upon God and trusting in his
word, the promise becomes so precious,
so strong a ground of hope, that it sur
passes all other manifestations of God's
goodness and truth ; or in the promise
may here also be included the fulfilment
of the promise. Many interpreters have
stumbled at the expression, and Hupfeld
objects that "it is contrary to all analogy.
The name of God cannot be surpassed
by any individual act or attribute of
God, for every such separate act is only

412

PSALM cxxxvin.

3 In the day that I called thou answeredst me ;
Thou madest me courageous ' with strength in my soul.
4 All the kings of the earth shall give thanks unto thee, 0
Jehovah ;
For they have heard the words of thy mouth.
5 And they shall sing of " the ways of Jehovah ;
For great is the glory of Jehovah.
6 For Jehovah is high, yet he seeth the humble ; '
And the proud he knoweth " afar off.
7 If I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt quicken me.
Against the wrath of mine enemies thou wilt stretch out
thine hand.
And thy right hand shall save me.

a manifestation of that name ; nor can
it be limited to past manifestations of
God's character, or taken as equivalent
to calling upon his name. On the other
hand, to make great (magnify) is only
said of God's acts, of his grace, his sal
vation, and the like, and could scarcely
be said of bis word or promise. One
would rather expect. Thou hast magnifled
thy name above all thy word; it surpasses
all that thou hast promised." The dif
ficulty has been felt from the first. The
LXX, €'jU€7a\ui/as irrl trav rh ovo/xa rh
ayiov aov, " Thou hast magnified thy
holy name above all." The Chald.,
" Thou hast magnified the words of thy
praise above all thy name." Hupfeld
would follow Clericus in reading " above
all thy heavens," which involves only a
very slight change of the text. But all the
ancient versions had the present reading.
4. All the kings of the e.\rth.
See the expression of the same feeling
in Ixviii. 29-32 [30-33]; Ixxii. 10, 11 ;
cii. 15 [16].
For they have heard. This sounds
In the Old Testament almost like an
anticipation of St. Paul's words : " But
I say have they not heard ? Yea, verily,
their sound is gone forth into all the
world." It is to be explained by the
deep conviction in the Psalmist's heart
that God's words cannot be hidden,

must be published abroad. Others,
however, render, " When they (shall)
have heard."
5. Sing of the WAYS. Having heard
the tidings, "the words of God's mouth,"
they will joyfully celebrate his mighty
acts. Comp. ciii. 7, where "his ways"
correspond to " his acts " in the paral
lelism. The second clau.se may also he
rendered, "that great is," etc. Aben-
Ezra says : " They shall no more sing of
love or war, but of the glory of the Lord."
6. Is high. Comp. cxiii. 5, 6.
He knoweth afar off. This io
the only proper rendering of the clause ;
but the expression is somewhat remark
able. (1) It has been explained by
reference to cxxxix. 2 ("Thou under-
standest my thoughts afar off"), which
would mean, God knows (observes) the
proud, distant as they may think them
selves to be from his control. (2) Or,
God knows them (regards them) only
at a distance, does not admit them into
his fellowship; he does not "see "them
as he "seeth tlee humble." (3) Or it
would be possible to explain, he knows
them so as to keep them at a distance.
(4) Or, again, God from afar (parallel
to "high" in the first member) knows
the proud, just as he sees the humble.
7. If I WALK. Comp. xxiii. 4 and
Ixxi. 20.

PSALM CXXXIX. 413
8 Jehovah will perfect that which concerneth me ;
Jehovah, thy loving-kindness (endureth) forever ;
Forsake not the works of thy hands.
Quicken me, or perhaps " keep me Forsake not, or " relax not,"
alive." turning into a prayer what he had just
8. Perfect, i.e. accomplish the work before expressed as a conviction of
he has begun. See the same word in Ivii. his own mind. For the word see Neh.
2 [3], and comp. the iwireKfTv of Phil. i. 6. vi. 3.
" ''san'^tn . LXX, TroXuoipijo-ets. De Eossi says that he found in
several mss. and Edd., ''sa^nntn , which is also expressed by Jerome,
dilatabis. But the change is not necessary : the root an"i means
strictly to be proud. Isa. iii. 5, " behave himself proudly " (in a bad
sense). Prov. vi. 3, "press (make sure, E.V.) thy neighbor." Song
of Sol. vi. 5, " for they (thine eyes) have overcome me " (Hiph. as here),
or perhaps " have dazzled or bewildered me." If we trace the shades
of meaning, we shall see that the root-meaning is to act with spirit.
This applies both in Isa. iii. 5 and in Prov. vi. 3, and so here, " thou
hast infused spirit into me," a sense which would not be unsuitable in
Song of Sol. vi. 5. The tense obtains a past signification, because it
follows a fut. with Vau consecutive.
*¦ 'i ^yyi3 . The prep, denotes the object, as often with analogous
verbs, as "lan, hbJi, nsn, etc.
' ^'TP. 1 fut. Kal apparently formed after the analogy of the Hiphil
forms, W;;'^ , Isa. xvi. 7; aiBi;";, Job xxiv. 21, and originating in the
efEort to restore the sound of the first radical, which in the Hiph.
coalesces with the preceding vowel, and the Kal is lost altogether.

PSALM CXXXIX.

Nowhere are the great attributes of God — his omniscience, his
omnipresence, his omnipotence, set forth so strikingly as they are in
this magnificent Psalm. Nowhere is there a more overwhelming sense
of the fact that man is beset and compassed about by God, pervaded
by his Spirit, unable to take a step without his control ; and yet
nowhere is there a more emphatic assertion of the personality of man
as distinct from, not absorbed in, the Deity. This is no pantheistic
speculation. Man is here the workmanship of God, and stands in
the presence and under the eye of One who is his Judge. The power

414 PSALM CXXXIX.
of conscience, the sense of sin and of responsibility, are felt and ac
knowledged, and prayer is offered to One who is not only the Judge,
but the Friend; to One who is feared as none else are feared, who
is loved as none else are loved.
Both in loftiness of thought and in expressive beauty of language
the Psalm stands pre-eminent, and it is not surprising that Aben-Ezra
should have pronounced it to be " the crown of all the Psalms."
The Psalm both in the Hebrew and the LXX is ascribed to David.
In some copies of the latter it is also said to be a Psalm of Zechariah
(ZaxapLov), with the further addition by a second hand of the words,
"in the dispersion" (iv rfj Siao-jropa), which Origen tells us he found
in some mss. Theodoret, on the other hand, says that he had not
found the addition either in the Hebrew or the LXX, or in any of
the other interpreters. The strongly Aramaic coloring of the lan
guage certainly makes it more probable that the Psalm was written
after the exile than before, unless, indeed, this tendency to Aramaisms
is to be regarded as evidence of a variation merely of dialect, perhaps
the dialect of Northern Palestine, — a supposition which seems not
to be wholly without foundation.
The rhythmical structure is, on the whole, regular. There are four
strophes, each consisting of six verses ; the first three strophes con
taining the proper theme of the Psalm, and the last the expression of
individual feeling.
I. In the flrst strophe the poet dwells on the omniscience of God,
as manifested in his knowledge of the deepest thoughts and most
secret workings of the human heart (ver. 1-6).
II. In the second, on bis omnipresence ; inasmuch as there is no
corner of the universe so remote that it is not pervaded by God's
presence, no darkness so deep that it can hide from his eyes
(ver. 7-12).
III. The third strophe gives the reason for the profound conviction
of these truths of which the poet's heart is full. No wonder that God
should have so intimate a knowledge of man, for man is the creature
of God : the mysterious beginnings of life, which none can trace ; the
days, all of which are ordered before the first breath is drawn, — these
are fashioned and ordered by the hand of God (ver. 13-18).
IV. In the last strophe the Psalmist turns abruptly aside to express
his utter abhorrence of wicked men — an abhorrence, no doubt, deep
ened by the previous meditation on God and his attributes, and called
forth probably by the circumstances in which he was placed ; and then
closes with a prayer that he himself may, in his inmost heart, be right

PSALM CXXXIX. 415
with that God who has searched him and known him and laid his
hand upon him, and that he may be led by him in the way everlasting
(ver. 19-24). [For the Precentor. A Psahn of David.]
1 0 Jehovah, thou hast searched me, and known (me).
2 Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising ;
Thou understandest my thought " afar off.
3 My path and my bed " thou hast examined,"
And with all my ways thou art acquainted.
4 For before a word is yet on my tongue,
Lo,* 0 Jehovah, thou knowest it altogether.
5 Behind and before hast thou beset me.
And laid thine hand upon me.
6 (Such) knowledge is too wonderful ' for me ;
It is too high ; I cannot attain unto it.
7 Whither shall I go from thy Spirit ?
Or whither shall I flee from thy presence ?
1. Known (he). The form of the foreknowledge have determined. With
verb marks a consequence of the pre- thegeneralsentiment of the first strophe,
vious action. compare Acts xvii. 28, " In him we live,
2. Afar off. However great the and move, and have our beipg."
distance between us. See on cxxxviii. 6. (Sncn) knowledge. See a sim-
6. The Prayer-book version, " long ilar strain of acknowledgment at the
before." close of the third strophe (ver. 17, 18),
3. Thou hast examined ; lit. "Thou and comp. Rom. xi. 33 : " Oh, the depth
hast winnowed," or " sifted." of the riches both of the wisdom and
4. For before a word. This is knowledge of God ! How unsearchable
probably the better rendering (see Crit- are his judgments, and his ways past
ical Note), though that of the E.V., finding out!"
" For there is not a word . . . but lo, O 7. Whither shall I go. It was
Lord, thou knowest it altogether," is this and the following verses, in all
not certainly wrong. probability, which led a Spanish com-
5. Beset me, or "shut me in." mentator (Father Sanchez) to ascribe
Comp. Job iii. 23; xiii. 27; xiv. 5, 13, this Psalm to the prophet Jonah. Comp.
16; xix. 8. The Prayer-book version, Jonahi.3:"But Jonahroseupto^eeunto
"fashioned me," follows the LXX, Tarshish from the presence of Jehovah."
eirAoo-as, Jer. formasti; but these ren- Thy Spirit. " The word Spirit,"
derings depend upon a wrong derivation says Calvin, " is not put here simply for
of the word from '^21''. the power of God, as commonly in the
Laid thine hand. Job xiii. 21 ; Scriptures, but for his mind and under-
xxxiii. 7. Therefore, in the utmost standing. For inasmuch as the spirit
exercise of his freedom, man is only ac- in man is the seat of understanding, the
complishing what God's counsel and Psalmist transfers the same to God;

416

PSALM CXXXIX.

8 If I climb up ' into heaven, thou art there ;
And if I make my bed in hell, lo, thou art there ;
9 (If) I take the wings of the morning,
(If) I dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 Even there shall thy hand lead me,
And thy right hand shall hold me.
11 And should I say, Only let darkness cover ^ me.
And the light about me be night ;
12 Even darkness cannot be too dark for thee.
But the night is light as the day ;
The darkness ^ and light (to thee are) both alike.
13 Por THOU hast formed my reins.
Thou didst weave me together in my mother's womb.

which is clearer from the second member,
where the word /ace {presence) is put for
knowledge or sight." He then remarks
that the passage has been wrongly ap
plied to prove the infinite nature of
God {ad probandam essentiae Dei inimen-
sitatem) ; for it is not with metaphysical
conceptions that the Psalmist is em
ployed, but with the practical truth that
by no change of place or circumstance
can man escape from the eye of God.
There is further implied, too, in the
thought of escape, and in the thought of
darkness, a sense of sin and the terror
of an awakened conscience, which of
itself would lead a man to hide himself,
if it were possible, from his Maker.
8. My bed in hell ; lit. " Should I
make the unseen world {Shtol) my bed."
Comp. Isa. Iviii. 5. For the same
thought, see Prov. xv. 1 1 ; Job xxvi.
6-9. 9. If I could fly with the same swift
ness from east to west as the first rays
of the morning shoot from one end of
heaven to the other.
Wings op the morning. So the
sun is said to have wings, Mai. iv. 2.
Uttermost parts of the sea, i.e.
the farthest west.
11. And the light about ME. The
apodosis does not begin here, as in E .V.,

"even the night shall be light about
me," but with the next verse, where it
is introduced by the particle "even," as
in ver. 10. The predicate "night"
stands first in the Hebrew, as is not un
usual. 12. Cannot be too dark for thee ;
lit. " cannot be dark (so as to hide) from
thee " ; or we may retain, both in this
and in the next clause, something of
the causative meaning of the verbs, and
render, " make darkness . . . give light."
13. " Who can have a truer and
deeper knowledge of man than he who
made him ? "
Formed. The connection and par
allelism seem to show that this must be
the meaning of the word hero, as in
Deut. xxxii. 6, "Is not he thy Father
that formed thee?" where E. V. has
"that bought thee;" and Gen. xiv. 19,
"Maker of heaven and earth," where
E.V. has "possessor."
My reins. See on xvi. 7. It seems
to denote the sensational and emotional
part of the human being, as afterwards
" the bones " denote the framework of
the body.
Weave me together, as in Job x.
11, "Thou hast woven me together
(E. V. fenced me) with bones and
sinews."

PSALM CXXXIX.

417

14 I will give thee thanks for that I am fearfully and won
derfully made.
Wonderful are thy works.
And my soul knoweth (it) right well.
15 My frame was not hidden from thee
When I was made in secret,
(When) I was curiously wrought ' (as) in the lower
parts of the earth.
16 Thine eyes did see my substance J yet being imperfect.
And in thy book were they all of them'' written, —
The days which were ordered, when as yet there was
none of them.
17 And how precious unto me are thy thoughts, 0 God !
How great is the sum of them !
18 If I would tell them, they are more in number than the sand.
When I awake, I am still with thee.

15. My Frame, or, "my strength"
(and so Symm. ij KpaTa'Koais fiov), but
here evidently meaning the bony frame
work of the body.
Curiously wrought, Aq. iwoiKlK-
Brfv. The verb is used of some kind of
parti-colored work, but whether woven or
embroidered is doubtful. Gesenius, who
discusses the question at large in his
Thesaurus, decides for embroidery. On
the other hand, it has been denied by
Hartmann that the Hebrews possessed
this art. Camp, explains well : "Velut
tapetum e ncrvis et venis contextus."
In secret. Comp. Aesch. Eumen.
665, iv (TkStoio-i vrjdvos reBpa^fiivri.
In the lower parts of the eaeth.
Elsewhere the phrase denotes " the un
seen world"; comp. Ixiii. 9 [10]; Ixxxvi.
13. Here, as the parallelism shows, it
is used in a figurative sense to describe
a region of darkness and mystery.
16. My substance yet being imper
fect. One word in the original, which
means strictly anything rolled together as a
ball, and hence is generally supposed to
mean here the foetus or embryo. Hupfeld,
however, prefers to understand it of the
ball of life, as consisting of a number of

different threads (" the days "of ver. 16),
which are first a compact mass, as it were,
and which are then unwound as life
runs on.
All of them, i.e. the days mentioned
in the next verse. Or, " all the parts of
the one mass, the various elements of
the embryo yet undeveloped." If the
reference be to them, then we must ren
der the next clause, " the days that (i.e.
during which) they were ordered."
17. He breaks off in wonder and ad
miration and holy thankfulness, as before
in ver. 14 ; these expressions of personal
feeling lending not only much beauty
and force, but also much reality, to the
contemplation of God's attributes. Cf.
xxxvi. 7 [8] ; xcii. 5 [6] ; Eom. xi. 33.
How precious, or, perhaps (in ac
cordance with the root-meaning of the
word), "how hard to understand" (lit.
" how heavy, or weighty "), in which
case it would correspond with the av€-
^epeivrira of Eom. xi. 33.
Sum ; lit. " sums," an unusual plural,
denoting that the investigation and enu
meration extend in many directions.
18. More in number. Comp. xl.
5 [6].

53

418

PSALM CXXXIX.

19 Oh, that thou wouldest slay the wicked, 0 God !
Depart from me, ye blood-thirsty men !
20 Who rebel ' against thee with (their) wicked devices,
(Who) lift up ¦" themselves against thee ° in vain.
21 Should I not hate them which hate thee, 0 Jehovah ?
And should I not be grieved with them that rise up '
against thee ?
22 With perfect hatred do I hate them ;
I count them mine enemies.
23 Search me, 0 God, and know my heart ;
Try me, and know my thoughts ;

WhenIawake; lit. "I havewaked,"
i.e. as often as he awakes from sleep he
finds that he is again in the presence of
God, again occupied with thoughts of
God, again meditating afresh with new
wonder and admiration on his wisdom
and goodness. Others explain, " Waking
and sleeping, day and night, I think of
thee, and find ever the same inexhaust
ible depth and fulness." Others, again,
would interpret the " awaking " as
awaking out of a reverie in which the
Psalmist had lost himself while medi
tating upon God. But the first expla
nation is the simplest and most probable.
19. How strangely abrupt is the
turning aside from one of the sublimest
contemplations to be found anywhere in
the Bible, to express a hope tha t righteous
vengeance will overtake the wicked. Such
a passage is startling — startling partly
because the spirit of the New Testament
is so different ; partly, too, no doubt,
because " our modern civilization has
been so schooled in amenities" that we
hardly know what is meant by a righteous
indignation. It is well, however, to no-
',ice the fact ; for this is just one of those
passages which help us to understand
the education of the world. Just because
it startles us is it so instructive. The
6ixt_v-lhird Psalm presents us, as we
have seen, with a similar contrast.
There, however, the feeling expressed is
of a more directly personal kind. Da
vid is encompassed and hard pressed by

enemies who are threatening his life.
He has been driven from his throne by
rebels, and the deep sense of wrong
makes him burst forth in the strain of
indignation and of anticipated victory:
" They that seek my life to destroy it
shall be cast into the pit," ctc. Here,
apparently, the prayer for the overthrow
of the wicked does not arise from a sense
of wrong and personal danger, but from
the intense hatred of wickedness as
wickedness, from the deep conviction
that, if hateful to a true-hearted man, it
must be still more intensely hateful to
him who searchetli the hearts and trieth
the reins. The soul, in the immediate
presence of God, places itself on the side
of God, against all that is opposed to
him. Still, the prayer, " Oh, that thou
wouldst slay the wicked," can never be
a Christian prayer.
20. Who rebel. Either the con
struction is changed from the second
person in the preceding verse ("Depart
from me") to the third in the relative
clause ; or the last clause of ver. 1 9 must
be regarded as parenthetical, which is
natural enough in a strong outburst of
personal feeling, and then the construc
tion proceeds regularly : " Wilt thou
not slay the wicked, who rebel," etc.
With wicked devices ... in vain.
The parallelism would be better pre
served by taking both words as adverbs
— " wickedly . . . foolishly."
23. Search me. " That man musl

PSALM cxxxrx. 419
24 And see if there be any wicked way in me.
And lead me in the way everlasting.
have a rare confidence," says Calvin, and smart being the consequences of
"who offers himself so boldly to the scru- sin, as in Isa. xiv. 3. Others, " way of
tiny of God'srighteousjudgment."'And idols," as in Isa. xlviii. 5, "the way of
then he remarks that such a prayer is idolatry being opposed to the way of
no evidence of self-ignorance or a pre- Jehovah," xxv. 4. Comp. also Amos
sumptuous spirit, but of integrity of viii. 14, and the use of SSos Acts xix.
heart and the absence of all hypocrisy. 23 ; xxii. 4.
It is connected with what precedes in Way everlasting, i.e. the one true,
this way — that, having declared his abiding way, which leads to the true
utter separation from, and aversion to, and everlasting God. Calvin, who
the wicked, he prays that this may be translates via seculi, supposes merely the
no mere outward separation ; he re- course of life in this world to be meant,
members that, even whilst he seems most and that the Psalmist prays God to be
opposed to the wicked, the all-seeing with him to the end ("ac si peteret
eye may discern in him some way of Deum sibi esse ducem stadii sui usque
evil and sorrow ; that only as God holds ad metam ") ; but the Hebrew 'olam
his hand and leads him can he walk in {aldv) has not of itself this meaning.
the way of life. Others render " the old way," i.e. the true
24. Wicked way, or rather, " way religion, the religion of his fathers, as in
of pain," i.e. leading to pain; such pain Jer. vi. 16; "the old paths," xviii. 15.
"¦ iS'n only here : r'n = Chald. nwi (from root nsi.^nsi), properly
" will," here " thought." The h prefixed to the obj. is perhaps an
Aramaism (comp. cxvi. 25 ; cxxix. 3 ; cxxxv. 11), but not necessarily,
as the b may denote the direction of the thought.
* ij'3-; . Another Chald form for "'SS'i , and another atr. Xey. This
and the preceding word are properly two infinitives, " my walking and
my lying down." Though the noun rr^K is Hebrew, the verb occurs
only here and in Job xxxiv. 8, a passage which has also an Aram.
tincture. ° r'^II (cognate with mi, Sil), thou hast spread out, and so tptM-
nowed ; LXX, iiixvida-a's, tracked; Jerome, eventilasti.
* ¦({i. The construction of this verse has been taken in two ways:
(1) There is no word on my tongue (which) thou dost not know
altogether ; (2) a word is not (yet) upon my tongue, (but) lo ! thou
knowest it altogether. This last is the rendering of Kimchi, Calvin,
and others, and the yn favors it, as Hupfeld observes. Comp. Isa. xl.
24. [But 'fl in later writers ::= ex . See Gesen. Lex. Can it here
be used after a negative in the sense of nisi or quin ?]
' nixis. Fem. of the adj. inVd (as the K'thibh, Judges xiii. 18),
and therefore to be read fi^sbs , and not as the K'ri, fisfi^s .
On h bsi see xiii. 5.
* DBX (only here) from pD5 , Aramaic (for the usual Heb. fii'S), but

420 PSALM CXXXIX.
t
only used in fut. imperat. inf. Kal and Aphel. The alternate form
is pbo , but we must not therefore assume, with Gesen., Ewald, and
others, that pas is for pD^K , and this again by transposition for pi&X .
The roots are distinct, though cognate. Comp. also fil^ptri , Dan. vi. 24.
e i;B":b"' . In the two other passages where the same word occurs,
Gen. iii. 15 ; Job ix. 17, it means " to bruise," " to crush," a meaning
evidently not applicable here, though the LXX have KaTairaTrimu
Hence Umbreit would connect it with ClKB , in the sense inhiare, insi-
diari (comp. LXX, Tqpilv), and so invadere, " to fall upon." Even
this, however, gives but a poor meaning, as Hupfeld truly remarks.
Either, therefore, we must connect it with another root, qirs , " the
darkness shall be gloomy, thick, about me" — so the Targ., Saadia,
Eashi, Kimchi, etc., and so Symm., cTritrKCTrao-tt /ic ; another Greels
Vers., KoX-itpu ; Jerome, aperient — or we must adopt a different
reading, such as ''521S'' , which Bottcher proposes, comparing Job xi.
17 ; or ¦'ISiib'^. , as Ewald suggests, from Tjiu = T|D , to cover, as liui^ , for
1112^ , xci. 6.
^ tyy^'an , a fem. with a superfluous i inserted, but not otherwise an
uncommon form, whereas the fem. frniN only occurs besides Esther
viii. 1 6, and is a later and Aram. form.
' ¦'P'ri?'!' (Pual only here). The root means to variegate, ttoikiXXciv.
The body of the foetus is described as woven together of so many
different-colored threads, like a cunning and beautiful network of
tapestry — "velut tapetum e nervis et venis contextus" (Camp.), — ¦
similar, therefore to the use of ~3D , ver 13 ; Job x. 11.
j "iBba from obs, to roll together, 2 Kings ii. 8, whence ciba, a mantle,
Ezek. xxvii. 24. The word ohl occurs here only in the Old Test., but is
used in the Talmud of any unformed, unshapen mass. So the LXX and
Aq., have here aKaripyaa-Tov pov ; Symm., ap6p<f)(,>T6v pe, as describing
the embryo. Hupfeld, however, understands it not of the embryo, but
of the yet undeveloped course of life, the days of which are so many
threads which as yet are rolled together in a ball, and which are un
wound as life goes on ; so that la^a would mean my ball of life, just
as in classical and other writers we have the thread of life, the web of
life, etc. Comp. Catull., " Currite ducentes subtemina, currite, Parcae."
^ rks. To what does the suffix refer? Some suppose that the
yet undeveloped members in the embryo are alluded to, as so many
threads rolled and twisted together, and fashioned day by day. But
the pronoun must rather be anticipative of the following plur. days ;
these are so many threads of life (comp. Isa. xxxviii. 12) which were
written (imperf.) in God's book. For other instances of this antici-

PSALM CXXXIX. 421
pative use of the pronoun see ix. 13 ; Ixxxvii. 1 ; cxxxii. 6 ; Job vi.
29 ; Isa. viii. 21 ; xiii. 2.
In the following Stb'i the K'thibh is obviously right ; though the
Eabb. attempt to explain the K'ri "ii'i , " to him (i.e. God) they are
as one day."
' Sj!i*R3'' . This cannot be '• speak against thee," from "lax , with
omission of the N (of which there is only one instance in this verb,
2 Sam. xix. 14, though other elisions of the K may be cited, civ. 29 ;
2 Sam. XX. 9; xxii. 40; Isa. xiii. 20), for this must have been ex
pressed by -2^ , with the prep, bi" or 3 ; nor " speak of thee," as the
Chald. paraphrases " swear by thy name wickedly." There is no other
instance in which "icx with the accus. means " to speak of a person."
The correct reading is probably ?ii^^!) (as the Quinta renders, vapeirC-
Kpavdv o-c ) " provoke thee,'' " rebel against thee," this verb being con
strued with the accus. Then the following fiBtcb is used adverbially
like X'"_ii"b in the next member, as further explaining the nature of the
provocation or rebellion, for N".ii"b may mean foolishly i.e. wickedly, as
well as in vain, to no purpose.
™ N^CJ , an anomalous form, after the analogy of verbs rt T) with
prosthetic X. It ought to be ISc: (comp. Jer. x. 5 ; Ezek. xlvii. 8).
The same mode of writing is found (.Jer. x. 5) in the Niphal.
For this absolute use of the verb comp. Ixxxix. 10 ; Hab. i. 3,
K"i"' "0"^'; "and contention lifteth itself up."
^ 'C'.^- This is generally rendered thine enemies, and as the verse
begins with the relative 'nrx , a second subject is thus awkwardly intro
duced. So the Chald. and so Aq., dvrt^rjXoi a-ov ; Symm., oi ivavrioi
crov; Jerome, adversarii tui (but rendering the relative preceding by
quia). Some, feeling the awkwardness of the double subject, render,
" And they have lifted up thine enemies (i.e. raised them to honor) in
vain." Others, again, would explain 'h 'i, with reference to Ex. xx.
7, " they have uttered lies, sworn falsely " ; or would read r^-qd for
JJ'^'iS , so as to bring the passage into a closer resemblance to Ex. xx. 7.
But it is a slighter and simpler change to read Tj^bs , a change which
ought, perhaps, to be made also in 1 Sam. xxviii. 1 6. Seven Jiss. Kenn.,
and twenty De E., have here Sji'is , unto thee. ^¦'';;S is usually taken
to be an Aramaic form for ^"'"S Otherwise it must mean thy cities
(ix. 7; Isa. xiv. 21), a sense which is unsuitable here, though it is
given by the LXX, X-qij/ovrai e« paraioTTjTa ras ttoXcis <tou, and also
by the Syr. and Vulg.
" ^^?:73ipn . The only instance of an apocop. Hithp. part. Either
the n is omitted incorrectly, or, as Buxtorf conjectures, in order to

422 PSALM CXL.
avoid the concurrence of four servile letters at the beginning of tho
word. For the objective affix comp. xvii. 7.

PSALM CXL.
This Psalm is a prayer for protection against enemies who were at
once violent and crafty and unscrupulous in the use of their tongues.
The general strain of the Psalm is like that of many which occur in
the earlier books, and like them it is ascribed to David. In tone
and language it resembles Psalms Iviii. and Ixiv., but we have no
means of testing the accuracy of the inscription. The chief peculiarity
of the Psalm is, that it has several words which occur nowhere else.
Ewald would refer this and the two following Psalms — but, as it
appears to me, without any sufficient reason — to the age of Manasseh.
The impression left upon the mind in reading them, I think, is, that
they are cast in David's vein and in imitation of his manner, rather
than written by David himself ; but it would be absurd to dogma
tize in a matter where we are really left with nothing to guide us,
unless we are disposed to accept the tradition from which the title has
sprung. The strophical division of the Psalm is, on the whole, regular.
there are four strophes, consisting each of three verses, except that
the third, instead of consisting of three verses of two members, con
sists of two verses of three members, so that the length of each
strophe is in fact the same. There is also a concluding strophe of
two verses. The close of the first three strophes is marked by the
Selah. [Por the Precentor. A Psalm of David.]
1 Deliver me, 0 Jehovah, from the evil man.
From the violent man preserve" me.
2 Who have imagined evil things in (their) hearts ;
All the day they stir up " wars.
3 They have sharpened their tongue like a serpent.
Adder's poison is under their lips. [Selah.]
1. Evil man, or "evil men "... lencesi," as in 2 Sam. xxii. 49, instead
"violent men" (the sing, being used of "man of violence," as in Ps. xviii.
collectively for the plur), which is more 48 [49].
in accordance with the plural in the next 3. Sharpened their tongue. Cf.
verse. , Hi. 2 [4]. And for the next clause.
The violent man; ht. " man of vio- Iviii. 4 [5], x. 7.

PSALM CXL. 423
4 Keep me, 0 Jehovah, from the hands of the wicked.
From the violent man preserve me.
Who have purposed to thrust aside my steps.
5 The proud have hidden a snare for me, and cords.
They have spread a net by the side of the road.
They have set gins for me. [Selah.]
6 I said to Jehovah, Thou art my God,
Give ear, 0 Jehovah, to the voice of my supplications.
7 0 Jehovah Lord, thou strength of my salvation.
Thou hast covered my head in the day of battle.
8 Grant not, 0 Jehovah, the desires " of the wicked ;
Further not his wicked device, that they be not lifted up.''
[Selah.]
0 [When they lift up] the head that compass me° about.
Let the mischief of their own lips cover them.'
10 Let hot burning coals fall ^ upon them.
Let them be cast into the fire.
Into floods of waters "^ that they rise not again.
11 An evil speaker shall not be established in the earth.
The violent man — evil' shall hunt him to overthrow(him).
12 I know that Jehovah will maintain the cause of the afflicted.
The right of the poor.
13 Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name ;
The upright shall dwell in thy presence.
4. The opening of the second strophe ity of modem commentators give the
is a repetition with slight variation of future : " Though they that compass
the opening of the first. me may lift up the head, the mischief
5. The proud have hidden, or the of their own lips shall cover them ; hot
adjective may be a predicate, and the burning coals shall fall upon them," etc.
subject the same as before : "who have 10. Let them be cast; lit. "let one
hidden in their pride," etc. cast them," or perhaps Jehovah may be
7. Covered my head, i.e. as with a the subject of the verb, " May he cast
helmet. Comp. Ix. 7 [9]. them."
Battle ; lit. " armor," as in 1 Kings 11. An evil speaker; lit. "a man
X. 25 ; 2 Kings x. 2 ; Ezek. xxxix. 9, 10. of tongue " ; not, however, used here in
9. When thet lift up. The verb the sense of " a talkative man " ; as the
should probably be transferred here from similar phrase, " a man of lips " (E. V.
the end of the previous verse (see Criti- " a man full of talk"), in Job xi. 2, but
cal Note). In the next clause, and with the further notion of evil speaking,
verses, 10, 11,1 have followed the E.V. as in ver. 3.
in preferring the optative to the future. 13. Dwell in thy presence. See
But the LXX., Jerome, and the major- xi. 7 ; xvi. 11.

424 PSALM CXL.
" '':'is;n. The full form, as in Ixi. 8; Ixxviii. 7, etc.
^ !;i!is^. The verb is usually intrans. "gather themselves," in a
hostile sense, as in Ivi. 7. So it is commonly taken here, the prep.
ix or )> being understood, or the accus. being regarded as the accus. of
direction. Kimchi, however, makes the verb trans, here, gather wars,
i.e. gather the materials for war. Perhaps it is better to take "iia =
nia , to stir up, as the Chald., Syr., and others. In the next verse
aiBDS is a dir. Xey.
° ^!!!*<.'? (only here, instead of mx, niKR). Constr. plur. of njxa,
not of "ijSa or i^^xa , as Gesen., for the termination fi-^ is a contraction
from ai — a false formation, with euphonic doubling of the third radi
cal, according to the analogy of D'^saoa , O'^'rarrq , etc., here transferred
to 3 Yod, contrary to rule. It would be better to write '^'2^^;o , like the
constr. forms i;;'ia (Gen. xxvii. 9, 16) ; i;;nb (Isa. xxx. 28, instead of
¦'Ij'ia, etc.), after the analogy of the termination "^s-. This is proposed
by Abulvalid, who found it in his MS., and Kimchi (Michlol), and
Kenn. and Norzi mention having found it in some mss. ; but the form
does not occur elsewhere. (The above is taken from Hupfeld). dot is
another d-rr. Xey.
* lai-i^ . This is commonly taken as loosely subjoined to the pre
vious sentence, either as governed by the preceding negative, LXX,
prjTTOTi vij/(j}6wcn, Symm. Iva prj iirap6ui(Ti (comp. Isa. xiv. 21, laip^ ba),
or as describing the consequences of their success, " they will lift them
selves up.'' But it is impossible not to feel that, in all probability, the
word is misplaced before the Selah, and that it belongs to the follow
ing verse, especially as the first clause of that verse requires a verb to
make sense : " They that surround me have lifted up the head." It is
true that d1"i in the Kal is not trans., and therefore t!K"i must either
be the accus. of reference, " as to the head," or perhaps we ought to
read iai"i^ . For the fluctuations between Kal and Hiph. in this word
comp. Ixxxix. 18, 26 ; cxlviii. 13.
* ¦'apa , usually taken as part. Hiph. ; but the Hiph. of this verb is
never intransitive, not even in Josh. vi. 11 ; 2 Sam. v. 23. It must,
therefore, be from an abstract aoa , whence plur. constr. niapa , used
adverbially, and lapa , 2 Kings xxiii. 5 ; and here with suffix = inb"'3t? ,
xxvii. 6.
f laies"'. The K'thibh is plur., referring to the lips as the subject
(Gesen. § 148, 1). The correction to the sing, in the K'ri is therefore
unnecessary. s "Biai. The K'thibh can only refer to an indefinite subject, "Let
them (men) cast hot burning coals," etc., which is equivalent to a

PSALM CXLL 425
passive : Let hot burning coals (which may perhaps mean lightnings,
as in xvii. 13, 14) 5e casi, etc. See on Ivi. note °- The K'ri, however,
substitutes the Niph. flCiH"; , which is contrary to the usage in the Niph.
Hupfeld, therefore, would read "i"'aa^ (comp. xi. 6), making Jehovah
the subject here, as in the next clause.
^ ni^bria , only here. The Eabb. explain it to mean deep pits, but
without any reason. It is probably to be explained by the cogn. Arab.
... CI .-
. )<ft. to pour out water, 'j <& a cataract.
' J"!. The accent is clearly wrong, for this is not an adjective to
n llj^x , a wicked, violent man, but a noun, which is the subject of the
following verb, as the Chald., the LXX, the Eabb., and others have
taken it. Athnach should therefore be transferred to ean .

PSALM CXLI.

This Psalm presents some peculiar difficulties of interpretation,
which, however, are due neither to the words employed nor to the
grammatical construction, but to the extreme abruptness with which
in verses 5-7 the thoughts follow one another, and the extreme
obscurity wliich hangs over the allusions. To translate each sentence
by itself is no difficult matter, but it is almost hopeless either to link
the sentences plausibly together, or to discover in them any tangible
clue to the circumstances in which the Psalmist was placed. As all
the ancient versions must have had substantially the same text, the
deviations in any of them being very slight, it is hardly probable that,
as Olshausen and Hupfeld maintain, the text is corrupt : it is more
likely that our entire ignorance of the circumstances under which the
Psalm was written prevents our piercing the obscurity of the writer's
words. It has been usual to accept the inscription which assigns the Psalm
to David, and to assign it to the time of his persecution by Saul.
Verse 5 has generally been supposed to allude to David's generous
conduct in sparing the life of his foe when he was in his power (see
1 Sam. xxiv., and comp. the note on verse 6 of this Psalm), but it is
quite impossible on this supposition to give any plausible interpretation
to verse 7.
Delitzsch, with more probability, refers the Psalm to the time of
Absalom's rebellion. He sees an allusion to David's, distance from the
sanctuary and the worship of the sanctuary in verse 2, and he explains
VOL. II. 54

426 PSALM CXLI.
verse 6 of the punishment which shall overtake the rebel leaders, and
the return of the people to their allegiance.
Ewald would assign this, as well as the preceding and following
Psalms, to a time subsequent to the Assyrian invasion, — perhaps the
reign of Manasseh. He supposes that in the persecution to which the
true worshippers of Jehovah, and especially the leading men amongst
them, were exposed, the Psalmist, who was apparently a man of some
distinction (cxlii. 7 [8]), had himself suffered. He had been assailed by
threats (cxi. 3 [4], 9 [10]), and by flatteries (cxli. 4) ; and if these failed
in drawing him away, his destruction was resolved upon (cxi. 5 [6] ;
cxH. 9, 10 ; cxlii. 3 [4]). But undaunted by threats, unseduced by
flatteries, he cleaves with the most resolute faith and love to his God,
and will rather submit to reproof from the true-hearted than suffer
himself to be cajoled and led astray by the wicked (cxli. 5). And
when at last his enemies, enraged at bis firmness, seize him and cast
him into prison, leaving him there to perish (cxlii. 7 [8], he does not
give way, but still cries to Jehovah for help, and trusts in his power
and faithfulness.^
Maurer thinks that this Psalm was written at a time when idolatry
had become prevalent, especially among men of the highest rank and
station, and that in consequence the faithful servants of Jehovah were
exposed to bitter persecution. We thus obtain a suitable meaning, he
says, for the whole Psalm, of which he thus sketches the outline :
" There are three strophes: (1) Hear my prayer, O Jehovah : suffer
me not to speak any word against thee, nor to fall away to the wicked,
allured by their luxurious banquets (ver. 1-4). (2) Why should I
not rejoice in my God ? Nay, if their leaders are overthrown, the
men shall gladly hear me raising a song of joy and triumph, though
now our bones cover the earth (ver. 5-7). (3) Keep me, O Jehovah,
1 1 subjoin Ewald's rendering and explanation of ver. 5-7 : " Let the righteous
smite me in love and chastise me ; let no oil for the head soften my head ! For
still — my prayer is uttered in their misfortunes. Their judges have been hurled
into the rifts of the rock ; so shall they hear how sweet my words are ! As though
one should furrow and cleave the earth, our bones have been scattered for the jaws
of death." That is, " So far am I from partaking of the dainties of the wicked, I
will rather turn to the righteous, and welcome their reproofs for my past coldness.
I will not even anoint my head," for that would be a sign of joy and festivity,
whereas now they are in suffering, and I can only pray. The chiefest among them
have already perished, " but the righteous who have escaped the general persecu
tion shall hear my words of sympathy and my prayers " (such, for instance, as we
have in this Psalm) ; and then, as if deeply sympathizing with the judges, the
princes who have been slain, be counts himself in their number, " Our bones lie
scattered," etc., as on a field of battle (liii. 5 [6]J.

PSALM CXLL 427
: from the devices of the wicked. Let them be snared in their own
:nets, whilst I escape" (ver. 8-10).
It is curious that whilst De Wette, describing the Psalm as " a very
original, and therefore difficult. Psalm," holds it to be one of the oldest
in the collection ; Maurer, almost on the same grounds (" oratio max-
ime impedita ac talis in qua manifesto cum verbis luctetur vates "), sets
it down as belonging to a comparatively late period.
[A Psahn of David.]
1 0 Jehovah, I have called upon thee, haste thee unto me ;
Give ear to my voice when I call upon thee.
2 Let my prayer be set forth (as) incense before thee,
The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
3 Set a watch," 0 Jehovah, before my mouth.
Keep the door '' of my lips.
4 Incline not my heart to any evil thing.
To busy itself" in wicked doings with men* that work
iniquity ;
And let me not eat of their dainties.
2. Lifting up op my hands ; i.e. used 1 King xviii. 29, 36, of the whole
evidently, as the parallelism requires, in evening sacrifice, and of the morning
prayer ; comp. xxviii. 2. Others, as the sacrifice, 2 Kings iii. 20). The incense
Syr., and recently Ewald and Hengsten- may be mentioned because, as ascending
berg, explain it of bringing an offering, in a fragrant cloud, it was symbolical
which is against both the parallelism of prayer (Rev. v. 8; viii. 3, 4); and
and the comparison with the evening the same would hold also of the " meat-
sacrifice, offering," of which it is said that the
Evening sacrifice. The sacrifice priest was to burn a part as " a memo-
here meant is strictly the offering con- rial," "a sweet savor under Jehovah"
sisting of fine flour with oil and frank- (Lev. ii. 9).
incense, or of unleavened cakes mingled 3. Set A watch. Comp. xxxiv. 13
with oil, which was burnt upon the [14] ; xxxix. 1 [2] ; Prov. xiii. 3 ; xxi.
altar (Heb. minchah, E. V. " meat-offer- 23. The prayer is apparently directed
ing"); see Lev. ii. 1-11. This, how- against the temptation to indulge in
I ever, like the " incense," was only added rash and foolish words, such as wicked
to the burnt-offering, the Iamb which men would indulge in (see next verse).
was offered every morning and evening Others suppose that be prays to be kept
(Ex. xxix. 38—12; Num. xxviii. 3-8). from the temptation to break out into
It would seem, therefore, that these two, bitter words against his persecutors (as
" the incense" and " the offering of fine against Saul, if the Psalm be David's) ;
: flour," etc., stand for the morning and or into murmurs and complaints against
^evening sacrifices; and the sense is, God.
"Let my daily prayer be acceptable to 4. Incline not. See note on li. 4.
thee as are the daily sacrifices of thine Dainties. It is unnecessary to ex-
( own appointment." (The minchah is plain this of things sacrificed to idols

428

PSALM CXLL

5 Let a righteous man smite me, it shall be a kindness ;
And let him reprove me, it shall be as oil upon (my) head,
Let not my head refuse ° (it) :
For yet is my prayer ' against their wickednesses.
6 (When) their judges have been hurled down the sides of the
rock.
Then they shall hear my words that they are sweet.

(Ros., Del.), as if the Psalmist were
iBurroundcd by heathen ; comp. xvi. 4.
The temptation is rather to an easy,
luxurious, sensual life, as in Ixxiii.
5. According to the rendering I have
preferred of this verse, the sense will be :
" I will gladly welcome even the reproofs
of the good (comp. Prov. xxvii. 6 ; Eccl.
vii. 5), and I will avail myself of prayer
as the best defence against the wicked
ness of my persecutors." The last
member of the verse may be rendered,
" For even in their wickedness (whilst
it continues and whilst I suffer from it)
shall my prayer continue." So Men-
dels., " Ich bete noch da jene Schand-
that iiben." Aq Sri in koI ¦irpo(rfvx'h
fiov iv KaKtais avraiv. It is possible,
however, that this last clause refers not
to his enemies, but to the righteous, in
which case it mast be rendered, " Por
still my prayer shall be offered in their
misfortunes." (So Ewald).
Again, the first two clauses have been
rendered: Lit a righteous man smite
me in love {accus.) (LXX. iv i\4fi), and
reprove me. Such oil upon the head let
not my head refuse." (Delitzsch). But
nothing is gained by this, and the bal
ance of the members is not so well pre
served. Others again (as Maur., Hengst.)
understand by the "righteous," God,
appealing to Isa. xxiv. 16 ; where, how
ever, the " righteous " means not God,
but " the righteous nation." In ver. 4
he had prayed that he might not be led
astray by the evil he saw around him,
nor allured by the blandishments and
luxurious prosperity of the wicked. Now
he says, on the contrary, " let me ever
be ready to welcome even reproof from
the righteous," which, however harsh,
is salutary. The wounds of a friend are

faithful, and better than the kisses of an
enemy. 6. This verse, difficult in itself, is still
more difiicult, because it has no very
obvious connection cither with what
precedes or with what follows. The
allusions are so obscure that it is impos
sible to do more than guess at the
meaning. Theik judges must be in a general
sense the " rulers " or " princes " of
" the wicked ; " for the pronoun must
refer to them. (Ewald, however, — see
introduction to the Psalm, — supposes
the leading men amongst the righteous
to be meant, who are the principal suf
ferers in the time of persecution). The
verse apparently describes a punishment
which has been or will be inflicted
upon them (see for this mode of punish
ment 2 Chron. xxv. 12 ; Luke iv. 29).
The verb hurled down is the same
which is used, 2 Kings i.x. 33, of the
throwing down of Jezebel from the
window. The sides op the eock ; lit.
"along," or "by the sides (Heb. hands)
of the rock or precipice." Comp. cxi.
5 [6j, " by the side of the path " ; Judg.
xi. 26, " by the sides (E. V. coasts, Heb.
Aanrfs) of Arnon." Others, "into the
hands (i.e. the power) of the rock," with
the same notion of punishment, but
rather as in cxxxvii. 9, being hurled
against the rock. (The preposition em
ployed favors the latter explanation;
see Lam. iv. 14).
They shall hear; i.e. of course
not the "judges," but either their fol
lowers who have been led astray by their
pernicious influence, or perhaps more
generally, men shall hear. If the Psalm
is to be referred to Absalom's rebellion.

PSALM CXLL

429

7 As when one furroweth* the earth (with the plough).
Our bones have been scattered at the mouth of the grave.
8 For unto thee, 0 Jehovah, the Lord, are mine eyes.
In thee have I found refuge ; Oh pour not out "^ my soul.

or any similar occasion, the sense will
be, " When the leaders in the insurrec
tion meet with the fate they deserve,
then the subjects of the king will return
to their allegiance." And the expres
sion, " they shall hear my words that
they are sweet," would be a thoroughly
Oriental mode of describing the satisfac
tion with which they would welcome
the gracious amnesty pronoTlnced by
their offended sovereign. Others, who
suppose that the Psalm alludes to
David's magnanimity in sparing Saul
when he was in bis power (1 Sam.
xxiv.), explain "When their leaders
(meaning Saul) were let go (suffered to
escape) along the sides of the rock, they
heard my words that they were sweet,"
— recognized, that is, my forbearance
and generosity in sparing my enemy,
instead of taking his life.
7. As WHEN ONE furroweth, ctc. ;
lit. " as one who furroweth and cleaveth
in the earth" (the participle absolute
being used for the finite verb). The
allusion is as obscure as in the previous
verses, and the point of the comparison
is differently explained. The bones scat
tered are compared cither ( 1 ) to the clods
broken by the ploughshare, or (2) to
the seed scattered in the earth turned
np by the plough. Maurer finds the
point of the comparison in the length of
the furrow : " Quemadmodum qui ter
ram arat, longas facit series sulcorum, sic
ossa nostra, longa serie sparsa, prostrata
sunt orci in praedam." But the em
phasis is laid, by the use of the double
verb, on the breaking-up of the clods.
There is no reason to supply a different
object, as the E. V., " As when one
cutteth and cleaveth wood upon the
earth." The explanation first given is
the most probable. In 2 Chron. xxv.
12, where ten thousand Edomites are
said to have been cast down from the
the top of the rock {sela', as here), the

same verb is used to describe their
destruction which is here used of cleav
ing the earth by the plough.
At the mouth, or perhaps "for the
mouth," i.e. so as to be swallowed up
by it.
The grave. Heb. Sheol, the abode
of the dead, though here perhaps noth
ing more than the grave may be meant.
The verse thus describes a complete and
disastrous overthrow, and apparently of
the whole nation ; for now We have the
pronoun of the first person, " our bones."
It is true that in some of the ancient
versions the pronoun of the third per
son is found. So in the LXX, although
ri oo-tS THiSiv is the original reading, yet
B has an alternate reading ahrHv, and
this is found in A (by a second band)
and in the Syr., Arab., and Aethiop.
Bottcher insists upon this as the correct
reading, and explains " their bones " of
the bones of the judges hurled down the
rock. Hengst. and Delitzsch, on the
other hand, find here a figure expressive
of hope and consolation. The bones,
according to them, are compared to
seed scattered in the upturned earth,
from which a harvest may be expected.
So here a national resurrection (the first
germ of what is expressed in Isa. xxvi.
19; Ezek. xxxvii.), a new life, is anti
cipated. But if this be the point of
comparison, it is very strangely ex
pressed ; it certainly does not lie on the
surface of the words.
8. For. The conjunction does not
refer to what immediately precedes, but
either to what is said in ver. 4, 5 (so
Maurer), or perhaps rather to the whole
of the former part of the Psalm, so far
as it consists of petition : " Listen to
my prayer, — keep me from temptation,
— for unto thee are mine eyes."
Pour not out my soul ; i.e. give
not my life up to destruction. Comp.
the use of the same verb, Isa. liii. 12,

430 PSALM CXLL
9 Keep me from the snare which they have laid for me.
From the gins of the workers of iniquity.
10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets.
Whilst that I withal' escape.
" He poured out his soul unto death." dog ; " in Job v. 20, " from the hand of
But the rendering of the E. V., " leave the sword ; " Isa. xlvii. 14, " from the
not my soul destitute," is in accordance hand of the flame."
with the root signification of the word. Into their own nets. The pro-
and therefore may be right. noun is singular, used distributively, —
9. Prom the s.vake ; lit. "from the "Each one of them into his own net."
hands of the snare." So we have in For the sentiment comp. vii. 15 [16].
xxii. 20 [21], "from the hand of the
* iT^Bi^ . The noun occurs only here. Kimchi defends it by forms
such as naan , nass . Hupfeld finds a difficulty in admitting this
abstract noun from a transitive verb, especially as we have another
noun, "lana , in this sense ; and is inclined therefore to take the word
as the imperative with n paragog., in the same cor)struction with ¦'Sb,
as in xxxix. 2, where, however, it is followed by the accus. Diona.
Like Aben-Ezra, he supposes that the writer intended to imitate the
construction in xxxix. 2, biit to break it up into ''Sb 'a rr^a and "lais,
but then either omitted 'a or dropped the construction he had begun.
It is so far in favor of this view, that ST^SJ is of the same imperat.
form (Kal with euphon. Dagesh, as in Prov. iv. 13) ; here followed
by bv (which it is nowhere else), after the analogy of "nattj. Some,
however, would make rr^SJ, like J^^a'd, a noun.
'' b'n, another air. Xey., instead of the fem. nb'n.
" hhisrti. This Hithpo. (denom. from fi^"'HO occurs only here.
* D''a^X. This plur. form occurs also Prov. viii. 4 ; Isa. liii. 3.
n'^asja, in the next line, is another avr. Xey.
" 1?^ for Si2;i, as ¦'SK for n-'DX, Micah i. 15, written defectively,
perhaps because optative or jussive. See Iv. note ' ; Gesen. § 73,
Rem. iv. § 74 ; Eem. 21 c. The rendering of the LXX, pr/ Xiiravdrto
Trp> K€<f>aX^v pov, with which Jerome and the Syr. agree cannot be
defended. There is, indeed, an Arab, root, . _o, to become fat, but
there is no such root in Hebrew.
' ''ni lis 13. The "i must introduce the apodosis, and the sentence
is elliptical ; " For (so it is) still, that my prayer," etc. With this
elliptical use of 1. Tis compare ^cx lis, " it will still be that," Zech.
viii. 20, and 1 'nnx, Prov. xxiv. 27, " afterwards it shall be that,'' etc.
8 nVs is taken by some of the ancients interpreters as = a noun,
" husbandman," and as the subject of the sentence. Symm., uxrirep

PSALM CXLIL 431
yt(i)pyos OTav prjcrcrri t^v y^v ovrioi itTKOpTrlcrOr} k. t. X. ; Jerome, Sicut
agricola cum scindit terram. The root is of course the same as that
of the common Arabic word Fellah.
^ -isi;i for -sp (Gesen. § 75, Rem. 8), Piel, orincorr. for ^sn, Hiph.,
which is found in Isa. liii. 12. The root is used of emptying a vessel.
Gen. xxiv. 20; a chest, 2 Chron. xxiv. 11 ; then it gets the sense of
pouring out, as Maurer observes : " Quod evacuandi verba facillime a
vasis transferuntur ai id quod vasis continetur." But it is better, per
haps, to keep to the root meaning of making bare, destitute, empty.
' "inr Some would join this to the previous hemistitch : " into
their own nets together." Maurer considers it to be := in- is, and
supposes it to refer to the nets, and to be the object of the verb:
" Whilst I escape them all." But it is better to take 'in'i here in the
sense of at the same time (comp. iv. 9 ; xxxiii. 15), and ^s'(whilst, as
in Job viii. 21) as merely placed second in the sentence (comp.
cxxviii. 2), in order that the emphatic word may occupy the first place.

PSALM CXLII.

This is the last of the eight Psalms which, according to their
inscriptions, are to be referred to David's persecution by Saul. Like
the fifty-seventh Psalm, it is supposed to describe his thoughts and
feelings when he was " in the cave," though whether in the cave of
Adullam (1 Sam. xxii. 1) or in that of Engedi (1 Sam. xxiv. 3) is
not clear. (See introduction to Psalm Ivii.) The general strain of
the Psalm is that of the earlier books. It expresses in language like
that of David the cleaving of the heart to God, the deep sense of
loneliness, the cry for deliverance, the confidence that that deliver
ance will call forth the sympathy and the joy of many others. But
whether it is written only in imitation of David's manner, or whether
it is a genuine work of David's extracted perhaps from some history,
and added, at a time subsequent to the exile, to the present collection,
it is impossible now to determine.
[A Maschil" of David when he was in the Cave. A Prayer,]
1 With my voice to Jehovah will I cry,
With my voice to Jehovah will I make supplication.

432 PSALM CXLIL
2 I will pour out before him my complaint ;
My trouble before him will I make known.
3 When my spirit is overwhelmed within me,
Thou knowest my path :
In the way wherein I walk.
Have they hidden a snare for me.
4 Look " on the right hand and see.
There is none that will know me ;
Refuge hath failed me ;
There is none that seeketh after my soul.
5 I have cried unto thee, 0 Jehovah,
I have said. Thou art my refuge,
My portion in the land of the living.
6 Attend unto my cry.
For I am brought very low :
Deliver me from my persecutors,
Por they are too strong for me.
7 Bring forth my soul out of prison.
That I may give thanks to thy name.

3. When my spirit. The first bound up with the very nature of prayer,
member of this verse is perhaps to be which is one great anthropomorphism."
connected with the preceding verse, On the right hand, as the direction
precisely as the same words are found in which he would naturally look for
connected in tho title of Ps. cii. (So succor (a irapao-ri^TTis). See xvi. 8 ; cix.
Hupfeld and Bunsen.) 6, 31 ; ex. 5 ; cxxi. 5.
Is overwhelmed ; lit. " darkens That will know ; lit. " that recog-
itself." See on Ixxvii. 3 [4]. nizes me." Comp. Ruth ii. 10, 19.
Within me; lit. "upon me." See Hath failed, as in Amos ii. 14;
on xlii. note*. Jer. x.xv. 35; Job xi. 20.
Thou ; lit. " and Thou." If the ex- Seeketh after, i.e. " troubleth
isting arrangement of the text is right, himself concerning," " careth for," as
the conjunction only serves to introduce in Deut. xi. 12 ; 2 Sam. xi. 3 ; Job x. 6 ;
the apodosis. But if the first clause, though according to the analogy of Jer.
"when my spirit," etc., belongs to the xxx. 17, it would be possible also to
previous verse, then we must render render, "My soul bath none that seeketh
here, "And thou knowest," etc. (it) " ; or " seeker " may here mean
4. Look. There is no contradiction "avenger," as Hammond explains, vin-
in this prayer to the previous statement rfex et servator sollicitus. Comp. for this
of belief in God's omniscience, "Thou use of the verb x. 13.
knowest my path," as has been alleged. 5. My portion. Comp. xvi. 5;
Such appeals to God to see, to regard, Ixxiii. 26.
etc., are common enough, "and are The living, or "life." See xxvii. 13.

PGALM CXLni 433
The righteous shall come about " me.
Because thou dealest bountifully with me.
7. Out op prison. This is clearly in my joy, though elsewhere the word
to be understood figuratively. Comp. is used in a hostile sense. The Praycr-
the parallel passage, cxliii. 11. book version " then shall the righteous
Come about me; i.e. sympathizing resort unto my company."
" See on xxxii. note ', and introduction to Ivii.
" is"'an . This can only be imperat. (like the following ns"!) for
Ban, as in Job xxxv. 5. See on Ixxvii. note " ; xciv. note °. The
ancient versions, nearly without exception, have here the 1st person.
LXX, icaTevdouv Kal iTrijSXiTTov. Similarly the Chald. and Syr. and
the Rabb. commentators, and so the E. V., evidently taking the forms
as infinitive absolutes, which would hold of C5"'afi , but not of nN"i , for
the apparent inf. constr. n;;n, Ezek. xxi. 15, proves nothing as it
follows '("ab. Ewald would read nxn , but no change is necessary.
Jerome is quite right in keeping the imperative, Respice . . . et vide.
" i"in3\ The verb, both in Hiph. and Piel, is elsewhere used in a
hostile sense, and with the accus. Here it must be expressive of
sympathy, though neither this meaning nor the constr. with a is to be
found elsewhere. Others, following the LXX and Aq., render " shall
wait for me '' ; but then it must be Piel, as in Job xxxvi. 2, where it
is also followed by b. Others again take the word as a denom. from
ira , and explain crown, or put on a crown, in a figurative sense, i.e.
triumph in me, boast themselves of me, as of a crown. Delitzsch
compares Prov. xiv. 18. Symm., to ovop.d crov crrei^avdicrovTai BiKaioi;
Jerome, in me coronabuntur justi. The following '''2 is rendered in
the E.V. for. The LXX have eois ou di/ra7roS(os p.oi. ; Jerome, cum
retribueris mihi; Symm., orav evepyer-qarj? p,e.

PSALM CXLIII.

This is the last of the seven Penitential Psalms, as they are called.
(See Introduction, Vol. i. p. 19.) In the Hebrew it is styled a Psalm
of David ; in some copies of the LXX it is further said to have been
written when be had to flee from his son Absalom. It is probable
that the deep tone of sorrow and anguish which pervades the Psalm,
and the deep sense of sin, led to the belief that it must be referred to
that occasion. The spirit and the language, it is true, are not un-
VOL. II. 55

434

PSALM CXLni.

worthy of David; yet the many passages borrowed from earlier
Psalms make it more probable that this Psalm is the work of some
later poet. Delitzsch says, very truly, that if David himself did not
write it — and he admits that the many expressions derived from other
sources are against such a supposition — still the Psalm is " au extract
of the most precious balsam from the old Davidic songs." Like other
post-exile Psalms (such, for instance, as the one hundred and sixteenth
and one hundred and nineteenth) , it is a witness to us of the depth
and reality of the religious life in the later history of the nation, and
an evidence also of the way in which that life was upheld and cher
ished by the inspired words of David and other Psalmists and prophets
of old.
The Psalm consists of two parts, each of which is of six verses, the
conclusion of the first being marked by the Selah. The first portion
contains the complaint (ver. 1-6) ; the second, the prayer founded on
that complaint (ver. 7-12). [(A Psahn) of David.]
1 0 Jehovah, hear my prayer.
Give ear to my supplications.
In thy faithfulness answer me,(and)in thy righteousness.
2 And enter not into judgment with thy servant ;
Por before thee no man living is righteous.

1. In thy P.IITHFULXESS . . .' IN THY
RIGHTEOUSNESS. It is to God's own
character that the appeal is made. It
is there first, and not in bis own misery,
that the sinner finds the great argument
why his prayer should be answered. It
is precisely the same ground which St.
John takes : " If we confess our sins,
he is faithful and righteous (true to his
promise and true to his revealed char
acter) to forgive us our sins."
2. EXTER NOT INTO JUDGMENT, as
in Job ix. 32 ; xxii. 4. He traces his
suffering to his sin ; the malice of his
enemies is the rod of God's chastisement,
calling him to repentance.
Before thee ; .i.e. at thy bar, in the
judgment. Is RIGHTEOUS. Our translators are
not consistent in their rendering of this
verb. Here they follow the TiXX, ou

Si/coiaeVE'rai, " shall not be justified."
But in Job ix. 15 ; x. 15 ; xv. 14 ; xxii.
3 ; xxxii. 1 ; xxxiv. 5 ; xxxv. 7 ; xl. 8,
they give as the equivalent " to be
righteous"; so, too, in Ps. xix. 9 [10].
But in Ps. li. 4 [6] they have "justify,"
as here; and so in Job xi. 2; xiii. 18;
xxv. 4; whereas in iv. 17; xxxiii. 12,
they render " to be just." See in many
of the passages referred to in Job the
same deep sense of man's unrighteous
ness before a righteous God which the
Psalmist here expresses. Yet it is that
very righteousness before which he
trembles, to which he appeals, which he
needs, in which alone be can stand be
fore his Judge. The passage clearly
shows, says Calvin, that he is justified
who is considered and accounted just
before God, or whom the heavenly
Judge himself acquits as innocent.

PSALM CXLIIL

435.

3 For the enemy hath persecuted my soul,
He hath smitten my life down to the earih.
He hath made me dwell in darkness as those that are
forever dead.
4 And my spirit is overwhelmed in me.
My heart within me is desolate.
5 I have remembered the days of old,
I have meditated on all thou hast done ;
On the work of thy hands do I muse.
6 I have spread forth my hands unto thee.
My soul (thirsteth) after thee as a thirsty land. [Selah.]
7 Make haste to answer me, 0 Jehovah,
My spirit faileth :
3. For the enemy. This is the
reason why he turns to God so earnestly.
The outward suffering, the persecution,
the chastisement laid upon him — it
may have been through some guilt of
his own — had purged the spiritual eye,
had made him look within, had shown
him his own heart, its sinfulness and its
misery, as he had never seen it before ;
and this deep sense of sin and misery
had led to the prayer in ver. 2. Hence
his deliverance from his enemy and the
forgiveness of his sin are naturally con
nected in bis mind.
In darkness ; lit. " in darknesses,"
or "dark places," as in Ixxxviii. 6 [7],
where it is used of the abode of the
dead. Comp. with this verse vii. 5 [6] ;
Lam. iii. 6 ; Ps. Ixxxviii. .3-6 [t-7].
Forever dead. The dead are so called
as " fixed in an eternal state," as those
who can never return again to this world.
4. Is overwhelmed. The same
word as in Ixxvii. 3 [4] ; cvii. 5 (where
see note), cxlii. 3 [4]. " Having spoken
of his outward troubles," says Calvin,
" he now confesses the weakness of his
spirit, whence we gather that this was
no stony fortitude {non saxeam fuisse
ejus fartitudincm), but that, whilst over
whelmed with sorrow so far as his nat
ural feelings were concerned, he stood
and was supported only by faith and
the grace of tho Spirit."

Is desolate, or rather "is full of
amazement"; lit. "astonies itself";
seeks to comprehend the mystery of its
sufferings, and is ever beaten back upon
itself in its perplexity : such is the full
force of the reflexive conjugation here
employed. The form occurs, besides, Isa.
lix. 16; Ixiii. 5; Dan. viii. 27; Eccl.
vii. 16. This and the next verse are an
echo of Ixxvii. 3-6 [4-7], 11, 12 [12, 13].
See notes there.
6. I have spread forth my hands,
as the weary child stretches forth its
hands to its mother, that on her bosom
it may be hushed to rest.
Thirsty; lit. "weary," "languish
ing," but used as here Isa. xxxii. 2.
The construction is doubtful. Accord
ing to the accents it would be, "My
soul is a land thirsting after thee." But
as the adjective is used both of the soul
(Prov. x.xv. 25), and of a land (Ps. Ixiii.
1 [2]), itis probable that it here belongs
to both words. " In great heat wo see
the earth cracking and gaping, as though
with open mouth slie asked for the rain
from heaven." — Calrin.
After thee. " Observe how he
binds himself to God alone, cuts off
every other hope from his soul, and, in
short, makes his very need a chariot
wherewith to mount up to God."
7. In the second half of the Psalm
many of the expressions are borrowed

436

PSALM CXLHL

Hide not thy face from me.
That so I become like them that go down into the pit.
8 Cause me to hear thy loving-kindness in the morning.
For in thee have I trusted ;
Cause me to know the way in which I should walk.
For unto thee have I lifted up my soul.
9 Deliver me from mine enemies, 0 Jehovah,
Unto thee have I fled to hide me.^
10 Teach me to do thy will.
For thou art my God ;
Let thy good '' Spirit lead me in a plain country.
11 For thy name's sake, 0 Jehovah, quicken me.
In thy righteousness bring my soul out of distress.

from earlier Psalms. With the prayer in
this verse comp. Ixix. 17 [18] ; xxvii. 9;
cii. 2 [3] ; with the second clause comp.
Ixxxiv. 2 [3], where the ardent longing
for God is expressed in the same way.
That so I become, etc., is word for
word as in xxviii. 1 ; comp. Ixxxviii. 4 [5] .
8. In the morning ; i.e. early, soon.
Comp. Moses' prayer, xc. 14. Various
interpretations have been given, which
are thus summed up by Calvin : " Ad-
verbium mane frigide quidam restringunt
ad sacrificia. Scimus enim quotidie bis
sacrificia offerre solitos, matutinum et
vespertinum. Alii subtilius accipiunt,
quod Deus mitius agens cum suis servis
dicatur formare novum diem. Alii met-
aphoram esse volunt et notari prosperum
laetumque statum; sicut triste et ca-
lamitosum tempus saepe notatur per
tenebras. Sed miror in hac voce quaeri
extraneos sensus, qua simpliciter repetit
quod prius di.xeratyesft'na. Mane ergo tan-
tundem valet ac tempestive vel celeriter."
The way in which I should walk.
Cf. xxv. 4 ; cxlii. 3 [4], with Ex. xxxiii.
13. Lifted up my soul, as in xxv. 1 ;
Ixxxvi. 4.
9. Fled to hide me; lit. "unto
thee have I hidden (myself)." But the
phrase is very peculiar and its meaning
doubtful. See in Critical Note.
10. To do thy will, not merely to

know it; hence the need of the Holy
Spirit's aid, his quickening, guiding,
strengthening, as well as his enlighten
ing influence. " Necesse est Deum no
bis non mortua tantum litera magistrum
esse et doctorem, sed arcano Spiritus
instinctu, imo tribus modis fungitur
erga nos magistri officio ; quia verbo
suo nos docet; delude Spiritu mentes
illuminat ; tertio cordibus nostris in-
sculpit doctrinam, ut vero et serio con
sensu obediamus."
Thy will ; lit. " Thy good pleasure,"
as in ciii. 21, Prayer-book version, "the
thing that pleaseth thee."
Thy good Spirit, as in Neh. ix. 20 ;
comp. Ps. li. 11 [13].
In a plain country ; lit. " in a
level land," or " on level ground,"
where there is no fear of stumbling and
falling, LXX, iSr^y^oei jU€ iv rp evBdii;
Sym. 8ici yT}s &fj.a\7js. The word mishor
is constantly used of the plain (cham
paign) country. See for instance Deut.
iv. 43. Comp. Isa. xxvi. 7, " The path
of the righteous is level. Thou makest
level (even, as if adjusted in the balance)
the road of the righteous." It is un
necessary, with Hupfeld, to correct the
text, and substitute "path" for "land,"
for we have a similar expression in Isa.
xxvi. 10, " the land of uprightness."
Comp. with this verse generally xxvii.
11 ; xxxi. 3 [4] ; xl. 8 [9] ; ciii. 21.

PSALM CXLin. 437
12 And of thy loving-kindness cut off mine enemies,
And destroy all the adversaries of my soul ;
For I am thy servant.
1 1. Out OF distress. Comp. cxlii. Further, in ver. 8-10, the ground of tha
7 [8]. The series of petitions in ver. petition in each case is the personal
8-12 may thus be grouped : (1) Prayer relation of the Psalmist to God : "In
for God's mercy or loving-kindness, as thee have I trusted," "unto thee have I
that on which all hangs, and then for lifted up my soul," "Unto thee have I
guidance (ver. 8). (2) For deliverance fled," "Thou art my God"; and so
from enemies, and then still more fully also at the close of ver. 12, "I am thy
for a knowledge of God's will, and the servant." On the other hand, in ver.
gifts of his Spirit, that he may obey that 11, and the first member of ver. 12, the
will (ver. 9, 10). (3) For a new life, appeal is to God and his attributes,
and deliverance from suffering, and now " For thy name's sake," " In thy right-
not only for deliverance from his ene- eousness," "of thy loving-kindness."
mies, but for their destruction (ver. 11, 12. I am thy servant. " Tantuu-
12). Hence the second petition in (1) dem hoc valet acsi Dei se clientem
answers to the second petition in (2); faciens, ejus patrocinio vitam suam
tha first in (2) to the second in (3). permitteret." — Calvin
• ip-'Ba rp\>s . It is not easy to explain the construction. The Syr.
omits the words altogether. The LXX render on irpos crc Karicfmyov,
from which it might seem that they read ''ripn, were it not that
elsewhere they render D15, and not no, by KaTa<f>vyeiv. The Targum
paraphrases, '• thy word have I counted as a Redeemer," whence it
might be inferred that they read ¦'~B3 (see this verb Ex. xii. 4).
Jerome apparently had our present text, only that he changed the
vocalization, making it passive instead of active. Ad Te protectus sum
("'Pi'Ss). Kimchi would explain the phrase as a focM<io jorae^rraan* ; "I
cried unto thee in secret, and so as to hide it from men." Similarly
Aben-Ezra, who remarks that " to hide to a person " is exactly opposite
to the expression " to hide from a person " (Gen. xviii. 17), and means,
therefore to reveal to him what is hidden from others. J. D. MichaeUs
Supplem. p. 1317) takes the same view, and so does Eosenm., "Tibi
in occulto revelavi quod homines celavi." Saadia, who is followed by
Ewald, Maurer, Hengst., and others, takes the verb in a reflexive
sense, " Unto thee (i.e. with thee have I hidden myself," which they
defend by the use of the Piel in Gen. xxxviii. 14; Deut. xxii. 12 ;
Jonah iii. 6. The last of these, however, proves nothing, as I'^bs is to
be supplied fron the preceding 1"'isB, and then the construction will
be " he covereth sackcloth, i.e. he puts it as a covering, upon him," the
construction being exactly the same as in Job xxxvi. 32 ; Ezek.
xxiv. 7. In the other two passages Hupfeld would adopt the some
what arbitrary method of substituting the Hithpael for the Piel.

438 PSALM CXLIV.
Delitzsch more probably explains the use of the Piel in these passages
as elliptical, Gen. xxxviii. 14, "And she put a covering with a veil
(before her face) " ; Deut xxii. 12, " Wherewith thou puttest a cover
ing (on thy body)." Hence they do not justify our taking ini&3 here
in a reflexive sense. Hupfeld, Olsh., and others, would read '^n-'Dn ;
but the objection to this is, that this verb is elsewhere always followed
by a, not by is .
•" tinrji. The art. it omitted occasionally with the adj. after a defi
nite noun, Gesen. § 111, 2 b. He quotes 2 Sam. vi. 3 ; Ezek. xxxix.
27 In the very same expression, Neh. ix. 20, we have the article
with the adj. LXX, to Trvcv/xa crou to dyaOov.

PSALM CXLIV.

This is a singularly composite Psalm. The earlier portion of it, to
the end of verse 11, consists almost entirely of a cento of quotations,
strung together from earlier Psalms ; and it is not always easy to trace
a real connection between them. The latter portion of the Psalm
(verses 12-15), differs completely from the former. It bears the stamp
of originality, and is entirely free from the quotations and allusions
with which the preceding verses abound. It is hardly probable, how
ever, that this concluding portion is the work of the poet who com
piled the rest of the Psalm ; it is more probable that he has here
transcribed a fragment of some ancient poem, in which were por
trayed the happiness and prosperity of the nation in its brightest
days, — under David, it may have been, or at the beginning of the
reign of Solomon.
His object seems to have been thus to revive the hopes of his
nation, perhaps after the return from the exile, by reminding them
how in their past history obedience to God had brought with it its
full recompense.
Kimchi, who holds the Psalm to be David's, refers it to the events
mentioned in 2 Sam. v., when, having been acknowledged by all the
tribes of Israel as their king (see verse 2 of the Psalm, " who sub-
dueth my people under me"), and having completly subjugated the
Philistines, he might look forward to a peaceful and prosperous
reign. In some copies of the LXX the Psalm is said to have been com
posed in honor of David's victory over Goliath ; which may perhaps

PSALM CXLIV. 439
be due to the Targum on verse 10, which explains " the hurtful
sword " as the sword of Goliath. It is scarcely necessary to remark
how improbable such a view is.
Others, again, have conjectured that the Psalm was directed against
Abner (2 Sam. ii. 13, etc.) or against Absalom. Theodoret supposes
it to be spoken in the person of the Jews, who, after their return
from Babylon, were attacked by the neighboring nations. Another
Greek writer, mentioned by Agellius, would refer the Psalm to the
times of the Maccabees.
But the language of verses 1-4, as well as the language of verse
10, is clearly only suitable in the mouth of a king, or some powerful
and recognized leader of the nation ; and it is difiicult to find a person
of rank in the later history in whose mouth such a Psalm as this
would be appropriate.
The Psalmist recounts glorious victories in the past, complains that
the nation is now beset by strange, i.e. barbarous, enemies, so false
and treacherous that no covenant can be kept with them, prays for
deliverance from them by an interposition great and glorious as had
been vouchsafed of old, and anticipates the return of a golden age of
peace and plenty. [(A Psahn) of David.]
1 Blessed be Jehovah my rock.
Who traineth my hands for the war,
My fingers for the battle.
2 My loving-kindness and my fortress.
My high tower and my deliverer.
My shield, and he in whom I find refuge.
Who subdueth my people under me.
The first two verses are taken from marks, that it is not superfluous, but
Ps. xviii. 2 [3], 46 [47], 34 [35]. designed to strengthen and confirm faith;
2. My loving-kindxess. A sin- for men's minds are easily shaken, es-
gular expression for " God of my loving- pecially when some storm of trial beats
kindness" (lix. 10 [11], 17 [18] ; Jonah upon them. Hence, if God should
il. 8 [9]). "Deum . . . bonitatem suam promise us his succor in one word, it
nominat, ab eo manare intelligens quic- would not be enough ; in fact, in spite
quid possidet bonorum." — Calvin. of all the props and aids he gives us, we
My deliverer ; lit. " my deliverer constantly totter and are ready to fall,
for me," as the expression is found in and such a forgetfulness of his loving-
the other version of Ps. xviii. in 2 Sam. kindness steals upon us, that we come
xxii. 2. On the heaping together of near to losing heart altogether.
epithets and titles of God Calvin re- Who subdueth, as in xviii. 47 [48] ;

440

PSALM CXLIV.

3 Jehovah, what is man, that thou takest knowledge of him ?
A son of man, that thou makest account of him ?
4 As for man, he is like a breath ;
His days are as a shadow that passeth.
5 Bow thy heavens, 0 Jehovah, and come down.
Touch the mountains that they smoke.
6 Shoot out lightning, and scatter them.
Send forth thine arrows, and discomfit them.
7 Send forth thine hand from above.
Rid me, and deliver me from many waters,
From the hand of the sons of the alien,
8 Whose mouth hath spoken falsehood.
And whose right hand is a right hand of lies.

only there we have "peoples" instead
of "my people," as here. Some, indeed,
would correct the text here, or regard
the form as an imperfect plural. The
Syr. and Chald. have the plural, and it
is found in some mss. It is certainly
not easy to understand how any but a
despotic ruler, or one whose people had
taken up arms against him, could thus
celebrate God as subduing his own
nation under him. Delitzsch suggests
that the words may have been the words
of David after he had been anointed,
but before he bad ascended the throne.
And similarly Calvin, supposing this to
be one of David's Psalms, " Postquam
ergo David quas adeptus erat victorias
contra exteros Deo ascripsit, simul
etiam gratias agit de ordinate regni
statu. Et certe quum esset ignobilis,
delude falsis calumniis exosus, vix cre-
dibile fuit posse unquam tranquillum
imperium consequi. Quod ergo praeter
spem repente se populus dedidit, tam
admirabilis mutatio praeclarum fuit
Dei opus." In any case, the Psalmist
is not triumphing in the exercise of
despotic power, but gratefully acknowl
edges that the authority he wields comes
only from God.
3. This and the next verse are again
borrowed from other passages. The
weakness of man seems here to be urged

as a reason why God should come to
his succor against his enemies. Ver. 3
is a variation of viii. 4 [5]. Ver. 4 re
sembles xxxix. 5, 6 [6, 7] ; compare cii.
11 [12] ; Job viii. 9; xiv. 2.
5. Here begins the direct prayer for
the overthrow of his enemies. The
Psalmist longs for a theophany, a com
ing of God to judgment, which he de
scribes in language again borrowed from
xviii. 9 [10], 14-16 [15-17].
Touch the mountains, as in civ.
32, with allusion perhaps to Ex. xix.
18; XX. 18.
6. Shoot out lightning ; literally
" lighten lightning." The verb occurs
nowhere else, and the verb translated
" rid " in the next verse is found only
here in this sense (which is the meaning
of the root in Aramaic and Arabic), so
that even a writer who borrows so largely
as this Psalmist has still bis peculiarities.
Comp. with this verse xviii. 14.
7. Thine hand. Many mss. and
editions have the singular, and so have
all the ancient versions, though the
received text has the plural.
Sons of the alien, as in xviii. 44
[45]. 8. A RIGHT hand of lies, denoting
faithlessness to a solemn covenant, the
right hand being lifted up in the taldng
of an oath.

PSALM CXLIV.

441

9 0 God, a new song will I sing unto thee.
Upon a ten-stringed lute will I play unto thee,
10 Who giveth victory unto kings.
Who riddeth David his servant from the hurtful sword,
11 Rid me, and deliver me from the hand of strange persons,
Whose mouth hath spoken falsehood.
And whose right hand is a right hand of lies,
12 We whose ' sons are as plants
Grown up in their youth ;
Our daughters as corner-pillars.
Sculptured to grace a palace ;
13 Our garners '' full.
Affording all manner of store ;
Our sheep multiplying in thousands.
In ten thousands in our fields ;

9. The prayer for deliverance is fol
lowed by the promise of thankfulness
for the aid vouchsafed. The " new
song," however is not given.
O God. " The Elohim in this verse
is the only one in the last two books of
the Psalter, except in Ps. cviii., which
is a composite Psalm formed of two old
Davidic Elohistic Psalms, and therefore
clearly a weak attempt to reproduce the
old Davidic Elohistic style." — Delitzsch.
A NEW SONG. Comp. xxxiii. 3 ; xl.
3 [4]. Upon a ten-stringed lute,
xcii. 3 [4].
10. David HIS servant. Mentioned
here apparently as an example of all
kings and leaders, but with obvious
reference to xviii. .50 [51].
1 1 . This verse is repeated as a refrain
from ver. 7, 8.
12. The passage which follows to the
end is, as has already been remarked,
altogether unlike the rest of the Psalm.
For its grammatical construction see
Critical Note ; on its connection with
the preceding verses something has been
said in the introduction to the Psalm.
As plants. In a striking sermon
on this verse, the late Archdeacon Hare
says of the figure here employed, "There
vol.. II. 56

is something so palpable and striking
in this type, that, iive-and-twenty years
ago, in speaking of the gentlemanly
character, I was led to say, ' If a gentle
man is to grow up, he must grow like
a tree : there must be nothing between
him and heaven.' " This figure marks
the native strength and vigor and free
dom of the youth of the land, as the
next does the polished gracefulness, the
quiet beauty, of the maidens. They are
like the exquisitely-sculptured forms
(the Caryatides) which adorned the
corners of some magnificent hall or
chamber of a palace.
Corner-pillars ; lit. " corners "
(Zech. ix. 15).
To grace a palace ; lit. " (after) the
mode of structure of a palace."
13. All manner of store ; lit.
"from kind to kind." The word is i
late Aramaic word.
Multiplying ; lit. " bringing forth
thousands, multiplied into ten thou
sands," or " made ten thousands."
PiELDS. This (and not "streets,"
E.V.) is the meaning of the word here,
as in Job v. 10 ; Prov. viii. 26 ; and this
is in accordance with the root-meaning,
"places outside the city." "Field" ia

442

PSALM CXLIV.

14 Our oxen " well laden ;
No breach and no sallying forth,*
And no cry (of battle) in our streets.
15 Happy is the people that is in such a case ; *
Happy is the people which hath Jehovah for its God.

used in this sense in English : " By the
civil law the corpses of persons de
ceased were buried out of the city in the
fields." — Ayliffe, Parergon.
14. Every expression in this verse is
of doubtful interpretation.
Laden, or perhaps " our cattle great
with young," i.e. "fruitful," which ac
cords bettor with the preceding descrip
tion of the sheep. See more in Critical
Note. No BREACH. This is the obvious
meaning of the word: see ou Ix. 1, 2
[2, 3].
No sallying forth; lit. "going
out," which has been interpreted either
of " going forth to war," or " going
forth into captivity.'' This and the
previous expression, taken together,
most naturally denote a time of pro
found peace, when no enemy lies before
the walls, when there is no need to fear
the assault through the breach, no need
to sally forth to attack the besiegers.
Comp. Amos v. 3. The LXX have
Ste^oSos ; Symm., iK(popd ; Jerome, egres-
sus. Ainsworth, " none going out, i.e.

no cattle driven away by the enemy.
See Amos iv. 3."
Cry (op battle). Such seems the
probable meaning from the context ;
and so Calvin, clamor qui ex subito tu-
multu exoritur, and Clericus, pugnantium ;
or it may mean, generally, "cry of
sorrow," as in Jer. xiv. 2.
Streets, broad, open places, TrXaTeTo.
In Jer. v. 1, the E.V. has " broad places."
The whole passage (12-15) is a picture
of the most perfect, undisturbed peace
and tranquillity.
15. Happy. The temporal blessing
of prosperity, as a sign of God's favor,
is natural enough under the old dis
pensation. Calvin, however, says truly :
" Si quis objiciat nihil nisi crassum et
terrenum spirare, quod de felicitate
hominum aestimat ex caducis commodis :
respondco, haec duo conjunctim legenda
esse, beatos esse qui in sua abundantia
Deum sibi propitium sentiunt; et sic
ejus gratiam degustant in benedictio
nibus caducis ut de paterno ejus amore
persuasi, aspirent ad veram haeredi-
tatem."

° 'ncs . The relative at the beginning of this verse is very per
plexing. (1) The LXX, with their rendering wv ol vloi, would seem
to refer it to the enemy, " the strange persons " of the preceding
verse. But it is clear, from ver. 15, that the picture of ver. 12-14 is
a picture of the felicity of the Jewish nation under the protection of
Jehovah. (2) Hence De Wette and others would give to the rel
ative the meaning of " in order that," " so that," as in Gen. xi. 7 ; Deut.
iv. 40; 1 Kings xxii. 16; but then it must be followed by the finite
verb, whereas here we have nothing but participles. (3) It has been
suggested, therefore, to take the relative in the sense of " for,"
" because,'' as in Gen. xxxi. 49 ; Deut. iii. 24 ; but it is not clear how
what follows in this and the next verse can be alleged cts a reason for
the prayer of the previous verse. (4) Bunsen refers the relative to

PSALM CXLIV. 443
God, and supplies a verb : " Wlio maketh our sons like plants," but
does not attempt to defend the rendering. (5) Maurer joins the
relative with the sufiix of the following noun — certainly the most
obvious construction — but finds here the expression of a wish, to
which the form of the sentence (in participles) does not lend itself.
He connects the verses thus : " Save me, thy people, even us (ver. 11) ;
whose sons, may they be as plants,'' etc. (6) Ewald also keeps to
the common use of the relative, but connects it with ver. 15, ¦' We,
whose sons are, etc. . . . Oh, happy is the people that is in such a case."
And, supposing that the relative is to be retained, this is, on the whole,
the most satisfactory. Hupfeld, however, and others consider the
whole passage (12-15) as a fragment belonging to some other Psalm,
and here altogether out of place. Delitzsch suggests that perhaps
ver. 11, where the refrain is repeated, ought to be struck out. In
this case, however, the relative would naturally refer to God, and
then we should expect some verb to follow it.
[Kay renders, '• what time " ; but though ^dx may mean this, such
a sense is doubtful with the participle. The only other passage in
which ^rx stands with the participle, so far as I am aware, is Eccl.
viii. 12, where Dr. Ginsburg, after a careful discussion of the use of
the particle, renders " because." That sense, however, would not be
suitable here, and I am now inclined (3d ed.) to suggest the render
ing " whereas," as best suiting the context and the participle.]
'' f-^'I'o, a dir. Xey. from a sing, lia or >ilo (Ewald), and in either
case shortened from nMa . The Aram. ^T in the next line occurs again
2 Chron. xvi. 14, instead of 'j^a , which is the older word.
"= 'a ^¦'S^ix . The word means elsewhere " princes," " leaders,"
and Maurer, Fiirst, and others, would retain this meaning here : " Our
princes are set up, i.e. full of power and dignity." They appeal, for
this sense of D">V3pa , to the Chald. form in Ezra vi. 3. This inter
pretation accords with what follows, but not with what precedes.
After the mention of "sheep" (i;:il!ts, a form in which the 1 is evi
dence of late writing), it is more natural to take CSISN here as the
representative in the later language of the older c^E^x (viii. 8), oxen.
But assuming this to be the case, the meaning of 'Da is still doubtful.
It means laden or burdened, but how? (1) It has been explained to
mean " capable of bearing burdens," laboris patientes robusti (so the
Chald. and Kimchi), but it is doubtful whether the pass. part, can
bear this meaning. (2) " Laden, i.e. with the fruits of the land," as
an image of plenteousness ; or " laden with fat or flesh," and so
" strong," which comes to pretty much the same the thing as (1). So

444 PSALM CXLV.
the LXX, iraxeis, and so the Syr., Jerome, and most of the older in
terpreters. (3) Pregnant (laden with the fruit of the womb), as
descriptive of the fruitfulness of the herds : so Eos., Gesen., De Wette,
Ewald, Hitzig, Hupfeld. The chief objection to this is the masc. form
of the noun, but CjiiiiN , like "ij53 , may be epicene.
* nxs'li . App. here used as a noun, though strictly speaking the
fem. participle, as in Deut. xxviii. 57.
' fi33"ij . The same form occurs again Song of Sol. v. 9. The
UJ prefixed to ¦"iin"'^ is a solitary instance.

PSALM CXLV.

This is the last of the Alphabetical Psalms, of which there are
eight in all, if we reckon the ninth and tenth Psalms as forming one.
Like four other of the Alphabetical Psalms, this bears the name of
David, although there can in this case be no doubt that the inscription
is not to be trusted. As in several other instances, so here, the acros
tic arrangement is not strictly observed. The letter Nun (d) is
omitted. The LXX have supplied the deficiency by intercalating a
verse, nttrTos (3X5, as in cxi. 7) Kvpios iv tois Xoyots avrov, koX ocrioi
iv Trda-L rots l/iyots avrov ; but the latter part of this is taken from verse
17, and none of the other ancient versions, except the Syr. and those
which follow the LXX, recognize this addition.
This is the only Psalm which is called a Tehillah, i.e. " Praise" or
" Hymn," the plural of which word, Tehillim, is the general name for
the whole Psalter. The LXX render it aivtcns, Aquila vpvrjcrK, Sym
machus vjuvos, and '' Hymn " is given as the equivalent in the Midrash
on the Song of Solomon. In the Talmud (Berachoth, Ah) it is said :
" Every one who repeats the Tehillah of David thrice a day may be
sure that be is a child of the world to come. And why? Not merely
because the Psalm is alphabetical (for that the one hundred and nine
teenth is, and in an eightfold degree), nor only because it celebrates
God's care for all creatures (for that the great Hallel does, cxxxvi.
25), but because it unites both these qualities in itself."
[A Hymn of David.]
1 N I WILL, exalt thee my God, 0 King,
And I will bless thy name forever and ever.
1. Forever AND EVER. Not merely, cs< ; but the heart lifted up to God, and
as Calvin, etiamsi plura tecula victurus full of the thoughts of God, can no more

PSALM CXLV. 445
2 a Every day will I bless thee.
And I will praise thy narae forever and ever.
8 a Great is Jehovah, and highly to be praised,
And his greatness is unsearchable.
4 T One generation to another shall laud thy works,
And shall declare thy mighty acts.
5 n Of the glorious honor of thy majesty,'
And of thy wondrous works, will I meditate.
6 ") And men shall speak of the power of thy terrible acts,
And I will tell of thy greatness."
7 t The memory of thine abundant goodness" they shall utter.
And sing aloud of thy righteousness.
8 n Gracious and of tender compassion is Jehovah,
Long-suffering and of great loving-kindness.
9 ta Jehovah is good unto all.
And his tender compassions are over all his works.
10 ^ All thy works give thanks to thee, 0 Jehovah,
And thy beloved bless thee.
11 a They talk of the glory of thy kingdom.
And speak of thy might.
12 b To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts.
And the glorious majesty of his kingdom.
13 a Thy kingdom is a kingdom for all ages.
And thy dominion for all generations.
14 0 Jeliovah upholdeth all them that fall.
And raiseth up all those that be bowed down.
conceive that its praise should cease, 6. And I will tell, etc. ; lit. "and
than that God himself should cease to be. as for thy greatnesses (or great acts), I
3. Greatly to be praised, or will tell of every one of them."
" greatly praised " ; but see on xviii. 3. 7. TJtter; lit. it is "pour forth,"
5. Of the glorious honor, etc., the same word as in xix. 2 [3] ; lix. 7
or " of the majesty of the glory of thine [8], where see Note.
honor." 14- The glory, the majesty, the
Thy wondrous works ; lit. " the eternity of God's kingdom, of which so
words of thy wondrous works." Comp. much has been said — how are they
Ixv. 3 [4] . manifested ? Where is the conspicuous
Meditate, or, perhaps, " rehearse " ; excellence of that kingdom seen ? Not
i.e. in poetry. "The E.V. commonly in the symbols of earthly pride and
" talk of." power, but in gracious condescension

446 PSALM CXLVI.
15 j> The eyes of all wait upon thee.
And thou givest them their food in its season ;
16 D Opening thine hand,
And satisfying the desire of every living thing.
17 ir Jehovah is righteous in all his ways.
And loving in all his works.
18 p Jehovah is nigh to all them that call upon him.
To all who call upon him in truth.
19 -[ He fulfilleth the desire of them that fear him.
And when he heareth their cry he helpeth them.
20 -a Jehovah keepeth all them that love him.
But all the wicked will he destroy.
21 n Let my mouth speak the praise of Jehovah,
And let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.
to the fallen and the crushed, in a gra- 16. Satisfying the desire; lit.
clous care which provides for the wants "satisfying every living thing with (the
of every living thing. (We have here object of) its desire," or, "satisfying
a resumption and expansion of the every living thing with favor,'' see Deut.
thoughts in ver. 8, 9.) xxxiii. 23 ; but in the nineteenth verse
All them that fall. Others, of this Psalm it seems quite clear that
" them that are ready to fall ; " but see " desire " is the proper rendering. The
xxxvii. 24. Prayer-book version has " with plen-
1.5. This verse, and the first clause of teousness."
the next, are taken from civ. 27, 28.
" -jimins. The K'thibh is in the plur., which has been very un
necessarily corrected to the sing., because of the following singular
suffix, which, however, is not uncommon with the plur. (see, for
instance, 2 Kings iii. 3 ; x. 26), and here, moreover, can be readily
explained as distributive, especially as the sing, suffix follows.
*• '^a^B-a'i . The adj. is irregularly prefixed, possibly, as Hengst.
suggests, because it forms one word with the noun following =:»iucA-
goodness. Kimchi, Ros.; Olsh., Delitzsch, would take yi as a subst.,
for dS , but according to the analogy of xxxi. 20 ; Isa. Ixiii. 7, it must
be an adj.

PSALM CXLVI.

This Psalm is the first of another series of Hallelujah Psalms, with
which the book closes. Certain of the words and phrases seem to
connect it with the one hundred and forty-fifth ; others are borrowed

PSALM CXLVL 447
from the one hundred and fourth and one hundred and eighteenth.
The LXX ascribe it, as they do the one hundred and thirty-eighth
and the next two Psalms (or the next three, according to their reckon
ing, for they divide the one hundred and forty-seventh into two),. to
Haggai and Zechariah ('AXXr/Xou'ia- 'Ayyaiou xai ZaxapCov). It is by
no means improbable that this inscription represents an ancient tra
dition, for nothing would be more natural than that these prophets
should directly or indirectly have contributed to the liturgy of the
second temple, to which these Psalms so evidently belong. Later
they formed, together with Psalms cxlix. and cl., a portion of the
daily morning prayer ; they also had the name of " Hallel " though
expressly distinguished from " the Hallel," which was to be sung at
the Passover and the other feasts.
The Psalm bears evident traces, both in style and language, and
also in its allusions to other Psalms, of belonging to the post-exile
literature ; and the words of verses 7-9 are certainly no inapt expres
sion of the feelings which would naturally be called forth at a time
immediately subsequent to the return from the captivity.
It has an exhortation to trust not in man (ver. 3, 4), but in Jehovah
alone (ver. 5), — an exhortation enforced by the exhibition of Jehovah's
character and attributes as the one really worthy object of trust
(ver. 6-9), and confirmed by the fact that his kingdom does not con
tain the seeds of weakness ^nd dissolution, like all earthly kingdoms,
but is eternal as he is eternal (ver. 10).
Hallelujah !
1 Praise Jehovah, 0 my soul !
2 I will praise Jehovah as long as I live,
I will play (on the harp) unto my God while I have any
being.
3 Trust not in princes,
(Nor) in the son of man, in whom there is no help.
4 His breath goeth forth ; he turneth to his earth.
In that very day his thoughts perish.
2. While I have any being ; lit. circumstances of the nation after their
"while I yet (am)." See civ. 33. Not return from Babylon. See on cxviii.
in this song only will he utter his praise, 8, 9.
but " his life shall be a thanksgiving No help, or " no salvation.'' Comp.
unto the power that made him." xxxiii. 16 ; Ix. 11 [13].
3. Trust not in princes. A warn- 4. His breath, etc., or, " When his
ing which might be called forth by the breath goeth forth, he turneth," etc.,

448

PSALM CXLVI.

5 Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help,
Whose hope (rests) upon Jehovah his God,
6 Who made heaven and earth.
The sea and all that therein is ;
Who keepeth truth forever ;
7 (Who) executeth judgment for the oppressed,
(Who) giveth bread to the hungry :
Jehovah looseth the prisoners,
8 Jehovah openeth the eyes of the blind,
Jehovah raiseth up them that are bowed down ;
Jehovah loveth the righteous ;

the two apocopated forms indicating
perhaps that the two clauses are protasis
and apodosis.
His breath. Comp. civ. 29. And,
with his breath, his thoughts, or,
" purposes," or " schemes," though this
is a modern word in this sense (a Chald.
word for which we have the Hebrew
equivalent in Job xii. 5), however grand
the conception, however masterly the
execution, all come to an end. The
science, the philosophy, the statesman
ship of one age is exploded in the next.
The men who are the masters of the
world's intellect to-day are discrowned
to-morrow. In this age of restless and
rapid change they may survive their
own thoughts : their thouL;hts do not
survive them. There is an almost exact
parallel in 1 Mace. ii. 63.
5. PoR HIS help. The predicate is
introduced by the preposition (the Beth
essentiae, as the grammarians term it),
as in xxxv. 2, for instance.
6. Who made (as in cxv. 15 ; cxxi.
2; cxxiv. 8; cxxxiv. 3, this designation
of God being characteristic of the later
Psalms). First, he is an Almighty God,
as the Creator of the universe ; next,
he is a faithful God ("who keepeth truth
forever ") ; further, he is a righteous God
(ver. 7), a bountiful God (ib.), a, gracious
God (ver. 7-9).
Who keepeth. In the series of
participles marking the several acts or
attributes of God in this and the next
two verses, this only has the article pre

fixed, perhaps because the Psalmist de
signed to give a certain prominence or
emphasis to this attribute of God, that
he is one " who keepeth truth forever."
It is, in fact, the central thought of the
Psalm. For, on this ground beyond all
others, is God the object of trust. He is
true, and bis word is truth, and that word
he keeps, not for a time, but forever.
7-9. These verses portray God's char
acter as a ruler. It is such a God who
is Zion's King (ver. 10). Such an one
men may trust, for be is not like the
princes of the earth (ver. 3).
7. Looseth the prisoners. Comp.
Isa. Ixi. 1. Delitzsch quotes a curious
instance of the allegorical interpretation
of these words from Joseph Albo, who
in his Dogmatics (bearing date 1425),
sect. ii. cap. 16, maintaining against
Maimonidcs that the ceremonial law
was not of perpetual obligation, appeals
to the Midrash Tanchuma, which in
terprets this loosing of the prisoners as
an allowing of what had once been
forbidden. 8. Openeth the eyes; lit. "open
eth the blind," i.e. maketh them to see.
The expression may be used figuratively,
as a remedy applied either to physical
helplessness, as Deut. xxviii. 29 ; Isa.
lix. 9, 10; Job xii. 25; or to spiritual
want of discernment, as Isa. xxix. 18;
xhi. 7, 18; xliii. 8. Here the context
favors the former.
Raiseth up. This word only occurs
once besides (cxiv. 14).

PSALM CXLVn. 449
9 Jehovah, keepeth the strangers.
He setteth up the widow and the fatherless.
But the way of the wicked he turneth aside.
10 Jehovah shall be King forever.
Thy God, 0 Zion, unto all generations.
Hallelujah !
9. The strangers . . . the widow He turneth aside, rendered by the
. . . the fatherless, the three great E.V. in Ecclesiastes, " made crooked."
examples of natural defcncelessness. That which happens in the course of
" Valde gratus mihi est hie Psalmus," God's providence, and as the inevitable
says Bakius, " ob Trifolium illud Dei : result of his righteous laws, is usually
Advenas, Pupillos, et Viduas, versu uno ascribed in Scripture to his immediate
Inculentissime depictum, id quod in agency.
toto Psalterio nuUibi tit." 10. Shall be Kino. See introduc-
Setteth up, the same word as in tion to xcix.
cxlvii. 6.

PSALM CXLVII.

Like the last Psalm, and like those which follow it, this is evidently
an anthem intended for the service of the second temple. It cele
brates God's almighty and gracious rule over his people and over the
world of nature, but mingles with this a special commemoration of
his goodness in bringing back bis people from their captivity and re
building the walls of Jerusalem. In the allusions to these events in
verses 2, 3, and verses 13, 14, we shall probably be justified in seeing
the occasion of the Psalm. It may have been written for the dedica
tion of the wall of Jerusalem, which, as we learn from Neh. xii. 27,
was kept " with gladness, both with thanksgivings and with singing,
with cymbals, psalteries, and with harps." It is, indeed, not improbable,
as Hengstenberg suggests, that not this Psalm only, but the rest of
the Psalms to the end of the book, are all anthems originally com
posed for the same occasion. The wall had been built under circum
stances of no ordinary difiiculty and discouragement (Neh. ii. 17-iv.
23) ; its completion was celebrated with no common joy aud thank
fulness ; " foi; God had made them rejoice with great joy ; the wives
also and the children had rejoiced ; so that the joy of Jerusalem was
heard even afar off." See Neh. xii. 27-43.
The Psalm cannot be said to have any regular strophical arrange-
VOL. II. 57

450

PSALM CXLVIL

ment, but the renewed exhortations to praise in verses 7, 12, suggest
a natural division of the Psalm. It is a Trifolium of praise.
The LXX divide the Psalm into two parts, beginning a new Psalm
at verse 12.
1 Hallelujah! For it is good to sing ' unto our God,
Por it is sweet ; comely is the hymn of praise.
2 Jehovah doth build up Jerusalem,
He gathereth together the outcasts of Israel ;
3 Who healeth the broken in heart.
And bindeth up their wounds ;
4 Who telleth the number of the stars,
He giveth names unto them all.
5 Great is our Lord, and of great power.
His understanding is infinite.

1. This verse might perhaps be better
rendered with the change of a single
consonant : " Praise ye Jah, for he is
good; sing unto our God, for he is
lovely ; comely is the hymn of praise."
Comp. cxx.xv. 3; xxxiii. 1. See more
in Critical Note.
2. Doth build up. With reference
to the rebuilding of the walls after the
captivity, as in cxxii. 3.
Gathereth together. A verb
found in this conjugation only (Ezek.
xxii. 20 [21] ; xxxix. 28), and in the
latter passage with the same reference
as here.
Outcasts ; lit. " those who are thrust
out, driven away." Symm., eleuff/ieVous,
whereas the LXX express the sense
more generally, ras hiaairopds. It is
the same word as in Isa. xi. 12 ; Ivi. 8.
3. Broken in heart. As in xxxiv.
18 [19] ; Isa. Ixi. 1, where, however, the
participle is Niphal.
4. Who telleth the number ; lit.
" apportioneth a number to the stars."
This is adduced as a proof of the om
niscience and omnipotence of God, and
hence as a ground of consolation to his
people, however they may have been
scattered, and however they may have
been oppressed. Surely he must know,
he must be able to succor, human woe,

to whom it is an easy thing to count
those stars which are beyond man's
arithmetic (Gen. xv. 5). The argument
is precisely the same as in Isa. xl. 26-29,
" Lift up your eyes and see : Who hath
created these things ? It is he that
bringeth out their host by number, who
calleth them all {by) name. For abundance
of power, and because he is mighty in
strength, not one faileth. Why sayest
thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel,
my way is hid from Jehovah, and my
cause is passed away from my God?
Hast thou not known, hast thou not
heard? An everlasting God is Jehovah,
who created' the ends of the earth. He
fainteth not, neither is weary ; there is
no searching of his understanding. He
giveth to the weary strength, and to
them that have no power be increaseth
might," etc. The jiassages in italics
will show how evidently the words of
the. prophet were in the mind of the
Psalmist. Giveth names, an expression mark
ing not only God's power in marshalling
them all as a host (Isa. xl. 26), but also
the most intimate knowledge and the
most watchful care, as that of a shepherd
for his flock (John x. 3). Por the idiom
see Gen. ii.
5. Of great power: lit. "abound-

PSALM CXLVn.

451

6 Jehovah setteth up the afflicted.
He casteth the wicked down to the ground.
7 Sing unto Jehovah with thanksgiving.
Play upon the harp unto our God ;
8 Who covereth the heaven with clouds.
Who prepareth rain for the earth.
Who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains ;
9 (Who) giveth to the cattle their fodder,
(And) to the young ravens which cry.
10 Not in the strength of an horse doth he delight.
Not in the legs of a man doth he take pleasure ;
11 Jehovah taketh pleasure in them that fear him.
In them that hope for his loving-kindness.
12 Laud Jehovah, 0 Jerusalem,
Praise thy God, 0 Zion ;
13 For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates.
He hath blessed thy children in the midst of thee ;

ing in power," as in Isa. xl. 26, " mighty
in strength," though there perhaps the
epithet applies to the stars, unless indeed,
we may take the use of the phrase here
as deciding its application there.
His understanding is infinite;
lit. " to (of) his understanding there is
no number," apparently, in the Hebrew,
play on ver. 4, where it is said "He
telleth the number," etc., whereas both
in cxiv. 3 and Isa. xl. 28 it is, " there
is no searching." Comp. Rom. xi. 33,
ive^iXvicuTToi at i^ol avrov.
6. The same Lord who with infinite
power and unsearchable wisdom rules
the stars in their courses, rules also the
world of man. The history of the world
is a mirror both of his love and of his
righteous anger. His rule and his order
are a correction of man's anarchy and
disorder. 7. A fresh burst of praise because of
G.id's fatherly care, as shown in his
provision for the wants of the cattle and
the fowls of the air. And as he feeds
the ravens (comp. Luke xii. 24), which
have neither storehouse nor barn, but

only cry to him for their food (Job
xxxviii. 41), so amongst men (ver. 10)
his delight is not in those who trust in
their own strength and swiftness, but
in those who look to him, fear him, put
their trust in his goodness. In ver. 8
the LXX have added, from civ. 14,
" and herb for the service of men,"
whence it has found its way into our
Prayer-book version. But here this
addition is out of place, and disturbs
the order of thought. It is not till ver.
10, 11, that man is introduced.
9. Which cry, or, " when they
cry." 12. Again the Psalmist begins his
hymn of praise, and now with a direct
reference to the rebuilding of Jerusalem,
and the bright prospect which seemed
to dawn upon the nation after its res
toration. 13. Hath strengthened the bars
OF thy^ gates. The expression might
certainly denote figuratively (as Hupfeld
says) the security of the city; but, as
the Psalm so evidently refers to the
return from the captivity and the re-

452

PSALM CXLVn.

14 Who maketh thy border peace,
(And) satisfieth thee with the fat of wheat ;
15 Who sendeth forth his commandment upon earth :
His word runneth very swiftly ;
16 Who giveth snow like wool,
(And) scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes ;
17 (Who) casteth forth his ice like morsels :
Who can stand before his frost ?
18 He sendeth his word, and melteth them.
He causeth his wind to blow (and the) waters flow.
19 He declareth his word unto Jacob,
His statutes and his judgments unto Israel.
20 He hath not dealt so with any nation ;
And as for (his) judgments, they do not know them.
Hallelujah !

building of Jerusalem (ver. 2), there
can be little doubt that there is here a
direct and literal reference to the setting
up of the gates as described in Neh. vii.
1-4. With the latter part of the verse
Comp. the promise in Isa. Ix. 17, 18,
" I will also make thy officers peace . . .
violence shall no more be heard in thy
land, wasting nor destruction within
thy borders, but thou shalt call thy walls
Salvation, and thy gates Praise."
14. Fat op wheat. See on Ixxi.
16 [17].
15-18. This repeated reference to
God's power as manifested in the world
is certainly remarkable, and is charac
teristic of these later Psalms. It may,
perhaps, be accounted for by the fact
that never had so strong a conviction
laid hold of the national heart, of the
utter impotence of all the gods of the
heathen, as after the return from the
exile; never, therefore, so triumphant
and living a sense of the dominion of
Jehovah, not in Israel only, but through
out the universe.
1 5. His commandment, or " saying,"

with reference perhaps to the creative
fiat, "And God said " ; comp. xxxiii. 9.
God is said to " send " this as his mes
senger, as in ver. 18 of this Psalm, and
cvii. 20, where see note.
16. Snow like wool, etc. The
point of the comparison is probably
merely in the general resemblance of
the snow, frost, ice, to the diflferent ob
jects mentioned, not in " the ease with
which God accomplishes the greatest
things as man does the least, such as
causing some locks of wool to fly, or
scattering a few ashes" (Hengst.).
19. God's works in nature are for all
men ; " He maketh his sun to rise on
the evil and on the good, and sendeth
rain on the just and on the unjust"
(Matt. v. 45) ; but there is a special
privilege belonging to his chosen people.
They, and they alone in the world,
have received the lively oracles of his
mouth. Comp. Rom. iii. 1,2. " What
advantage then hath the Jew? . . . Much
every way : first, because that unto
them were committed the oracles of
God."

° rrnai . This, as it stands, must be a fem. infin. Piel, and as such
it is usually defended by ST^tpi;, Lev. xxvi. 18, the only other uistance

PSALM CXLVUL 453
of such a form ; but Hupfeld contends that such fem. infin. in the
Piel and Hiph. ought to be of the forms nbcp and rbti^fi , as in
Aramaic. He also objects that aia 'B cannot mean " for it is good,"
but " for he is good," the adjective being always predicated of God,
and he appeals especially to the parallel passage, cxxxv. 3. Further,
according to the usual rendering, the second hemistitch of the verse con
sists of two verses dependent on ¦'3, yet unconnected with one another ;
and in the next verse the construction is carried on with a participle,
which implies that Jehovah is already the subject of the previous
verse. Hence, unless fr^H] is imperat. paragog. sing., instead of plur.
(which here would be a harsh enallage of number), we must either
read snat (so Ven., Olsh.) or iT^atX , with the same change from the
3d pers. to the 1st as in cxiv. 6. The Athnach is wrongly placed : it
should clearly stand with diss , not with Wnix .

PSALM CXLVIII.

In this splendid anthem the Psalmist calls upon the whole creation,
in its two great divisions (according to the Hebrew conception) of
heaven and earth, to praise Jehovah. Things with and things without
hfe, beings rational and irrational, are summoned to join the mighty
chorus. The Psalm is an expression of the loftiest devotion, and
embraces at the same time the most comprehensive view of the rela
tion of the creature to the Creator. Whether it is exclusively the
utterance of a heart filled to the full with the thought of the infinite
majesty of God, or whether it is also an anticipation, a prophetic
forecast, of the final glory of creation, when, at the manifestation of
the sons of God, the creation itself shall also be redeemed from the
bondage of corruption (Rom. viii. 18-23), and the homage of praise
shall indeed be rendered by all things that are in heaven and earth
and under the earth, is a question into which we need not enter. The
former seems to my mind the more probable view ; but the other is as
old as Hillary, who sees the end of the exhortation of the Psalm to
be, " Ut ob depulsam saeculi vanitatem creatura omnis, ex magnis
ofiiciorum suorum laboribus absoluta, et in beato regno aeternitatis
aliquando respirans, Deum suum et laeta predicat et quieta, et ipsa
secundum Apostolum in gloriam beatae aeternitatis assumpta."
Isaac Taylor says : '¦ It is but faintly and afar off that the ancient
liturgies (except so far as they merely copied their originals) come up
to the majesty and the wide copjpass of the Hebrew worship, such as

454 PSALM CXLVIII.
it is indicated in the one hundred and forty-eighth Psalm. Neither
Ambrose, nor Gregory, nor the Greeks, have reached or approached
this level ; and in tempering the boldness of their originals by admix
tures of what is more Christianlike and spiritual, the added elements
sustain an injury which is not compensated by what they bring forward
of a purer or less earthly kind. Feeble, indeed, is the tone of these
anthems of the ancient church ; sophisticated or artificial is their style.
Nor would it be possible — it has never yet seemed so — to Chris
tianize the Hebrew anthems, retaining their power, their earth-like
richness, and their manifold splendors — which are the very splendors
and the true riches and the grandeur of God's world — and withal
attempered with expressions that touch to the quick the warmest
human sympathies. And as the enhancement of all these there is the
nationality, there is that fire which is sure to kindle fire in true human
hearts — ' He showeth his word unto Jacob,
His statutes and his judgments unto Israel.
He hath not dealt so with any nation ;
As for his judgments, they have not known them.'
[From the close of the one hundred and forty-seventh Psalm]." —
Spirit of the Hebrew Poetry, pp. 157, 158.
The earliest imitation of this Psalm is " The Song of the Three
Children," interpolated by the LXX into the third chapter of Daniel.
The Hymm of Francis of Assisi, in which he calls upon the creatures
to praise God, propter honorabilem fratrem nostrum solem, has also
been compared with it, though there is really no comparison between
the two. The same Francis, who thus calls the sun our " honorable
brother,'' could also address a cricket as his sister, " Canta, soror mea
cicada, et Dominum creatorem tuum jubilo lauda." But neither in this
Psalm, nor elsewhere in Scripture, is this brotherly and sisterly rela
tion of things inanimate and irrational to man recognized or imphed.
The Psalm consists of two equal parts :
I. The praise of God in heaven (ver. 1-6).
II. The praise of God on earth (ver. 7-12).
1 Hallelujah !
0 praise Jehovah from the heavens.
Praise him in the heights.
1. Prom the heavens. This first ing all afterwards enumerated, angels,
verse is not to be restrictsd merely to sun, and moon, etc.
the angels. It is the preUde compris- 2. His host. Here, as is plain from

PSALM CXLVm.

455

2 Praise ye him, all his angels.
Praise him, all his host.
3 Praise him, sun and moon.
Praise him, all ye stars of light.
4 Praise him, ye heavens of heavens.
And ye waters, that be above the heavens.
5 Let them praise the name of Jeliovah,
For HE commanded, and they were created ;
6 And he made them to stand (fast) forever and ever.
He hath given them a decree, and they transgress it not.
7 Oh praise Jehovah from the earth,
Te sea-monsters and all deeps ;
8 Fire and hail, snow and vapor.
Stormy wind fulfilling his word ;
9 Ye mountains, and all hills.
Fruit-trees, and all cedars ;

the parallelism, " the angels," as also
in 1 Kings xxii. 19, though elsewhere
the expression is used of the stars, and
some would so understand it here.
4. Heavens of heavens. A su
perlative, according to the common
Hebrew idiom, denoting " the highest
heavens" ; comp. 2 Cor. xii. 2. Others
take it as a poetical way of expressing
the apparently boundless depth of the
heavens. So Luther, " Ihr Himmel al-
lenthalben"; Maurer, "Omniacoelorum
spatia utut vasta et infinita," an inter
pretation which perhaps derives some
support from the phrase, " the heaven
and the heaven of heavens" (Deut. x.
14; 1 Kings viii. 27).
Waters . . . above the heavens,
as in Gen. i. 7. This is usually ex
plained of the clouds, though the form
of expression cannot be said to favor
such an explanation, nor yet the state
ment in Genesis, that the firmament or
(expanse was intended to separate the
waters above from the waters below.
Taken in their obvious meaning, the
words must point to the existence of a
vast heavenly sea or reservoir. How
ever, it is quite out of place, especially

when dealing with language so evidently
poetical as this, to raise any question
as to its scientific accuracy.
5. He commanded. The LXX add
here from the parallel passage (xxxiii.
9), the other clause, " He spake, and it
was done," or, as they render, "... and
they were made."
6. And they transgress it not;
lit. " and none of them transgresses it " ;
for the verb is in the singular, and there
fore distributive. Others, as the E.V.,
following the LXX, Jerome, the Syriac,
etc., " a law which shall not pass," or
" shall not be broken." The objection
to this is, that the verb is never used
elsewhere of the passing away of a
law, but always of the transgression
of a law.
7. The second great division of created
things, — that is, according to the Old
Testament view, the earth.
Sea-monsters, mentioned first, as at
the bottom of the scale in creation, as
in Gen. i. 21.
8. Fire, i.e. " lightning," as in xviii.
12 [13], where it is in like manner joined
with hail.
Vapor, or, perhaps rather, " smoke,"

456

PSALM CXLVIII.

10 Beasts, and all cattle,
Creeping things, and winged fowl ;
11 Kings of the earth, and all peoples.
Princes, and all judges of the earth ;
12 Both young men, and maidens.
Old men, and children :
13 Let them praise the name of Jehovah,
For his name only is exalted.
His majesty above earth and heaven.
14 And he hath lifted up the horn of his people, —
A praise to all his beloved, —
(Even) to the children of Israel, a people near unto
him.
Hallelujah !

answering to " fire," as " snow " to
" hail." Stormy wind, as in cvii. 25.
11, 12. Man mentioned last, as the
crown of all. The first step (see ver. 7)
and the last are the same as in Gen. i.
In the intervening stages, with the usual
poetic freedom, the order of Genesis is
not adhered to.
13. Let them praise, exactly as at
the close of the first great division of
the anthem (ver. 5); and, in the same
way as there, the reason for the exhor
tation follows in the next clause. But
it is a diflferent reason. It is no longer
because he has given them a decree,
bound them as passive unconscious crea
tures by a law which they cannot trans
gress. (It is the fearful mystery of the
reasonable will that it can transgress
the law.) It is because his name is ex
alted, so that the eyes of men can see
and the hearts and tongues of men con
fess it ; it is because he has graciously
revealed himself to, and mightily suc
cored, the people whom he loves, the

nation who are near to him. If it be
said, that what was designed to be a
universal anthem is thus narrowed at
its close, it must be remembered that,
however largely the glory of God was
written on the visible creation, it was
only to the Jew that any direct revela
tion of his character had been made.
Exalted. Isa. xii. 4, etc. ; xxx. 13.
14. Lifted up the horn. See on
Ixxv. 6 ; others, " hath lifted up a horn
unto his people,'' the horn being the
house of David.
A PRAISE. This may either be (1 )
in apposition with the whole previous
sentence ; viz. the lifting up of the horn
is " a praise," a glory, to his beloved
(comp. Isa. Ixi. 3, 11 ; Ixii. 7) ; or (2)
in apposition with the subject of the
previous verb, God himself is " a praise
(i.e. object of praise) to," etc. So the
LXX, S/ivos ; Jerome, laus. So the
Prayer-book version gives the sense :
" all his saints shall praise him."
Near unto him, as a holy people
(Deut. iv. 7). Comp. Lev. x. 3.

PSALM CXLIX. 457

PSALM CXLIX.
The feelings expressed in this Psalm are perfectly in accordance
with the time and the circumstances to which we have already referred
the whole of this closing group of Hallelujah Psalms, beginning with
the one hundred and forty-sixth. It breathes the spirit of intense joy
and eager hope which must have been in the very nature of things
characteristic of the period which succeeded the return from the Baby
lonish captivity. Men of strong faith and religious enthusiasm and
fervent loyalty must have felt that in the very fact of the restoration
of the people to their own land was to be seen so signal a proof of the
divine favor, that it could not but be regarded as a pledge of a glorious
future yet in store for the nation. The burning sense of wrong, the
purpose of a terrible revenge, which was the feeling uppermost when
they had first escaped from their oppressors (as in Psalm cxxxvii.),
was soon changed into the hope of a series of magnificent victories
over all the nations of the world, and the setting up of a universal
dominion. It is such a hope which is expressed here. The old days
of the nation, and the old martial spirit, are revived. God is their
King (ver. 2), and they are his soldiers, going forth to wage his
battles, with his praises in their mouth and a two-edged sword iu their
hands. A spirit which now seems sanguinary and revengeful had, it
is not too much to say, its proper function under the Old Testament,
and was not only natural but necessary, if that small nation was to
maintain itself against the powerful tribes by which it was hemmed
in on all sides. But it ought to require no proof that language like
that of verses 6—9 of this Psalm is no warrant for the exhibition of a
similar spirit in the Christian church.
"The dream that it was possible to use such a prayer as this,
without a spiritual transubstantiation of the words, has made them the
signal for some of the greatest crimes with which the church has ever
been stained. It was by means of this Psalm that Casper Sciopius in
his 'Clarion of the Sacred War' (Classicum Belli Sacri), a work
written, it has been said, not with ink, but with blood, roused and in
flamed the Roman Catholic princes to the Thirty Year's War. It
washy means of this Psalm that, in the Protestant community, Thomas
Miinzer fanned the flames of the War of the Peasants. We see
from these and other instances that when in her interpretation
of such a Psalm the church forgets the words of the apostle, 'the
weapons of our warfare are not carnal.' (2 Cor. x. 4), she falls back
VOL. II. 58

i58 PSALM CXLIX.
upon the ground of the Old Testament, beyond which she has long
since advanced, — ground which even the Jews themselves do not
venture to maintain, because they cannot altogether withdraw them
selves from the influence of the light which has dawned in Christianity,
and which condemns the vindictive spirit. The church of the Old
Testament, which, as the people of Jehovah, was at the same time
called to wage a holy war, had a right to express its hope of the
universal conquest and dominion promised to it, in such terms as those
of this Psalm ; but, since Jerusalem and the seat of the Old Testament
worship have perished, the national form of the church has also forever
been broken in pieces. The church of Christ is built up among and
out of the nations ; but neither is the church a nation, nor will ever
again one nation be the church, Kar i^oxqv. Therefore the Christian
must transpose the letter of this Psalm into the spirit of the New Tes
tament." — Delitzsch.
1 Hallelujah! 0 sing to Jehovah a new song.
His praise in the congregation of (his) beloved.
2 Let Israel rejoice in him that made him,"
Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King;
3 Let them praise his name in (the) dance.
With tabret and harp let them play unto him ;
4 For Jehovah taketh pleasure in his people.
He beautifieth the afflicted with salvation.
5 Let (his) beloved exult with glory.
Let them sing for joy upon their beds ;
1. A new song. As expressive of 4. Taketh pleasure, as has been
all the new hopes and joys of a new shown by their restoration to their own
era, a new spring of the nation, a new land. Comp. Isa. Hv. 7, 8.
youth of the church bursting forth into Beautifieth. Comp., as having
a new life. the same reference to the change in the
(His) EELOViiD, or, "them that love condition of the nation, Isa. Iv. 5; Ix.
him"; see on xvi. 10. A name re- 7,9,13; Ixi. 3.
peated ver. 5 and 9, and therefore char- 5. With glory, or it might be ren-
acteristic of the Psalm. dered " because of (the) glory (put upon
2. In their King. God again is them)."
claimed emphatically as the King of the Upon their beds. Even there, even
nation, when they had no longer a king when they have laid themselves down
sitting on David's throne. SuchaKing to rest, let them break forth into joyful
will not leave them under foreign rule ; songs at the thought of God's hitrh
he will break the yoke of every oppressor favor shown to them, in the anticipation
from their neck. of the victories which they shall achieve.

PSALM CXLIX.

459

6 (With) the high " (praises) of God in their mouth,
And a two-edged sword in their hand ;
7 To execute vengeance on the nations,
(And) punishments on the people ;
8 To bind their kings with chains.
And their nobles with iron fetters ;
9 To execute upon them (the) judgment written.
It is an honor for all his beloved.
Hallelujah !

This appears to me to be the obvious
and most simple explanation. Maurer,
" Tam privata quam publicasit laetitia."
Hengstenberg, " Upon their beds, — where
before, in the lonoiiness of night, they
consumed themselves with grief for their
shame." Comp. Hos. vii. 14.
6. A revival of the old military spirit
of the nation, of which we have an
instance Neh. iv. 17 [11], "With the
one hand they did their work, and with
the other they held the sword." But a
still better parallel is 2 Mace. xv. 27,
Tois jLtec x^po'ii' ayaivi^ofievot. Tats 5e Kap-
Siats irphs rhv Qehv e'jx<i/u€»'oi.
Mouth. Heb. "throat," probably
intended to express the loud utterance.
9. (The) judgment WRITTEN. This
has been explained to mean the judg
ment written in the law, and that either
(1) the extermination of the Canaanites,
as a pattern for all future acts of righ
teous vengeance (Stier); or (2), in a
more general sense, such judgments as
those threatened in Deut. xxxii. 40-43.
Comp. Isa. xlv. 14; Ezek. xxv. 14;
xxxviii., xxxix. ; Zech. xiv. But the
extermination of the Canaanites could
not be regarded as a typical example,
forthe Jews were not sent to exterminate
other nations, nor is any such measure
" liii;:) . This has been usually taken as a plur., adapting itself to
DTibx : but it is rather sing, (with the usual substitution of "^ for ti, in
verbs ""i), and particularly in this participle, Job xxxv. 10; Isa.
liv. 5. So Hupfeld and Ewald, Lehrb. § 256 J, and so also Gesen.
m the latest editions of his Grammar.
" ninai"! , infin. subst. from na'ii : see on Ixvi. note '.

hinted at here. Nor, again, if by " writ
ten " we understand " prescribed in the
law," is the allusion to Deut. xxxii.
40-44 and similar passages more prob
able; for in those passages vengeance
on the enemies of Israel is not enjoined,
but God speaks of it as his own act.
Hence others understand by "a judg
ment written," one in accordance with
the divine will as written in Scripture,
as opposed to selfish aims and passions
(so Calvin). But perhaps it is better
to take it as denoting a judgment fixed,
settled — as committed to writing, so as
to denote its permanent, unalterable
character — written thus by God him
self. As in Isa. Ixv. 6, God says, " Be
hold it is written before me : I will not
keep silence, but will recompense, even
recompense into their bosom."
It IS AN HONOR. That is, the sub
jection of the world described in the
previous verses. But perhaps it is
better to take the pronoun as referring
to God : " He is a glory to .all," etc. ;
i.e. either (1) his glory and majesty are
reflected in his people ; or (2) he is the
author and fountain of their glory ; or
(3) he is the glorious object of their
praise.

460 PSALM CL.

PSALM CL.
The great closing hallelujah, or doxology, of the Psalter, in which
every kind of musical instrument is to bear its part as well as the
voice of man, in which not one nation only, but " everything that hath
breath," is invited to join. It is one of those Psalms which " declare
their own intention as anthems, adapted for that public worship which
was the glory and delight of the Hebrew people ; a worship carrying
with it the soul of the multitude by its simple majesty and by the
powers of music, brought in their utmost force to recommend the
devotions of earth in the ears of Heaven." " Take it," says Isaac Taylor,
" as a sample of this class, and bring the spectacle and the sounds into
one, for the imagination to rest in. It wiis evidently to subserve the
purposes of music that these thirteen verses are put together : it was
no doubt to give effect first to the human voice, and then to the alter
nations of instruments — loud and tender and gay — with the graceful
movements of the dance, that the anthem was composed and its chorus
brought out, ' Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord !
Praise ye the Lord ! '
And so did the congregated thousands take up their part with a shout,
' even as the voice of many waters.' " — Spirit of the Hebrew Poetry,
pp. 156, 157.
I Hallelujah !
Oh praise God in his sanctuary.
Praise him in the firmament of his strength.
2 Praise him for his mighty acts,
Praise him according to his excellent greatness.
3 Praise him with the sound of the cornet.
Praise him with lute and harp.
1. In his sanctuary. This may be and majesty are displayed. Comp.
either the earthly or the heavenly temple. Ixviii. 34 [35].
The character of the Psalm as a litur- 3. Cornet, properly the curved in-
gical anthem would seem to show that strument made of a ram's horn (see on
the former is meant; the parallelism Ixxxi. 3), and distinct from the straight
would favor the latter. See xi. 4, where metal trumpet, though in the Talmud
there is the same ambiguity. it is said that after the destruction ot
Firmament of his strength, i.e. the temple the distinction of names
the heaven in which his kingly power was no longer observed.

PSALM CL.

461

4 Praise him with tabret and dance.
Praise him upon the strings and pipe.
5 Praise him upon the clear cymbals.
Praise him upon the loud cymbals.
6 Let everything that hath breath praise Jah !
HjiLLELUJAH !

4. T.^BRET, or " tambourine." The
Hebrew ioph is the same as the Arab.
duff; and the Spanish adufe is derived
through the Moorish from the same root.
Strings. This is probably tho mean
ing, as in Syriac. See on xlv. note h.
Pipe, properly " shepherd's flute,"
(Gen. iv. 21); but not elsewhere men
tioned as an instrument employed in
Sacred music.
5. Cymbals. The Hebrew word is
onomatopoetic, intended to describe the
clanging of these instruments. It occurs

in sacred music (2 Sam. vi. 5), LXX
Kvpt^aKa. The distinction between the
two kinds mentioned is, probably, that
the first, as smaller, had a clear, high
sound; the latter, as larger, a deep,
loud sound. (So Ewald, Jahrb. viii. 67).
Others render, "castanets."
6. Let everything that hath
breath, and, above all, the voice of
man, as opposed to the dead instruments
mentioned before. What more fitting
close than this of the great " Book of
Praises"!

GENERAL INDEX.

Aben-Ezra, quoted on the Messianic
character of Ps. xlv. i. 336, his story
of a Spanish Jew, ii. 149.
Adder, the wicked compared to the, i.
419.
Addison, hymn quoted, i. 198 ; his ad
miration of the description of a ship
in a storm in Ps. cvii., ii. 269.
Adonai, ii. 296.
Aeschylus, Prometheus of, quoted respect
ing Oceanus, i. 187.
Ahithophel, sujrposed allusion to,Ps. xli.,
i. 312; probably not the treacherous
friend alluded to in Ps. Iv., 399.
Alamoth, i. 116.
Albertus Magnus, views of, respecting
the first Psalm, i. 34 ; quoted, 85.
Albo, Joseph quoted, ii, 448.
Altar, compassing the, a part of divine
worship, i. 236 ; horns of the, ii. 328.
Ambrose, cited on the value of the
Psalms, i. 21.
Amen-folk, i. 152.
Amyraldns, quoted, ii. 226.
Angel of Jehovah, i. 272.
Angels, God's ministers, i. 270, evil, i.
69, ii. 170.
Anointed, footsteps of the, interpreted
by the Targums of the delay of the
Messiah, ii. 151 ; of whom spoken,
242, 392.
Antiochus Epiphanes, probable allusion
to, in Ps. Ixxiv., ii. 25.
Aposiopesis, instance of, i. 242.
Ark, removal of, to Zion, i. 1 62, 226,
353, 472.
Arndt, quoted on the Spirit visiting the
earth, i. 461 ; on the pity of God,
480.
Arnold, his note on Thucydides, ii. 43 ;
quoted, i. 361.
Arrogant, ii. 11, 38.
Asaph, i. 9 ; his authorship of Psalms,
75; peculiarities of his Psalms, 77.
Assembly, meaning of word, ii. 28, 29,
30\3, of the holy ones, 145.

Athanasius, cited on the use of the
Psalms, i. 20; quoted, ii.228, 229, 234.
Augustine, quoted on the use of the
Psalms, i. 22 ; on the Messianic Psalms,
34 ; his consolation from the Psalms,
81 ; Ps. xxxii. a favorite of, 260 ;
on confession and forgiveness, 262 ;
against the Pelagians, 427 ; quoted,
on all the earth called to worship Je
hovah, 195, 204 on the Great Phy
sician, 219 ; story of the eagle renew
ing its youth, 224 ; on spreading out
the heavens, 228 ; on wisdom, 305 ;
on idol worship, 315; on Ps. cxvi.,
318; on Ps. cxxx., 382; says that Ps.
cxxxiii. gave birth to monasteries,
395 ; on God as the fountain of good
ness, 400.
Avenger, i. 129, of blood, 136.
Awake, meaning of, ii. 418.
Awaking, whether used of the resur
rection, i. 180. B.
Babylas, Bp., quoted, i. 31.
Babylonish captivity, lyric poetry in the
time of, i. 12 ; and after, ib. ; return
of the exiles from the, ii. 121 ; their
feelings on their return expressed,
357, 363, 365.
Baca, or the Valley of Weeping, ii. 118.
Bacon, quoted, i. 199.
Bakius, quoted, i. 288, 291 ; ii. 449.
Bands in death, meaning of, ii. 11.
Bands of deaths, meaning of, i. 185.
Basalt, or Basanites, i. 485.
Bashan, the land of, i. 214; mountain
range of, i. 485.
Bear in the bosom, to. ii. 150.
Beast of the reed, explanation of, i. 489.
Beloved (of God), i. 170, 251, 372; ii.
78, 147, 458.
Benjamin, little, why so called, i. 489.
Bind, to, used in a sense approaching
the latter meaning in the phrase
" binding and loosing," ii. 244.
Birks, quoted, on imputation of Adam's
sin, 384. 463

464

GENERAL INDEX.

Birds in the temple, ii. 116.
Bleek, cited, i. 11, ii. 187.
Bloodthirsty man, i. 108.
Blunt ( Veiacity of the Books of Moses),
quoted, ii. 2.52.
Boar, the, out of the wood, ii. 88.
Book of life, i. 510.
Book of the law, i. 87.
Bottcher, quoted, i. 484.
Bottle, skin, i. 410.
Bottle, a, in the smoke, ii. 340.
Bow, of brass, i. 190; deceitful, emblem
of faithlessness, ii. 70.
Breach, in the, ii. 253.
Bread, of the mighty, ii. 65 ; of heaven,
ib.; two mcanin;;s of the word, 232;
staff of, 243; of toil, 374.
Breaketh, the word applied to the soul,
ii. 334.
Bridal, Psalm for a, i. 336.
Brook in the w.ay, ii. 297.
Browne, Harold, i. 61.
Buchanan, quoted, ii. 29.
Bulls, i. 214 ; lit. "strong ones," 490.
Bunsen, criticized, i. 188,394; quoted,
421, 483; ii, 184.
Byron, his lines on the destruction of
Sennacherib quoted, ii. 44.
C.
Calovius, quoted, i. 312.
Calvin, on the inclination of our hearts
to evil, i. 87 ; motto of, in trouble,
115; on the apostles' citation of scrip
ture, 1£8; on 1 Cor. xv. 27, ib.; on
man's likeness to God, 131 ; on flat
tering lips, 1.53; faith in affliction,
156 ; the work of God, 164 ; the glory
of God, ib.; on "the excellent," 168;
God our perpetual inheritance, ib. ;
explains the importance of joining
prayer with a good conscience, 177;
David's prayer for special deliverance,
178; explains the" waking "of which
David speaks, 181 ; our ignorance of
surrounding evils, 199; on the fear
of Jehovah, 200; our errors, 201 ; his
view of the Messianic Psalms, 203,
341, 459, 472, 523 ; the earthly and
heavenly sanctuary, 205; faith in God,
224, 231, 411 ; David's anticipation of
a future life, 225 ; warning against
praying for the destruction of the
wicked, 234 ; powerof faith, 258, 504 ;
on the omniscience of God, 267, 504;
God's power in creation and provi
dence, ib. ; on Ps. xxxviii., 292, 293 ;
on Ps. xxxix., 298 ; a new song, 303 :
on tho temporal promises of the O.T.,
310 ; interpretation of " longing after
God," 320; the driving out of the
Canaanites, 331 ; on attributing ca
lamities to God, 332 ; God's Justice in

punishment, 114, 115, 298; on refer
ence to Christ in Ps. xlv., 340, 341,
343; grace compared to a stream of
water, 350; describes the subject of,
Ps. xlix., 363 ; God in judgment, 373,
381 ; trust in God, 411 ; thanksgiving
and prayer great part of religion, 374 ;
on sin, 375, 380-383, 385; co-exist
ence of hope and fear in the human
heart, 408, 409; on comparing the
wicked to dogs, 428, 430 ; God's pro
tection against the wicked, 426, 517;
reverence towards God, 465 ; submis
sion of the faithful to God, 443 ; see
ing God in ihe sanctuary, 452 ; His
faithfulness, 444, 459 ; the ark of the
covenant, 478 ; on means of escape
from death, 487 ; his explanation of
Ps. Ixix. 5, 5C4 ; man's righteousness
the work of Christ, 527.
Story of Dionysius the less, ii. U ;
on the force of the Hebrew word "N,
Ps. Ixxiii. 1, 17; on Ps. Ixxiv., 26;
Ps. Ixxvii., 52 ; his view of the appli
cation of Ps. Ixxviii. 2 by Matthew to
Christ, 61 ; the redemption of Israel
from a people of foreign language, a
special mark of God's favor, 97 ; on
the mixing of temporal and spiritual
blessings, 124; on the date of Ps.
Ixxxvii. 132 ; on " God of my salva
tion," 138 ; on God's omnipotence,
139 ; on quotations from O. T. in the
N. "T., 140 ; on the numbering of our
days, 1 63 ; styles the devil an acute
theologian, 170 ; on the word " fool,"
174; on "brutish among the people,"
182; glory of God the prop of our faith
175 ; God the ruler of the world, 192,
196; singing Psalms, 207; the deso
lation of Zion, 214; the argument of
Ps. civ., 224 ; comparing light to a
robe, 228 ; cites the story of the wit in
the temple, 263 ; on the imprecations
in Ps. cix., 275 ; quoted, 266, 314, 315 ;
on the word "spirit," 415; on the
word " early," 436 ; on Ps. cxliv., 440,
442.
Caryatides, ii. 441.
Cassiodorus, quoted, ii. 77, 87, 89.
Caterpillar, ii. 68, 246.
Cedars of God, i. 281 ; ii. 87.
Chafl', i. 88.
Chaldean invasion, reference to, ii. 25, 75.
Chambers in the waters, ii. 228.
Cherub, i. 187.
Children, God's, spoken of collectively,
not individually, in the O. T., ii. 14.
Cholera, Ps. xci. recommended as a pre
servative against, ii. 168.
Christ, as prophet, i. 41 ; priest, 41 ;
king, 42; prophet and sufferer, 43;
application of Ps. ii. to, 94 ; subjuga-

GENEEAL INDEX.

465

tion of all things to, 131 ; vicarious
sufierings of, 21 2 ; David in his suffer
ings a typo of, 218; the Good Shep
herd, 222 ; jiart of Ps. Ixviii. applied
to, 4SG ; Solomon an imperfect type
of, 522, 530 ; kingdom of, dream of
the heathen philosophers of a com
mon citizenship of nations, and its
fulfilment in, ii. 130; Melchizedek a
tvpe of, 295.
Christian character, perfect delineation
ofinPs. XV. i. 162.
Christmas Day, why Ps. xix. is used on
this day, i. 196.
Chrysostom, quoted, ii. 293.
Clap the hands, ii. 198.
Colenso, Bishop, criticized on the use of
the divine name, i. 60 ; his criticisms
examined, 393, 394, 43 1 , 439, 464, 470,
477, 478.
Conev, word incorrectly translated, ii.
233.
Confidence, of a righteous man in ap
proaching God, i. 109, 120, 178, 235,
239; in the protection of God, ii. 170.
Congregation, word representing the
people in their religious aspect, ii. 27.
Conies, ii. 233.
Cord, the, i. 93 ; ii. 379.
Cornet, the, ii. 94, 460.
Courts of the temple, ii. 115.
Covenant, appeal to the, ii. 33.
Creation, God's glory in, i. 195 ; Ps.
civ. a divine ode of, ii. 224 ; God's
continuous work in, 225.
Crucifixion, the, foreshadowed, i. 215.
Crusius, Chr. A., words of, on his death
bed, ii. 383.
Cup, figurative sense of, i. 149, 168;
waters of a full, ii. 13; the, 39,319.
Curtain, like a, ii. 228.
Cusb, the Benjamite, i. 118 ; Ethiopia,
490, 528.
Cymbal, or Castanet, meaning of word,
ii. 461. D.
Daniel, his probable acquaintance with,
Ps. Ixxix. ii. 77.
Dark places, ii. 33.
Dark sayings, meaning of, ii. 60 ; see
also note on Ps. xlix. i. 364.
Darkness, the place of, ii. 140.
Darkness of soul, why permitted, ii. 137.
Darling, my, i. 216.
David, and the lyric poetry of the He
brews, i. 1-17 ; life of, in his Psalms,
4 ; inner life of, 6 ; character of, 7 ;
hisauthor^hip of Psalms, 74 ; his hope
of a future life, 170. 180 ; his personal
affection to God, 179, ?.v9 ; his asser
tion of innocence, 178, 188, 238; ser
vant of God, 184; Ps. Ixxxvi. the

only one ascribed to, in the third book,
ii. 125; promise to, referred to, 143;
Ps. xciv. attributed to, 180.
Dawn, etymology of the word, i. 448.
Days shortened, meaning; of, ii. 150.
Dead, sacrifices of the, ii. 2.'>4.
Death, premature, deprecated, i. 115;
waking from, 181; regarded as a shep
herd, 367 ; as the wages of sin, char
acteristic of, Ps. xc., ii. !61.
Deborah, Song of, part of Ps. Ixviii.
borrowed from, i. 473, 479.
Deceitful bow an emblem of faithless
ness, ii. 70.
Deep calleth unto deep, i. 322.
Degrees, sonss of, Ps. cxx. to cxxxv., ii.
349-403.
Delitzsch cited on the authorship of
certain Psalms, i. 9 ; on the inscrip
tions, 13, 19,67, 70, 71 ; on thediviiie
names, 60; order of the Psalms, 64 ;
compares Ps. xii. to a ring, 154; on
the feelings of God's people in afflic
tion, 156; the morning sun compared
to a bridegroom, 198; on the "paths
of Jehovah," 232; "vain persons,"
236 ; translation of Ps. xxxiv. 5, 269 ;
interpretation of Ps. xxxv. 13, as al
luding to the posture of prayer, 273 ;
heroic faith of the O. T. saints, 397 ;
" roll of the book," 303 ; on Ps. xlvi.,
348 ; connection of heaven and earth,
416 ; God the protector of Israel, i6. ;
how to show our gratitude to God,
459 ; on Ps. Ixviii., 484 ; Solomon a
type of Christ, 530.
Quoted on Ps. l.xxxvii. 5, ii. 134,
on the grandeur of Ps. c, 203; the
call of all to worship Jehovah, 205 ;
an anecdote of Luther, 3S1 ; describes
Ps. cxxxv. as a species of mosaic,
400; quoted, 213, 242, 277, 332, 428,
448, 457-8.
Deliverer, epithet applied to God, ii. 439.
De Mays, i. 179, 261.
Deserts, the, i. 479.
Devouring pestilence, ii. 169.
De Wette,' quoted, i. 148, 181, 306, 473,
476,483; ii. 314.
Dew, figurative sense of, ii. 294 ; of Her
mon, ii. 397.
Diew, L. de, quoted, i. 360.
Dionysius the Less, story of, quoted
from Calvin, ii. 11.
Diseases, God the healer of, ii. 219.
Displeasure or anger of God, i. 114.
Divine Name, use of, in the first and
second books of the Psalms, i 316.
Divine providence, an argument for, ii.
178.
Doeg, whether referred to, i. 389.
Donne (.Sermons), quoted, i. 25, 260, 261,
442, 444, 447, 450.

59

466

GENERAL INDEX.

Doorkeeper, ii. 119.
Doubter, forbearance towards the, urged,
ii. 8.
Doubts, comparison of ancient and mod
ern, ii. 7 ; wisdom of not intruding,
14 ; in tho hour of temptation, 126.
Doxology, why incorporated into the
Psalm, ii. 257 ; Ps. cvii. opens with a,
265 ; Ps. cxvii. a, 321.
Drink-offerings, i. 168.
Drusius, quoted, i. 401.

Eagle, alluded to, ii. 220 ; fable of the,
renewing its youth, 224.
Ears, to open the, meaning of, i. 304 ; in
cline the, 364.
Earth, world, etymology of, ii. 161.
Eichhorn, quoted on the Ridafat, ii.
291.
Elohim, i. 131, 316, 340, 362; ii. 441.
Enchanters, i. 419.
Endor, ii. 111.
Engel, quoted on the cornet, ii. 94.
Ephraim specially rebuked, ii. 58, 62 ;
their faithlessness, ib.
Epbratiih, ancient name of Bethlehem,
mentioned in Ps. cxxxii., ii. 390, 391.
Ethan, author of Ps. Ixxxix., i. 75.
Eucharist, Ps. cxi. supposed by some to
bear reference to, ii. 304.
Ever and ever, for, applied to David, i.
208.
Ewald, cited on the authorship of Ps.
xxiii., i. 4 ; on the divine name, 60;
cited on the date of additions to the
canon, 15 ; on the inscriptions of the
Psalms, 67, 68, 69, 70, 75; his render
ing and explanation of Ps. cxli. .5-7
quoted, ii. 426; quoted, i. 140, 149,
158, 181, 187, 195, 245, 273, 295, 303,
305, 309, 421, 427, 452, 483, 508 ; ii.
16, 118, 206.
Excellent, the, i. 167.
Expostulation with God, ii. 149.
P.
Fainteth, overwhelmed with sorrow, i.
440 ; ii. 266.
Faith and fear, co-existence of, i. 408.
Faith, in God, i. 149 ; in the hour of
death, 235; justification by, 260;
meaning of, 517 ; the doubt of, ii. 8 ;
victory of, 170, 171.
Faithful witness, the, ii. 149.
Farrar's Bampton Lectures, quoted on
"difficulties concerning Providence,"
ii. 7 ; wisdom of the Psalmist in con-
cealini; his doubts, 14.
Fat of wheat, ii. 99.
Feeling, blending of the personal and
national, in the mind of the Psalmist,
ii. 250.

Feet, to lift up the, phrase explained
ii. 28.
Festival, Ps. Ixxxi. sung at a great na
tional, ii. 91.
Fire as lightning, i. 248.
First-born, ii. 148.
Flesh, i. 169, 449; ii. 115, 212.
Flood (the Deluge), i. 249 ; the Shibbo
leth, of the Ephraimites, 503.
Ploods, lifting up of the, ii. 178.
Fool, the, a practical atheist, i. 159 ; see
also i. 141.
Foolish men, to whom the term is ap
plied, ii. 32 ; why so called, 267.
Footstool, his holy, ii. 201 ; emblem of
subjection, 292.
Forgiveness of sins, comfort to the pen
itent, ii. 219 ; proof of God's love,
263.
Fountain of life, God only, i. 282.
Francke, cited on the value of the
Psalms, i. 26.
Friday, Psalm for, according to tho
LXX, ii. 177.
Frame, our, ii. 221, 417.
Frost, meaning of the word uncertain,
ii. 69.
Future life, bow far revealed to the 0. T.
saints, i. 115, 131, 137, 169, 185, 257,
259, 367 ; ii. 14, 139.
G.
Galileo, passage from Ps. civ. quoted
in controversy with, ii. 230.
Gall, i. 508.
Gate, the place of public concourse, i.
136, 402 ; or market, ii. 375.
Gebal, position of, ii. 110.
Geier, quoted, i. 87, 381 ; ii. 28.
Generation, meaning of, i. 160.
Genesis, Ps. viii. a lyric echo of the first
chapter of, i. 726 ; account of creation
in, poetically expanded in Ps. civ., ii.
225.
Gerhardt, P., his hymn quoted, i. 410.
Gittith, i. 129, 132.
Glory, personal honor, i. 104 ; glory and
honor, 131 ; the manifested presence
of God, ii. 123.
God, a shield, i 100, 111, 122, 184, 244,
427 ; an u])holdcr of all that trust in
him, 100, 517; of my righteousness,
104; name of, 111; ii. 37; chastise
ments of, 114; ii 148; glory of, in
creation, i. 124, 195, 227, 249,267;
confidence in, 149; ii. 168; gracious
ness and meekness of, i. 190; revela
tion of, in nature and bis word, 195 ;
holiness of, 213, 227; ii. 197; the
Shepherd of his people, i. 222 ; a
king, 249; ii. 177 ; holy Name of, i.
251 ; of truth, 256 ; omniscience and
omnipresence of, 267 ; loving-kindnesa

GENERAL INDEX.

467

of, 282 ; providence of, vindicated,
285 ; ever active, ii. 124 ; living, name
occurring only twice in the Psalms, i.
319; ii. 116; with us, Immanuel, i.
348 ; of gods, 371 ; the Judge, 373,
425; ii. 181; righteousness of, i. 387;
of hosts, 425 ; ii. 86 ; of power and
love, i. 445 ; the hearer of prayer, 458 ;
the loving Father and righteous
Judge, 479 ; tenderness of, 487 ; judg
ment of, celebrated, ii. 37 ; his forbear
ance to man, 67 ; cedars of, 87 ; epi-
^ thet discussed, 104, 105; his faithful
ness, 145, 146, 434; his omnipotence
and his faithfulness set forth in his
relation to David, 147 ; work of, be
fore work of man, 165; majesty of,
178 ; above all gods, 186 ; prayer for
presence of, with man, remarkable in
O. T., 207 ; the fountain of life, 235 ;
i. 282 ; pleasure of, in creation, 236 ;
love of, traced in a nation's history,
239 ; mountains of, 485 ; forgiveness
of, motive for fearing him, ii. 382 ;
God's kingdom, triumph of, i. 485.
Godly sorrow, hope in, i. 379.
Gods of the heathen, ii. 104, 105 ;
whether idols or demons, ii. 191.
Goel, the next of kin, explanation of
term and derivation, ii. 27.
Gog and Magog, Ps. ii. interpreted of,
i. 91; referred to, 356.
Grasshopper, ii. 246.
Grotius, quoted, i. 87, 107.
Grove, Geo., quoted on the author of Ps.
i., i. 61 ; on tho temple, 240 ; on the
identity of Salem with Jerusalem, ii.
42 ; on the mountains of Palestine,
43 ; on the word " meat," 304.
H.
Habakkuk, resemblance, between Ps.
Ixxvii. and chap. iii. of, ii. 48.
Hagarenes, ii. 110.
Hallel, tho name given to a series of
Psalms according to the ancient Jew
ish tradition, ii. 308.
Hallelujah, tho first in tho Psalter, why
remarkable according to the Talmud
and Midrash, ii. 236 ; Psalms, list of,
241, 404.
Hand, Heb. for power, i. 216 ; li. 429,
452 ; washing the, i. 236 ; stretching
forth the, ii. 140 ; to lift up the, 253,
427 ; setting at the right, a m.ark of
honor, 291 ; right hand of lies, 441.
Hannah, resemblance between Ps. Ixxv.
and Bong of, ii. 38 ; also two verses
in Ps. cxiii., 309.
Happiness, recollections of past, may be
made instruments of temptation by
Satan, ii. 51.
Hare, Archdeacon, quoted, ii. 441.

Harless, quoted, i. 199.
Harvest-field, greeting in the, ii. 380.
Haven, meaning of the word, ii. 278.
Heads, meaning of the word, ii. 297.
Heap, water gathered as a, i. 266.
Heaps of stones, or "ruins," ii. 78.
Heart, the whole, required by God, ii.
127; to harden the, spoken of as man's
act, 188; a "proud," different from
" a wide heart," 208.
Heathen, word why so translated, ii. 78.
Heavens, above the, ii. 309.
Heels, iniquity compassing the, mean
ing of, i. 365.
Height, as a predicate of God, ii. 183.
Hell, i. 185.
Hengstenberg, quoted, i. 105, 131, 140,
167, 382, 480; ii. 120; error in as
signing Ps. Ixxviii. to the time of
David, ii. 58 ; refers Ps. Ixxix. to the
Chaldean invasion, 75 ; on prayer,
86 ; on the ending of Ps. Ixxxviii.,
141 ; authorship of Ps. xc, 159.
Herder, cited on the use of the Psalms,
i. 26 ; on Ps. civ., ii. 226 ; spreading
out the heavens like a curtain, 228 ;
quoted, i. 483; ii. 182, 226, 360.
Hermon, i. 322.
Hezekiah, his labors and example in the
encouragement of a taste for lyric
poetry, i. 10 ; collection of the Psalms
under, 62 ; Psalms written in the time
of, i. 347.
Hidden ones, thy, ii. 109.
Hiding-place of God's presence, i. 258.
Hind, i. 190; of the morning, 212, 218.
Hinds, Bishop, quoted, ii. 9.
Kippolytus, quoted, i. 56.
Hodu Psalms, or Confitemini, ii. 241.
Holiness, oath by, ii. 148.
Holy, i. 213.
Holy city, affection of the Psalmist for
the, i. 360; ii. 133; David's desire
for a, on earth, 206.
Holy One of Israel, narae of God, i. 213;
used only three times in the Psalms,
521.
Holy ones, i.e. the angels, ii. 145.
Holy Spirit, not fully revealed as a
Person to the O. T. saints, i. 386,
Luther's illustration of the union of,
with man, 386.
Hooker, cited on the value of tho Psalms,
i. 25.
Honey, out of tho rock, ii. 99.
Hope and fear, not inconsistent feelings,
i. 408.
Hope of Israel, i. 95.
Hope, union of faith with, i. 149.
Home, cited on the value of the Psalms,
i. 27.
Horsley, Bp., quoted, i. 36 ; criticized,
37, 38.

468

GENERAL INDEX.

Hosannah, the great, the seventh day
of the feast of tabernacles so called,
ii. 322.
Hosts, his, expression used sometimes
of the stars, ii. 454.
Houbignant, quoted, i. 36.
House, thy, meaning of term, i. 108 ; ii.
309.
Housman, Readings ou the Psalms
quoted, ii. 165, 186, 194.
iJumboldt, A. von, quoted, ii. 226.
Hupfeld, quoted, i. 87, 109, 153, 168,
177, 209, 274, 309, 330, 354, 473; ii.
13; on the authorship of Ps. Ixxix.,
76 ; on Ps. xc., 157 ; on the meaning
of the word ni"i2J3, 167 ; on Ps. civ.,
226. I.
Immanuel, God with us, i. 348.
Immortality, not clearly discerned under
the 0. T. dispensation, i. 115, 252.
Imprecations in the Psalms, i. 50 ; how
to be explained, 243, 275, 312, 509;
ii. 274.
Incense, i. 467.
Indignation, righteous, i. 152, 392, 420.
Infatuation, word denoting divine pun
ishment, i. 433.
Iniquities, confession of by the Psalmist
cannot be applied to Christ, i. 307,
311.
Iniquity, meaning of the word, ii. 184.
Innocence, David's assertion of, ex
plained, i. 177, 188, 235; assertion of
national, 333.
Inscriptions, the, of the Psalms, i. 67-
82 ; liturgical notices in, 67 ; musical
notices, 68 ; other names, 69 ; Selfih,
73 ; authors, 74 ; trustworthiness of,
76 ; attempts to defend, 77 ; historical
notices in, 80.
Integrity, i. 235.
Irving, cited on the value of the Psalms,
i. 27.
Isaiah, affinity between chap. vii. of, and
Ps. ii., i. 90 ; between chap, xxxiii.
and Ps. xlvi., 348 ; between chap.
viii. and Ps. xlvi., ib. ; similarity be
tween passages in, and Ps. xxii., 214;
also between chap. xl. and Ps. cxlvii.,
ii. 450.
Isaki, R. Sol., quoted, i. 91.
Isidore, quoted, i. 285.
Ishmaelites, ii. 110.
Israel, why used in the parallelism with
Judah, ii. 42.
Israelite, our difficulty in understanding
the feelings and expressions of a true,
i. 426. J.
Jackals, place of, figurative meaning of
the phrase, i. 334.

Jacob, pride of, i. 355.
Jeduthun, ii. 50.
Jehoshaphat, poetry in the time of, i.
10; whether Ps. Ixxxiii. refers to, ii.
108.
Jehovah, a refuge in trouble, i. 148 ;
repetition of name in Ps. xix., 199;
angel of, 272 ; the coming of, to judg
ment, ii. 192; as king, 192, 193;
theory of Hengstenberg on use of the
name in Ps. cvii., 266; trust in, in
culcated, 319.
Jehovah Elohim, i. 425.
Jehovah Sabaoth i. 425. *
Jehovistic Psalms, i. 316.
Jeremiah, Psalms, supposed to be written
by, xxviii., i. 242 ; xxxi., Ixxi., 11;
borrows from Ps. i., 86 ; relation of,
to Ps. Ixxiv. and Ixxix., ii. 25 ; pas
sages in, almost identical with verses
in Ps. Ixxix., 76.
Jerome, cited on the use of the Psalms,
i. 30 ; on the titles, 55 ; quoted, 171,
^13, 284, 386, 423, 438.
Jerusalem, elevation of, i. 357 ; destruc
tion or sack of, by Antiochus Epi
phanes, subject of Ps. Ixxix., ii. 77.
Jewish nation, narrow exclusiveness of,
ii. 129.
Joab, Ps. Ix. composed in commemora
tion of the victory ofj over the Edom-
iies, i. 430.
Job, difficulties of, compared with mod
em doubts, ii. 7, 14.
Jonah, the Prophet, authorship of Ps.
cxxxix. .ascribed to, ii. 415.
Josiah supposed to be the author of Ps.
xxviii., i. 242.
Judaism, spirit of, ii. 129.
Judas Iscariot, Ps. cix. supposed to refer
to, ii. 275.
Judgment, i. 88, 524; of God, celebrated,
ii. 41.
Judges, as kings, i. 95 ; ministers of
justice, 135, 524 ; in what sense to be
understood, ii. 429. K.
Kadesh, i. 248.
Keil, cited, i. 76.
Kennicott, quoted, i. 38.
Kimchi, quoted, i. 91, 163, 210, 436,
532.
King, Jehovah as, ii. 192.
" King, my," i. 107 ; expression of
strong feeling used by the Psalmist,
ii. 31.
Kishon, iii. 111.
Kiss the Son, i. 95.
Kitto {Bible illustrations), quoted, ii. 28.
Korah, Psalms of the sons of, from xlii.
to xlix., i.75, 31 7-370, and Ps. Ixxxvi.,
ii. 123.

GENERAL INDEX.

469

Lamp, lighted, a symbol of prosperity,
i. 189; figure of, in Ps. cxxxii., ii.
393.
Lane (Modem Egyptians), quoted, i. 419.
"Language, a, that I knew not," mean
ing of, ii. 96.
Law, the, as related to the Psalmists, i.
45 ; spiritual appreciation of the cere
monial part of, 46 ; " the testimony,"
199.
Leanness, meaning of expression, ii. 252.
Leighton, Archbishop, quoted, i. 103 ;
guilclessness pleasing to God, 261 ; on
confession and forgiveness, 261, 262.
Leviathan, meaning of, ii. 31 ; general
term for sea-monster, 234.
Liar, a, portrayed and condemned, i.
391.
Life, the path of, i. 170; the Book of,
510 ; a long, promise of, as a temporal
blessing, ii. 171; importance of rightly
estimating future, see Future lile.
Lifting up, i. 251 ; ii. 427,
Light, the only instance of direct appli
cation of this name to God, Ps. xxvii.,
i. 239 ; word denoting all tho heavenly
bodies, ii. 32 ; a characteristic of God,
119 ; God's countenance spoken of as
alight, i. 105 ; ii. 102.
Light .ind trnth, i. 024.
Lightning cast forth, ii. 440.
Lilies, on, i. 339.
Liturgical notices in the inscriptions,
i. 69.
Living God, name occuring only twice
in the Ps.alms, i. 319; ii. 116.
Locust, ii. 246.
Loosing prisoners, allegorical interpre
tation of, ii. 448.
Lord, Adonai, ii. 296.
Lord, our, meaning of epithet, i. 129.
Loving-Uindncss, or grace, i. 201, 282.
Loving -kindness and faithfulness ex
pressive of God's covenant relation
ship to his people, ii. 198 ; my, a sin
gular expression for " God of my
loving-kindness," 439.
Luminary, ii. 162.
Lnther, quoted on the use of the Psalms,
i. 22, 31 ; quoted, 86, 92, 93 ; applies
Ps. ii. to tho Christian church, 93 ; on
God's chastisements, 114; " Amens-
leute," 152 ; God's people in affliction,
156; on the character of a righteous
man, 157^ 103 ; the universality of sin,
159 ; viei; of Messianic Psalms, 169,
192, 203; adopts the allegorical ex
planation of Ps. xix. as given by the
older interpreters, 198 ; application of
Ps. XX. to the church in all ages,
204, 205 ; describes a blessed death,
256; on Ps. xxxvii., 285 ; on sin, 381,

383 ; illustrates the union of the Spirit
of God with the spirit of man, 386.
On " bands in death," ii. 1 1; on Ps.
i., 46 ; quoted, 56, 98, 362, 377, 382,
383, 384, 396, 398 ; anecdote of, re
lated by Delitzsch, 381 ; forgiveness
of God, motive for fearing him, 382 ;
on the anointing oil, 396.
Lyric Poetry, see Poetry.
Lyro, quoted, ii. 86. M.
Maccabean Psalms, historical questioE
of, i. 14.
Maccabees, similarity of a passage in i.
21 to one in Ps. Ixxiv., ii. 24 ; First
Book of, passage in Ps, Ixxix. simi
lar to one in, ii. 77.
M'Donnell, cited, ii. 47.
Maker, our, ii. 187.
Maclaren, A., cited, i. 119, 126.
Man, i. 130 ; subjection of the world to,
in Christ, i. 131.
Man of thy right hand, ii. 89.
Manna, allusion to, i. 481 ; ii. 65.
Marriage-song, Ps. xlv., i. 336.
Massah, ii. 188.
Maskil, i. 263.
Maurer, quoted, i. 342, 438, 439.
Meditate, i. 87.
Melchizedek, type of Christ, ii. 295.
Slen of the world, description of, i. 180.
Mendelssohn, quoted, i. 121, 130, 239 ;
ii. 21.
IMcribah, ii. 188.
Messengers of God, ii. 229.
Messiah and Son of God, two of the
names given to the llo]>e of Israel by
the Jev/s, taken from Ps. ii,, i. 95.
Messianic Psalms, r.itionalistic views of,
i. 33 ; Patristic and mediaeval views
of, 34 ; common interpretation of, 34 ;
how to be understood, i, 127, 208, 211,
215, 218, 229, 005, 311, 337, S-IO, 502,
548; prophecy, ii. 121; character of
Ps. Ixxxvii., 128; xciii., 177; con
nection of Messianic prophecy with
N. T., 216; Ps. ex., 295.
Michaelis, quoted, i. 310, 481; ii. 222.
Micbtam, i. 170.
Midian, ii. 111.
Mighty, ii. 306.
Mighty One of Jacob, name of God, ii.
389.
Milman, Dean, cited on tho character of
the times from Joshua to Samuel, i. 3.
Milton, his paraphrase of Ps. Ixxxvii. 7
quoted, ii. 135 ; Paradise Lost quoted,
i. 258; ii. 197, 230.
Miserable, the Hebrew word not used
before the time of David, ii. 105.
Mixture, herbs put into wine, ii. 39.
Mizar, i. 322.

470

GENERAL INDEX.

Mizmor, ii. 197.
Mockers, or scorners, word used but
once in the Psalter, i. 86.
Moll, quoted, i. 115, 126.
Monod, Adolphe, cited on the value of
the Psalms, i. 29.
Monsters, a symbolical term descriptive
of the Egyptians, ii. 31.
Moon, marked the Jewish feasts, ii. 92 ;
why mentioned before the sun in the
work of the creation, 233.
Morning, in the, meaning of phrase, ii.
162, 164 ; womb of the, 294.
Moses, his authorship of Ps. xc, ii. 157;
the priestly office of, 202 ; the reasons
why ho was excluded from the Prom
ised Land, more fully stated than in
the narrative, 255.
Mountain, image of security, i. 485 ; ii.
368.
Mountains, of God, i. 281; corn on the,
529 ; source of fertility, ii. 232.
Musculus, quoted, i. 87.
Musical notices in the inscriptions, i. 68.
N.
Name of God, i. HI.
Name, holy, i. 251; thy, above all, ii. 411.
Nation, meaning of the word used in the
plural and in the singular, ii. 78, 250.
Nature, God's revelation of himself in,
i. 196.
Nebuchadnezzar, invasion of, referred
to, ii. 23.
Neck, regarded as the seat of pride, ii. 12.
Nehemiah, his collection of sacred writ
ings, i, 14, 63.
Net, the meaning of, i. 467.
New Testament, quotations of the Old
in, i. 39 ; nature of the differences
between the Old and the New, 54.
Newman, Dr. {Sermon on the Feast of
St. Michael), quoted, ii. 229.
Night, picture of, ii. 233.
Nob, sanctuary at, i. 393.
Nostrils, i. 186. O.
Octave, 1. 111.
" Oculus Sperans," the Eye of Hope,
name given to Ps. cxxiii., ii. 362.
Offerings, drink, i. 168; difference be
tween burnt and sin, 304 ; thanks
giving better than burnt, 373, 387 ;
free-will, 398 ; free-will, God's people
are, ii. 293.
Oil, face, made to shine with, ii. 232 ;
the precious, 396.
Olive-tree, type of fruitfulness, i. 393 ;
emblem of healthy, vigorous life, ii.
378.
Open the eyes, ii. 448.
Oreb, article in Smith's Diet., quoted,
ii. 52.

Oreb and Zeeb, ii. 111.
Our Lord, first time used in the Book of
Psalms, i. 129.
Overwhelmed, i. 440 ; ii. 432.
Ovid, Met., quoted, ii. 213, 230 ; on a
storm at sea, 270.
Owl, called in Arabic "mother of the
ruins," ii. 212.

Palestine, a fertile mountain-land, ii, 232.
Palm, rareness of allusion to, iu the Old
•Testament, ii. 175.
Parable, meaning of, i. 364 ; ii. 60.
Parallelism, Hebrew, instance of, Ps.
xix., i. 199.
Passage of the Red Sea, ii. 53.
Passover, Ps. cxv.-cxviii. supposed to
have been sung by our Lord after his
last, ii, 318.
Pasture, ii. 79 ; people of, 187.
Paul, St., comparison of his language
with that of tho Old Testament, con
cerning the hope of a future life, ii.l6.
Peace, God's great word, ii. 123.
Pckah, i. 90.
Pelican, ii. 212.
Pericles, the patriotic sentiment of the
Grecian orator, and the Jewish poet
compared, i. 361.
Perowne, T. T. {Essential Coherence of
the New Testament), reference to, for a
clear view of Ps. Ixxiii., ii. 10, 15.
Petra, i. 248.
Phillips {Commentary on the Psalms),
quoted, i. 530 ; on " to bind," ii. 244.
Piercing the hands and feet, i. 215.
Pipe, a musical instrument, ii. 461.
Pit, explanation of, i. 302, 507.
Pl.agucs of Egypt, ii. 68.
Plumptre, quoted, i. 99, 102, 483 ; ii.
114, 118, 131, 168, 323, 325, 326.
Pococke, quoted, i. 92.
Poet, affinity between prophet and, i.
153.
Poetry, lyric, of the Hebrews, i. 1 ; early
fragments of, 2 ; in the time of the
Judges, 3 ; of David, 3 ; under Solo
mon, 9 ; in the time of Jehoshaphat
and Hezekiah, 10; during the Baby
lonish captivity, 12; revival of, after
the exile, 12.
Poole, Mr. R. S., quoted on the cultiva
tion of the vine in Egypt, ii. 69.
Poor-destitute, ii. 214.
Praise, or hymn, Ps. cxiv. the only one
so called, ii. 444.
Prayer-book version, see Psalms.
Prayer, morning, i. 108 ; true, 386 ; pas
sage discussed relating to, 273 ; for
spiritual, should precede that for tem
poral blessings, ii. 127 ; for temporal
blessings, efficacy of, 263.

GENERAL INDEX.

471

Piesents, i. 528 ; customs of bringing, to
an Oriental kins, ii. 192.
Promotion, incorrect rendering of E.V.,
ii. 39.
Prophet, derivation of word, ii. 243.
Prophet and poet, affinity between, i.
153.
Proverb, Jewish, quoted, i. 187.
Providence and grace, i. 224; of God
ever active, ii. 124,
Psalmist, as related to the law, i. 45 ;
the prophetic character of the, ii.
187.
Psalms, the ninetieth, early date and
characteristics of, i. 2 ; the eighteenth
and twenty-third colored by reminis
cences in the life of David, 4 ; the
later, 13 ; Maccabean, 14 ; Use of in
the Church and by Individuals, 18-32 ;
as used in the public liturgies, 18 ; use
of particular Psalms, 19; penctential,
19 ; use in the Church of Rome, 19 ;
in Protestant churches, 20 ; Athan
asius, cited, 20 ; Ambrose, 21 ; Au
gustine, 22 ; Luther,- 22; Calvin, 23 ;
Hooker, 25 ; Donne, 25 ; Francke, 26 ;
Herder, 26 ; Bp. Home, 27 ; Irving,
27 ; F. W. Robertson, 28 ; Adolphe
Monod, 29; Bp. Babylas, Paulla,
Chrysostom, IIuss, and others, 31; The
TheoloLTV of, 33-55; Messianic, .34 ; the
fortieth, .Messianic character of, 35 ; the
forty-first, 37 ; typology of, 39 ; char
acters of Christ in,41 sq. ; assertions of
innocence in, 48 ; imprecations in, 50 ;
hope of a future life in, 52 ; Prob.able
Origin and Formation of the Psal
ter, 55-67 ; place of, in the Bible, 56 ;
names of, 56 ; division of, 58 ; gradual
formation of the Psalter, 59 ; use of
the divine name in, 60; extent of the
several collections, 61 ; first collection
of, 62 ; collection under Hezekiah, 62 ;
under Ezra and Nehemiah, 63 ; num
bering of, 63 ; changes in, 65 ; 'The In
scriptions of, 67-82 ; liturgical notices,
67 ; musical notices, 68 ; of degrees,
69 ; musical accompaniments, 70 ;
measures, 70 ; particular melodies, 71;
not all intended for temple service, 72 ;
Selah, 73 ; auihors of, 74 ; Prayer-
book version referred to, 160; ii. 11,
13, 56 ; by Four Friends, quoted, 331,
332, 359.
: Punishment, lit. "a blow," i. 298 ; tes
timony of Scripture with reference to
men's, ii. 80.
Pusey, Dr., quoted, i. 527, 530; on the
closing of the Canon, ii. 75.
Q.
Quails, i. 481 ; how brought by an east
and south wind, ii. 66.

R.
"Radaf," the rank of, ii. 291.
Rahab, a poetical name for Egypt, ii
133, 146.
Rain, a bountiful, figurative, i. 48.
Ram's horn, why the trumpet is mad*
of, ii. 94.
Redeem, meaning of word, ii. 27 ; the
peculiar meaning of the word to the
Israelite, ib.
Redemption, how the word first received
significance, ii. 52.
Rest, or confidence of the servant of
God, when surrounded by evil, ii. ISO;
whether referring to present or futu. ,
188.
Return, interpretation of word, ii. 16
164.
Reuss, his work on Ps. Ixviii., i. 474.
Revelation, God's glory in, Ps. xix.,
195.
Rezin, reference of Ps. ii. to, i. 90.
Riches, vanity of, i. 364, 355, 368, 393.
" Ridafat," ii. 291.
Rieger, quoted, ii. 218.
Right hand, denoting succor, i. 169 ; ii
281, 296, 356, 432.
Righteous judgments of God, ii, 36.
Righteous man, description of a, i. 163.
Righteous, verb so rendered, variously
translated, ii. 434.
Righteousness, God's, i, 109; paths of,
.224 ; Old Testament meaning of the
term, 228; final triumph of, 373;
God's, vindicated by repentance of
sinners, 387 ; of God, 387, 525 ; sacri
fices of, 104, 388; meaning of, 524;
attribute to be desired for a king, 526 ;
human, gift of God, ii. 306 ; gates of,
326.
Robertson (5£Tmons),quoted, description
of the Syrian shepherd and his flock,
i. 223 ; craving of the finite after the
infinite, 321 ; taunting of the world
in religious perplexity, 320 ; on hope,
320, 321.
Robertson, F. W., cited on the value of
the Psalms, i. 28.
Rock, at Horeb, ii. 63 ; of salvation, 186 ;
hurling down from, mode of punish
ment, 428.
Roll of the book, different explanations
of the passage, i. 305.
Rolling thing, ii. 112.
Romish interpretation noticed, i. 228.
Rosenmiiller, quoted, i. 280 ; ii. 150,
293.
Riickert, cited, i. 76. S.
Saadia, fable of the eagle renewing its
youth, quoted, ii. 224.
Saba, i. 528.

472

GENERAL INDEX.

ilabaoth, i. 425.
Sabbath-day, Psalm for, ii. 172.
Sackcloth, symbol of sorrow, i. 506.
Sacrifice, of righteousness, i. 104, 388 ; of
prayer, 201; of shouting, 240; i.e.
offerings, 304, 387 ; obedience better
than, i. 303 ; make a covenant by, 374 ;
thanksgiving better than, 388; eve
ning, ii. 427.
Saints, the, i. 167, 372; ii. 392.
Salem, whether identical with Jerusalem,
ii. 42.
Sallying forth, ii. 442.
Salt, valley of, i. 437.
Samuel, priestly office of, ii. 202.
Sanchez, quoted, ii. 220, 224, 225.
Sanctuary, the, refers to the temple,
or heaven, ii. 14, 460; grief of the
Psalmist at the desecration of, 28;
planted on the confines of Judah and
Benjamin, 71.
Saul, Psalms, said to be written during
David's persecution by, xi., xvii.,
XXV., 111., liv., Ivi., Ivii., lix.
Savary {Letters on Egypt), quoted, ii.
363.
Savonarola, quoted, i. 168.
Schmid, S.. quoted, i. 114, 261.
Scripture, fearlessness of expression in,
in comparison with dogmatic forms of
modern controversy, ii. 255.
Sea, the . . . the rivers, to what they
refer, i. 228 ; ii. 147 ; life in the,
234.
Search, meaning of the word, ii. 418.
Selah, see General Introduction, i. 73.
Selnecker, quoted, i. 260.
Sennacherib, Psalms referred to the in
vasion of, xlvi., xlvii., xlviii., Ixiv. ;
Ps. Ixxvi, composed in celebration of
the overthrow of his army, ii. 41.
Serpent-charmers, i. 419.
Servant of Jehovah, i. 184.
Set themselves, i. 100.
Set time, critical meaning of the word,
time appointed by God, ii. 37.
Sheba, i. 528,
Shechem, i. 434.
Sheep of thy pasture, a favorite figure
in the Psalms of Asaph, ii. 27.
Sheol, see Unseen World.
Shepherd, figure of, i. 222 ; God, the, of
all nations, i. 471.
Shibboleth, i. 503.
Shield, explanation of term, i. 101, 111,
184; ii. 146.
Shields of the earth, i. 356.
Shiggiiion, i. 123.
Shophar, ii, 94.
Shower, a fertilizing, the special gift of
God, i. 461,481, 526.
Sides of the north, what is meant by, i.
357.

Sign, meaning of the term, ii. 28, 30.
Silence of the grave, ii. 183, 317.
Sin, whole idea of, given in Ps. xxxii.,
i. 260 ; full depth and iniquity of, not
disclosed to the O T. saints, 236 ;
blotting out of, 380 ; forgiveness of,
385 ; confession of, to God only, 383 ;
how viewed in the O.T., 381; original,
383 ; one, the mother of many, 380 ;
conviction of, in a heart that deeply
loves God, 381; source of, 381.
Sirion, i.e. Anti-Lebanon, i. 248.
Slaves, attitude of, ii. 360.
Smith's Dictionary of the Bible, quoted
on the Book of Numbers, i. 2 ; Zech
ariah, 11; the Canon, 15, 328; Amos,
HI; Genesis, 316; Jehovah, Penta
teuch, 316; Urim and Thummim,
324; Succoth, 4.34 ; Gall, .508 ; Tar
shish, 527; Sheba, Saba, 528; Solomon,
531; Palestine, ii. 43; Psalms, 49;
Oreb, 52, IU; Ephraim, 62; Zoan,
64 ; Quails, 66 ; Vine, 69 ; Gebal, 110;
Palm-tree, 176; Meat, 304.
Snare of the hunter, i. 185 ; ii. 169.
Snow, image of, i. 483 ; like wool, ii.
452.
Solomon, Psalms attributed to, i., I.xxii. ;
xlv. applied to, i. 336, 342 ; a type of
Christ, 523, 530.
Son of wickedness, ii. 147.
Song, of degrees, i. 69 ; a new, 302 ; of
the Three Children, imitation of, Ps.
cxlviii., ii. 454.
Sons of God, i. 247 ; of men, 104 ; of
youth, ii. 375.
Soul, blesseth his, i. 368.
South country, the, ii. 265.
Spectator, The, quoted on a ship in a
storm, ii. 269 ; on Ps. cxiv., ii. 311.
" Speculum Regis," Ps. ei. described as,
ii. 205.
Spirit, sorrowing, bow to find rest, ii.
54 ; sanguinary and revengeful, justi
fied under the old dispensation, 457.
Spirit of God, ii. 415 ; rebellion against
the, 255.
Stahelin, cited, i. 76, 81.
Stanley {Jewish Church), quoted, i. 339 ;
ii. 52, 53.
Stanley (Sinai and Palestine), quoted, i.
248, 318, 357 ; ii. 133, 146 ; on the
word " redemption," 52 ; on the deliv
erance of Israel by the passage of the
Red Sea, 53 ; on the position of Jeru
salem, 133, 360, 368 ; Tabor and
Hermon, 146 ; bitterness of the Kdom-
ites at the fall of Jerusalem, 408.
St. Bernard, quoted, i. 270.
St. Chrysostom, quoted, i. 447^
St. David's, Bishop of, quoted, ii. 300.
St. James, Epistle of, expansion of, and
comment on Ps xv., i. 164.

GENERAL INDEX.

473

Stier, on Christ's vicarious sufferings, i.
213 ; on the future rest alluded to iu
Ps. xxiii., 224; on Ps. xci., ii. 168;
doctrine of original sin in Ps. li., 383.
Stone, the rejected corner, ii. 326.
Stork, meaning of name in Hebrew,
Greek, and Latin, ii. 233.
Strange, stranger, how used in Hebrew,
ii. 96, 98,
Stranger and sojourner, i. 299.
Streams of water, i. 88.
Stringed instruments, i. 70.
Stubbornness, incorrectness of E. V. in
rendering the word " lusts," ii. 98.
Succoth, geographical position of, i. 434.
Sun, a, God so called only once in the
Psalms, ii. 119.
Super Maria, the Romish interpretation
of, i. 228.
Supplications, peculiar form of the word
in Ps. Ixxxvi., ii. 126.
Sympathy, word so rendered used but
once in the Psalter, i. 507.
Syrtes, or whirlpool, figure taken from,
ii. 270.

Tabernacle, what is meant by, i. 162 ;
referred to, 109, 225, 240, 440; lit.
" booth," may be understood as the
" lion's lair," ii. 43 ; at Shiloh re
moved, 70.
Tabernacles, Feast of, ii. 95,
Tabor and Hermon, ii. 146.
Tabret, or Tambourine, ii. 461.
Talmud, quoted on Ps. xcii., ii. 172 ; on
Ps. ex., 288 ; on Ps. cxiv., 444.
Targum, quoted, ou Ps. xcii. ii. 173;
on 'Adonai in Ps, ex., 296 ; on the
night-watch in the temple, 398.
Tarshish, i. 527.
Taj'lor, Bp., quoted, i. 18.
Taylor,Isaac (Saturday Evening), quoted,
i. 166 ; (Spirit of Hebrew Poetry), ii.
158, 372, 453, 460.
Temple, i. 109, 185, 360, 489.
Temple worship, Psalms for, ii. 185.
Tennyson (Lotus Eaters), quoted, ii.
373.
Tertullian, quoted, on the use of Psalms
by the Christians, i. 19 ; on the first
Psalm, 34 ; quoted, 285, 290 ; treatise
De Spectaculis referred to, ii. 275.
Testament, Old, spirit of, different from
that of the New, i. 51.
Thebes, mural paintings at, ii. 69.
Theodoret, quoted, ii. 268.
Thirsty, lit." weary, languishing," ii.435.
Tholuck, quoted, i. 157, 460; on the
Covenant, ii. 33 ; the fulfilment of a
prophecy in Isa. xiv. 25, 43 ; the
office of the Holy Spirit, 50 ; on Ps.
Ixxxvi., 125 ; God's guidance in our

every-day life, 128 ; feeling of security
in God's people in danger, 169 ; the
palm and the cedar, 175.
Thomson, Archbishop of York (Sermons
preached at Lincoln's Inn), quoted, ii.
159, 161.
Thought, emblem of speed, ii. 163.
Thoughts, anxious, ii. 183.
Thrupp, Mr., quoted, i. 204 ; his view
of the Levitical Psalms, ii. 49.
Thunder-storm, description of, in Ps.
xxix., i. 245.
Time, conception of, to the Jewish mind,
ii. 161.
Torrent-bed, word corresponding to the
Arab "wady," ii. 231.
Trench, quoted, i, 461.
Tribe, the word as applied to the nation
of Israel, ii. 27.
Tribes of Israel, why mentioned indi
vidually sometimes, and why collec
tively, in the Psalms, ii. 82.
Typology of the Psalms, i. 39.
U.
Umbreit, quoted, i. 170.
Unchangeableness, God's character of,
man's greatest comfort in his own
conscious weakness, if 216, 221.
Ungodly, punishment of the, in this
world and the next, ii. 14 ; overthrow
of the, and fin.al triumph of the right
eous, celebrated in Ps. xcii., 173.
Unseen world, the, i. 137, 185, 257, 259,
310, 367, 440 ; ii. 128, 416, 429.
Until, meaning of the word, ii. 292.
Untruthfulness deprecated, i. 391 ; ii.
209.
Upright, a light for the, ii. 306.
Urim and Thummim, i. 324.

Valley of Salt, i. 437.
Vanity, i. 228; ii. 182.
Venema, quoted, i. 198, 460.
Vengeance, prayers for, see Impreca
tions; a righteous, may be desired by
a pious man, ii. 112, 418,
Verses, structure of, in Ps. i. and in Ps.
xix., remarkable as examples of He
brew parallelisms, i. 86, 199.
Vestments, holy, ii. 294.
Villages, i. 141.
Vine, cultivation of the, in Ei;ypt, ii.
68, 69 ; emblem of fruitfulness, 378.
Vine-dresser, image made use of, ii. 45.
Vinegar, what is probably meant by, in
the N. T., i. 508.
Virgil, quoted, i. 402 ; ii. 213.
W.
Wake the morning dawn, i. 415.
Wash, to, i. 380.

60

474

GENERAL INDEX.

Washing the hands, figurative, i. 236.
Watch in the night, ii. 161.
Waters of a full cup, ii. 13.
Weaned child, ii. 286.
Way, fijrurative use of, ii. 419.
Westeott, quoted, i. 15.
Wette, see De Wette.
Whately, Abp., annotations on Bacon,
ii. 9.
Wheat, fat of, ii. 99.
Whcwell (Astronomy), quoted, i, 130.
Wicked, the, contrast between the right
eous and, i, 87, 287 ; God's judgments
upon, no, 117, 135; identified with
the heathen nations, 139 ; deny God,
141; description of, 159, 280; com
pared to the adder, 419 ; to lions, 142,
179, 419; their fate, 420; compared
to dogs, 215, 426; the mischievous
tongue of, 454 ; career of, a perplexity,
ii. 14.
Wickedness, rod of, ii 369.
Wilson (Lands qf the Bible), quoted on
Hermon, i. 322.
Wings, fifiurc of, i. 450.
Witness, the faithful, ii. 149.
Womb of the morning, ii. 294.
Women, custom of Israelitish, to com
memorate victory with songs of tri
umph, i. 482.

Word of God, comparison of the use of
the term in Old and New Testaments,
ii. 268.
Wordsworth, quoted, i. 196, 364.
Work, meaning of God's, ii. 164 ; rela
tion to man's, 164.
World, the unseen, i. 367 ; men of the,
180, 363 ; see Unseen World,
Writing mentioned once in the Psalms,
ii, 214.
Written judgment, meaning of, ii. 459.
Y.
Yalkut Shimeoni, quotation from, i. 93.
Yesterday, Jews' division of time differ
ent from ours, ii. 161.
Youth, dew of, ii. 294 ; sons of, 375.
Z.
Zaimon, or dark mountain, i. 484.
Zechariah, question of his authorship of
Ps. cxxxix., ii. 414,
Zion, i. 94, 136 ; elevation of, 357; God's
entry into his sanctuary on, 226, 472 ;
Psalms written on occasion of remov
ing the Ark to, see Ark ; citizenship
in, ii. 134,
Zoan, in Egypt, Greek name Tanis, the
city where Pharaoh dwelt, mentioned
in Ex. ii. 63.
Zunz, quoted, i. 178.

GRAMMATICAL AND CEITICAL INDEX.

Absolute for construct, ii. 354.
Abstract plural, i. 146, 154.
Accent, anomalous, ii. 1 76 ; drawn back,
ii. 398, 403, 409; misplaced, ii. 217,
425, 453; peculiarity of, i. 150, ii.
179, 329.
Accusative, defining action of the verb
i. 164; of direction, ii. 403; of the
instrument, i. 101, 154, 180, ii. 142;
of nearer definition, ii. 272 ; of time,
i. 513, ii. 376 ; Semitic, signification
of, ii. 46; termination in fl—, i. 101,
ii. 352, 367 ; with passive verb, ii. 56 ;
with verbs of dwelling, i. Ill; with
verbs of motion, i. 194; double, with
verbs of covering, etc., i. 113.
Adjective, after the construct, ii. 73 ;
before the noun, ii. 1 53, 1 79, 446 ; masc.
with fem. noun, i. 452; sing, with plur.
subject, ii. 306 ; without the art. after
definite noun, ii. 438.
Adonai, i. 172; 'Adonim, ii. 256.
Adverbial clause, i. 237, 278.
Aorist of repeated action, i. 193, 264,
ii. 73.
Apocopated forms, i. 300, 346 (plur.), ii.
239, 393.
Apodosis, introduced by, tX , ii. 372.
Aposiopesis, i. 242.
Apposition, nouns in, i. 437, ii. 90, 352,
361 ; participle in, i. 133 ; pronoun in,
i. 295.
Aramaic construction, ii. 419 ; forms, i.
405, ii. 380, 409, 419, 420, 421, 443;
plural suffix, ii. 321 ; termination, ii.
165, 222, 321, 376.
Article, force of, i. 221 ; absence of, i.
339, ii. 307; omitted in poetry, i. 97,
u. 189. 475

Belial, derivation of, i. 192.

Collective noun sing, with plural verb,
i. 135.
Comparison, particle of, omitted, i.
1.50.
Compound expressions, ii. 176 ; forms,
doubtful in Hebrew, i. 225 ; tense, ii.
362.
Conjunctions :
Da , ii. 380.
1 , emphatic, i. 429 ; explanatory, i.
456 ; introduces apodosis, i. 429 ;
uses of, ii, 53, 430 ; can it mean
"even"? i. 259.
¦'S, construction of, i. 150,335, 369,
ii. 22 ; its place in the sentence, ii.
329, 378.
1?, i. 361, 452, ii. 376.
¦JS , construction of, i. 244, 295.
Construct state, with article, ii. 364 ; fol
lowed by object, i. 369 ; relative clause,
i. 173; by verb, ii. 100, 167; of verbal
adjective, i. 242 ; infinitive instead of
absol., i. 377 ; irregular form of, ii.
424 ; middle form between, and abso
lute, i. 345 ; termination of, in r-^ ,
i. 174 ; with long final vowel, i. 377,
ii. 81, 210, 298, 309, 312 ; relation of
two adjectives in, i. 279 ; of two nouns
both in construction with the third,
ii. 72.
Copula, omitted, ii. 185.
D.
Dagesh euphonic, i. 346, ii. 152 ; lene,
ii. 46, 157 ; omitted in Piel form, i.
446.

476

GRAM1VLA.TICAL AND CRITICAL INDEX.

Defective forms, i, 172, 174, 406, ii. 430.
Dialectic variations, ii. 223.
Diminutive verbal form, i. 295.
E.
Elliptical construction, i, 352; sentences,
i. 106, 422, ii. 430.
Emphatic forms, i. 277.
Energetic future, i. 429.
F.
Feminine plural with verb sing, masc,
i. 416; noun with masc. verb, ii. 238.
Feminine termination of the noun in
-ath, i. 1 74, 439, 441, ii. 35 ; of the verb,
ii. 330; pronoun, reference of, i. 481,
494 ; pronominal suffi.x, ii. 222.
Final consonant, doubled in adjectives,
i. 494.
Fuller forms of words with fi inserted,
i. 346. G.
Gender, anomaly of, adj. and noun, ii.
352; verb and noun, i. 326, ii. 135,
222.
Gerund, ii. 223, 349.
Grammatical forms,older and later, i.477.
H.
Hallelujah, differently written in mss.,
ii. 239.
Hiphil of verbs "^ B with fi retained, ii.
320; conjugation, not always causa
tive, i. 89, 493, ii. 113, 124, 209;
abbreviated, i. 165; infinitive, the fi
coalescing with the prep. ii. 22, 73;
fluctuates with Kal, ii. 424 ; expresses
state or condition, i. 352 ; with double
accusative, i. 492, ii. 120.
Hithpael, force of, i. 499, ii. 46, 113,
255, 270 ; part, apocopated, ii. 421 ;
incorrectly pointed with suffix, i. 327.
I.
Imperative, double, i. 388 ; with fi par
agogic, ii. 91, 430; used as future, i.
290.
Imperfect, relation of, to the perfect, i.
88, 193, with ''3, 326, ii. 22, 91, 166;
Kal with ^ inserted, i. 202 ; with par
agogic, fl, i. 204, 206 ; with 1 consec
utive, ii. 21 ; with DS for participle,
i. 430.

Infinitive, of verbs 5"y with fem. ter
mination, i. 181, ii. 55; absolute foj
finite verb, i. 182 ; impersonal, i. 352
with \ followed by finite verb, ii. 239
transition from, to finite verb, i. 352
periphrastic with ? for fut., i. 446, 497,
ii. 176,282; substantive, ii. 459 ; fem
inine, ii. 452.
Irregular verbal forms, i. 123, 174, 202,
206, 219, 225, 259, 491, 498, ii. 413.
K.
Kal for Hiphil, i. 161.
K'ri and K'thibh, i. 145, 150, 175, 220,
253,295, 299, 313, 388,411,429,533,
ii. 205, 364, 380, 424, 446, 575.
M.
Masora (on sb and i^), ii. 205.
Metonymy, i. 209.
Midrash (on D^"lf;), ii. 40.
N.
Negative particles, ?3 with infin., i. 265.
¦iba with participle, i. 202.
iiX, i. 231, 310, 377, ii. 357.
Xb for Xia , i. 429.
position of, i. 369.
Niphal, in a reflexive sense, i. 194; ia-
finitive, irregular, i. 491.
North Palestine, dialect of, ii. 223.
Noun with suffix in apposition, not in
construction, i. 345. O.
Optative, i. 233, 326, 354, 377, 463, 468,
471, ii. 54, 125; of internal necessity,
i. 417, ii. 143.
Order, inversion of, i. 113.

Paragogic forms, i, 417, ii. 54, 143.
Participle, absolute for finite verb, ii.
136, 429 ; Kal with "< inserted, i. 174 ;
as neut. adjective, i. 133 ; as neut.
noun, ii. 135 ; of verbs, IS,!. 219;
with finite verb expressing both perfect
and imperfect, ii. 362 ; with verb, sub
stantive, ib. ; with suffix instead of
prep., i. 233, 396 ; passive, past and
future, i. 193, ii. 410; passive with
objective suffix, ii. 217; with ii, ii.305.
Particle of asseveration, ii. 386.

GRAMMATICAL AND CRITICAL INDEX.

477

Partitive adj. in construction, i. 279.
Pausal forms, i. 377, ii. 307.
Pealal conjugation, i. 294, 344.
Perfect followed by future, ii. 20 ; hy
pothetic use of, i. 150; concessive,!.
417 ; with "] emphatic for imperative,
i. 234.
Periphrastic future, i. 446, ii. 282.
Persons, change of, ii. 100, 172.
Plural for sing, (poet.), i. 491, ii. 167;
with suffix of sing., ii. 394, 446.
Predicate in the accus., ii. 33 ; position
of, with the object, i. 417, ii. 236.
Prepositions :
a., denoting cause as well as time, i.
138; essentiae, i. 277 ; after verbs of
speaking, etc., ii. 362, 413, 421.
? , i. 326.
5 , of general reference, time, condi
tion, etc., i. 154, 173, 182, 347, ii.
18, 135 ; after transitive verb, i. 209,
512, ii. 321,380,403, 419.
¦iSEia.i. 438.
1^:, i. 146, 299, 370, 429, ii. 179, 239.
hs , i. 172, 344, 362.
Pronoun, anticipative use of, i. 456, 484,
ii. 420 ; placed emphatically first in
sentence, ii. 152 ; of 3d pers. subjoined
to those of 1st or 2d emphatically, i.
335; reflexive use of, i. 154, 421 ; re
peated in appos. with noun, i. 136,
278, 295 ; with ? as dat. commodi, i.
469, 497.
Protasis and Apodosis, i. 326, ii. 239.
247. Q-
Quadriliteral forms, i. 499, 532.
R.
Radical Yod retained in future of verbs,
1 's , i. 533.
Reduplication of termination, ii. 143 ;
of two first radicals, i. 344.
Reflexive pronoun, emphatic use of, ii.
362, 437.
Relative pronoun, used adverbially, ii.

120, 190; pleonastically after a con
junction, ii. 367 ; doubtful construc
tion of, i. 145, ii. 442 ; clause before
the antecedent, ii. 72.
Relative preterite, i. 253, 264, 468, 492,
ii. 239.

Selah, out of place, i. 500.
Septuagint, differs from Hebrew, i. 165,
283, 305, ii. 313, 375.
Sheva, compound, anomjilous, ii. 152.
Singular suff. for plural, i. 112, 352;
noun with plur. predicate, i. 150; with
plur. suffix, i. 139 ; verb with plur.
subj., i. 194, ii. 20, 223; and plural
forms interchanged, ii. 349.
Subject and predicate, i. 164.
Subordinate clause marking purpose, i.
463.
Suffix, "iO"'— , singular as well as plural,
i.l50; C- for D- , ii. 34 ; D-forD-,
i. 498 ; sing, with '' in verbs ¦! S , i.
344, S49, ii. 442 ; omitted, i. 116, 253,
413 ; noun with, in apposition, not in
construction, i. 345, 521.

Tenses, sequence of, i. 89, 124, 133, 193,
300 ; order of, in dependent sentence,
i. 245; rendering of, doubtful, i. 471.
V.
Verb with accus. instead of prep., i. 1 1 1 ,
157 ; with accus. and prep., ? , i. 210 ;
with double accus., ii. 349 ; with in
definite subject, i. 145, 370, 417, ii.
424; denominative, ii. 19; supphed
in one clause from another, i. 342 ;
impersonal, i. 423, 456 ; ii. 81, 167 ;
masc. with fem. noun, ii. 82 ; fem. with
masc. noun, i. 326 ; sing, with plur.
noun, ii. 349 ; substantive, omitted
where the reference is to the past, ii. 57.
Verbal adjective, i. 242 ; noun, i, 264.
Voluntative form in apodosis when the
protasis is hypothetical, i. 493.
Vowel, transposition of, ii. 185.

Books Published by W. F. Draper.
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A Harmony of the Pour Gospels iu Greek, according to the Text
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ARYO-SEMITIC SPEECH:
A STUDY IN LIITGUISTIC AECHArOLOGT.
By JAMES FREDERICK McCURDY.
8vo. pp.xi,176. Price, $2.00.

This work of Dr. McCurdy is devoted to a subject which has been of late
but little dealt with by scientific linguists, partly because the inclination of
only a few students has led them to make a special study of both the Aryan
and Semitic families of speech, and partly because the evidence that has
been offered by previous theorists upon the relations of these types of lan
guage has been mostly of an uncertain and suspicious character. Indeed, it
has been the fashion of late to decry such investigations either as unscientific
or useless from the very nature of the conditions. The aim of the present
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on within the limits of a strict scientific method, and on the other hand to ex
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the view of testing their possible affinity.
In two main respects the work claims to have made an advance upon any
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the Proto-Semitic as well as of Pruto- Aryan roots is fully discussed, and a
scheme of typical formations is presented, so that, in any ease, primary and
secondary roots may be discriminated by reference to it. In the second
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Since the aim and the methods of the book are strictly scientific, it does
not seek to go beyond the range of ascertainable facts. Its bearings on
ethnology and anthropology are only indirect. It only claims to have shown
that the two families once used the same significant sounds to represent the
majority of simple and primitive ideas. How this identity of speech came
about is beyond its main purpose to decide.
W. p. DRAPER, Publisher,
A-5 Andover, Mass.

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